A while ago I wrote about the delicious, mouth-watering pizzas of Casa Vostra in Raffles City.
What I didn't manage to write- at that time- were the antipastis of the same restaurant, of which I have since had two.
I've said that their pizzas are so good to be not messed around with.
I'm saying the same thing of their antipastis too.
See, there're many places that offer small bites as part of their menu.
A lot of them, however, plan the selection almost like an afterthought, as if not expecting you to order whatever's on the menu (and maybe direct your eye straight to the mains).
That's not how it is here.
Everything here on the menu is literally large enough to be a main.
It doesn't matter whether you're going for the pasta or the antipasti or the pizza or even just the dessert.
Everything's large enough.
There are some antipastis that are interesting, like the Broccolini al Forno, which is oven-baked broccolini with breadcrumbs (Sicilian!) and chili pepper.
Others, like the Polpette, which is beef meatballs with Parmigiano Reggiano and San Marzano tomatoes similarly intrigue me. I'd love to know just what the size of those meatballs are.
Or how slow roasted pork with spinach, fennel and paprika Porchetta taste like.
Guess I'll have to try them next time.
Then again I might just go back to the same ones that I've already tried.
The combination of honey and cheese makes for a pleasant appetizer, especially when it is Baked Scarmoza Cheese sprinkled with Mixed Herbs and Honey.
Never mind that the cheese kind of sticks to the pan and you literally have to scrape it off (minus dining etiquette) when you want to taste the best of the burnt parts.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well the sweet honey brought out the taste of the cheese, and I absolutely loved the crisp crust of cheese on top with the chewy soft of the baked cheese below.
It's not just this antipasti that is good.
The Calamari Fritti is just as good too.
Sure, some of us might say that it's literally (just) calamari, no big deal, but oy, theirs is huge, theirs is thickly battered and theirs is perfectly fried.
To tell the truth, I had been a little sceptical when my friend ordered the dish, thinking it to be nothing more than just a few limp (and small!) pieces of calamari weakly fried.
But OMG, no, this was the real thing.
First of, it weren't just a few pathetic tiny pieces here and there.
It was a whole piece of chopped cuttlefish sotong.
Thick, fat, chewy, chonky.
Not just that, every piece was perfectly battered, thick, crunchy with just the slight chew. There was no sogginess whatsoever in the batter even after working down half the basket. Instead it was all solid crisp crunch with a mild herby taste that I think was paprika that did the trick.
Then of course there was the garlic mayonnaise which we totally adored.
How they made it taste different, I don't know.
Either they blended it with something, but there was certainly a taste to the creamy rich mayonnaise that differed from the regular.
Better yet, they didn't stinge.
We had asked for a second serving of mayo to go with the last few remaining pieces in the basket.
I had been expecting half a dish.
But nope, they came with a full dish, and so much there was still left over that we scooped up the fallen batter crumbs from the basket and dunked the whole lot to eat it up together on its own.