Ristorante De Parma

I finally had the chance to dine at Ristorante De Parma, a small family run Italian restaurant, one wet weekday evening. Strangely enough, although its been around for quite a while and I've always gone past it, I never had the urge to try it out, till that fateful evening.

Quietly located towards the end of a row of shophouses at the fringe of the hustle and bustle of Serangoon Gardens, Ristorante De Parma cuts a contrasting figure to the exuberance of the area. Decor is kept simple and no frills with soft, warm lighting and classy table arrangement. Soft easy listening music wafts through the air, setting the tone right for a relaxing meal.

Complimentary Bread - I presume that each person was only entitled to one slice of bread, seeing that we were only served 2 slices. Though served warm, the bread was a tad too dry for my liking and neither the margarine or olive oil helped.

Funchi Triffolati al Moda Dello Chef ($12.90)- This dish is essentially a Portobello mushroom garnished with grilled bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes & olives with the house dressing. And notice I mentioned a mushroom, not mushrooms. The mushroom was huge, bigger than anything I've ever seen before, which of course doesn't say much because I haven't really seen a lot of mushrooms to begin with. Taste wise, it was juicy with a nice chewy texture to boot, but somehow it lacked the oomph factor. Not that it wasn't nice or anything, just not outstanding.

Calzone aka Folded Pizza ($24.90) - According to the menu, the Calzone is a Neapolitan specialty and means 'Trouser Leg', which honestly makes no sense to me. Introductions aside, I had a major grouse with it. The crust was a little too burnt, resulting in a rather hard exterior, which made slicing or chewing through it a chore. The filling of ham, bacon, onions, mushrooms, capsicums and smoked cheddar cheese was decent though.

Filetto Di Mento ($32.90) - For a change, I ordered my steak medium instead of medium rare this time round and it came as per instructions. Italian restaurants certainly aren't known for their steak so I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness and texture of the meat as well as the beefy flavours which were complemented by the subtle red wine sauce. I would dare say the steak can give some of the more reputable steakhouses a run for their money. On a side note, the potato ball that came with it tasted weird.

Chocolate Fondant ($11.90) - Beautifully presented, the Chocolate Fondant was compact with a slightly hardened exterior, unlike the ones that many Italian restaurants have taken to doing nowadays. This made eating it all the more enjoyable especially when the molten chocolate started oozing out through a break in the crust. Paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was really quite enjoyable. Pity about its small size though.

Tiramisu ($12.90) - High marks in the aesthetics department for the Tiramisu as well. The sponge to mascarpone cheese ratio was quite balanced and it came across as light and fluffy with a lingering taste of alcohol sans the wetness. Its probably one of the more notable tiramisus I've eaten in a long while.

I am most reluctant to admit, but $105 for 1 appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts definitely tends towards the expensive side. Food quality is particularly impressive for a restaurant that utilizes only local chefs and service is attentive yet non intrusive. If prices could drop a notch or two, I'll be more than happy to return for dinner. Until then, I'll have to content myself with their seemingly reasonably priced set lunches (starting from $12.90++ I believe).

See all my pictures here

May I just take the opportunity to wish one and all, a very Merry Christmas~!~!

After dinner with the gang at Ah Peng's Teochew Food (they were nice enough to accommodate and come to my area), we adjourned to Ristorante De Parma for their much hyped about tiramisu. Being cautious as always, I had to carve out that I had never tried it before, and all I know are from the reviews I've read on HGW.

We arrived at bout 8+ and wanted a seat for six. Kudos to Ping for immediately trying to arrange something for us. The service was impeccable from the moment we stepped in. They managed to create a table for us in an instant and everything was just so smooth flowing.

Food

We had a Margarita Pizza which was pretty decent. The crust was thin but slightly crispy, didn't really have the dough taste. The topping was all right, but definitely not the best I've tasted. However, having said that, it was pretty nice to have something savoury. It was also very thoughtful of Ping to suggest that we have the pizza first before the desserts so that it wouldn't ruin our tasting experience.

They had free flow of ice lemon tea and I had a refreshing ginger ale. They also had a earl grey tea and I always have a soft spot for restaurants which serve their sugar in lumps. =P

But the real reason I had to give this review, even though there have been so many, is to laud the fantastic tiramisu. Gastronomic orgasm to put it crudely, absolute bliss with each bite. The mascarpone cheese, the liqueur, the sponge was delicately balanced to absolute perfection. The right amount of softness without being mushy, and the lingering taste of sweetness just sweeping through the fibre of your being. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate a little, but it's THAT GOOD. It's presentation is also eye candy, strawberry and a white chocolate roll over the dusted with cocoa tiramisu.. *drools*

Chocolate fondant with gelato deserves an honorable mention in my opinion. Though hard pressed to match it's illustrious other dessert, the fondant manages to hold its own. The molten chocolate oozes out from the lava cake, and paired with the vanilla gelato, almost gives the tiramisu a run for its money. The texture of the sponge with the molten chocolate just gives off such richness and together with the cold gelato, just makes this so delectable. Excellent stuff.

Some mango panacota this was the dessert of the day which was pretty good, but paled in comparison with the other two unfortunately. Supposed to be refreshing but tasted more like a mango pudding. Because taste is all relative, this in my opinion, disappointed a little.

Triple scoop of gelato Sufficiently good quality gelato with three flavours - chocolate, vanilla and mango. Enough said.

Ambience

Ambience was all right. Not a very posh setting but very familial, typical italian really. Furniture is rather vintage and the lightings are nice and warm.

Service

I must commend their staff, with special mention to Ping for being such a good host. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time thanks to the exemplary service by all the staff. The water was constantly refilled, we were never pressured to leave at any point in time. They were always polite, checking with us whether they could make our dining experience any better. Asking for feedback, giving constructive suggestions. Just wonderful. Word of encouragement - Keep it up!!

Value

I'm tempted to say that it's really the best tiramisu that money can buy so it's totally worth it. Quality to Price ratio is definitely very high, but pricing is just ever so slightly dear.

Conclusion

Highly highly recommended. All the reviews below which sing the praises of this restaurant to the heavens are not exaggerating. Superb stuff.

My boyfriend and I arrived at the restaurant at abt 7pm on a thurs night to be the only couple there but we were quickly joined by another 4 couples dining in as well...

We ordered the seafood soup and cream of mushroom. Both were good, my bf liked the fresh seafood with clear broth but I enjoyed the mushroom soup better!

The parma ham & rocket pizza was really yummy! However, the prawn & asparagus pasta in pomodoro sauce was ordinary (though I would give plus points for the linguine that was done al dente and the juicy prawns that were really fresh)...

The service staffs were very attentive and sweet, as we were celebrating our 7th anniversary there, I requested for a small card to be stuck on the Tiramisu cake which they accomodated and what was really sweet was they've even cut the cake into a heart-shape with 2 slices of heart-shaped strawberries on top.. Awww.... As my bf was planning to make his wedding proposal at the restaurant, they've assisted to make pre-arrangements for us to sit at the window seat and prepared some nice wine for us as well...

I wanted to write this review to encourage the staffs of Ristorante de Parma to keep doing what they're doing now!! Thanks for making the wedding proposal a success for us and keep up the good work! ;)