Chef Angelo, which established the name, Michelango’s left the restaurant and joined Mietta’s. However, due to rental and rather business turnover , Mietta’s was closed down. Aussie Tucker along Serongoon Road was his next establishment, serving budget italian food. Finally, the most recent restaurant, Angelo’s was born …hurdles of challenges *-*

Angelo’s was a rather cosy restaurant, Chef Angelo separate the restaurant into two : The dining area and the Bar next door .Though the restaurant was not that spacious, they fully untilised the spaces and the tables were not placed near to one another.

They offer 3 types of set lunches which vary in prices. The ala-carte dishes are certainly priced at the higher side. I would suggest to have the set lunch as the ala-carte dishes sometimes cost even higher than the set lunch.There were not much selections on the menu, limited starters, mains and 2 desserts. Some of the popular items on his menu are the Penne Vodka and Lamb shank.

I had the 3 course set lunch priced at $38+ ( inclusive of coffee/tea)


Caesar Salad

Romaine lettuce with bacon strips, hard boiled egg, garlic croutons and topped with shaved parmesan. I like the croutons which has fragrance of garlic and the salad portion is huge.




Dory Fillet finished in oven, brocollini & potato mash

The dory was the only fish item on the menu and it cost $32+ (ala-carte price).The dory fillet is slightly seasoned with some salt and pepper, pan fried and topped with some cubes of tomatoes and tarrangon leaves.

They offered a generous piece of dory fillet which I think was around 300g . I tried my very best to polish it off as I hate wasting food!The fish has a crispy skin and the meat was very soft. The fish is prepared in a simple way, no complicated or complex sauces… just squeeze some lemon to enjoy the natural taste.


Tiramisu

The ”must have” for me dining in Italian food places. The saviordi biscuit is soaked heavily in coffee masala. Proportion of mascapone cheese to saviordi biscuit was roughly 1:3 .
I feel that the sponge is rather dry and rum is rather weak . They can be more generous with the rum.



Verdict: Service is friendly. There aren’t much selections on the menu . I guess they are rather new and still experimenting . Perhaps they would start incorporating new dishes to the menu when the business starts picking up. The portions served here are fairly huge as they are meant more for sharing. Chef Angelo believes that we the food should worth every penny we paid for thus he wants his customers to feel full and satisfied.

Prive Restaurant, is just located right next to Prive Bakery Cafe, a popular hangout for brunch. The Keppel Island is a romantic place at night but a different view in the morning. Ever since Prive Bakery/ Restaurant open its door, it has drawn people from all over the island . Now with the opening of The Resorts World, they may face a little competition. Well, I guess they still have the factor / reason to draw me there.

I have been to Prive Bakery Cafe countless times and now it’s time for me to go over to Prive Restaurant.


Prive Restaurant offers a 2 or 3 course set lunch priced at $32++ and $35++ respectively. It was just a $3 difference so it’s up to you whether you are game for 2 or 3 course. Well, I decided to skip the dessert and went for 2 course instead.


Seared US scallops with capellini, melted bottarga buter & Ikura

I had this as my starters and I was very pleased with this US scallops with capellini. Of couse there are other dishes to choose from but I would strongly encourage you to try this.3 Jumbo US scallops lightly seared and has a bouncy and soft texture. It is served with a small serving of smooth capellini pasta in melted bottarga sauce and Ikura (flying fish roe)The smooth capellini blends in with the melted bottarga butter and it was just heavenly! I can literally see the tiny little fish roe in the melted sauce. Even though it was a butter sauce, it was not too rich or heavy. The ikura burst into flavour when I took a nibble. I love this combination and have nothing but praises for this Pasta!



Charcoal Grilled Asparagus ($8++)

This was my additional side order. The asparagus are lightly grilled with salt and pepper and I like to enjoy it’s natural flavour. They have a smoky flavour which I didn’t like it (Personal). Having checked with them , I realised that that the asparagus are charcoal grilled, thus producing a smoky flavour. I guess majority would enjoy it but not for me.




Crispy Skin Barranmundi, Fava Beans & Spring Vegetable Fricasse


Intially, the waitress highlighted the duck confit and the Sakura Ebi Capellini pasta which were their popular dishes. Since I do not like duck meat and I had a capellini pasta as my starter, I decided to go for this Crispy Skin Barranmundi.The Barranumundi is lightly grilled , has a smooth and tender texture but the skin is slightly chewy and crispy. I love all kinds of fish skin thus I enjoyed this. The fish is served with spring vegetables fricasse ( zucchini, carrots, bell peppers and celery). The vegetables were diced into neat cubes and were crunchy. The sauce was a little creamy and the addition of pasley was a little overpowering. Anway, the fish is good enough to satisfy.

Overall verdict: IMHO, I like the food here compared to the bakery cafe . The place is very suitable for romantic and intimate dining especially at night. Prive Restaurant and the Bakery Cafe served totally different food and ambience also differs. For desserts, I would suggest to pop by The Bakery Cafe . The service here is very friendly and they would occasionally come over to your table to ask for any feedback.

Capella is not the hotel at Sentosa but a modern Italian Dining retaurant located at Chijmes. There are quite a number of restaurants at Chijmes but surpisingly, the resturant is very quiet and hardly any customers. Well, Cityhall area has got quite a number of ”good” restaurants thus I guess it was a little difficult to attract people to come over.

The restaurant interior is not very spacious and they have a open kitchen and shadows of wine bottles in the wine cellar. I can constantly hear the chef ‘‘displaying” his skills in the kitchen such as chopping ingredients.

Capella offers a 3 course set lunch priced at $27++ and $34++ (with choice of fish )respectively. Choose from a selection of starters and mains. I felt that they are not ”flexible” enough to make changes such as choosing dishes from the ala-carte menu to substitute the mains. I do not mind paying the extra cost but they just do not allow. I decided to have 2 starters a main and skipped the dessert, with an extra charge of $10 ++.



Insalata Romana (extra $10++)


This was basically a caesar salad but I could hardly find any hard-boiled egg or bacon. It was just a simple and plain version of the caesar salad topped generous parmesan flakes. I like the home-made anchovy sauce but too much cheese makes the salad a little cloying.



Baby spinach salad with marinated cod, sundried tomatoes & kalamanta olives

Starter number 2 was the baby spinach salad accompanied by a small serving of marinated cod. I suspect it was not codfish as the texture and the taste was slightly different from cod. The chef mashed the cod and mixed it with sun-dried tomatoes and olives.The marinated cod was under -seasoned and one word to describe, ‘‘Bland”. The marinated cod has got fishbones in it and I was quite disappointed with this dish.




Pan Fried Seabass

The seabass was the ”Fish of the day”. The other options on the set lunch menu includes 3 types of pasta dishes and a meat dish. The fish is pan-fried till crispy, served with asparagus, roma tomatoes in saffron sauce.This was a lovely dish. The thin fillet of seabass is pan-fried till crispy on the outside and soft in the interior. The fish is slightly seasoned with some salt and pepper but it retains it natural flavour. The skin has a nice crisp to it, an awesome dish. The accompaniments, asparagus and roma tomatoes were excellent in terms of flavur. The lightly grilled tomatoes were juicy, bursting in flavour when I pop it into my mouth while the asparagus has a nice crunch to it.

Warm Asparagus Ragout Salad ($8.90++)

The flaky pastry is filled with creamy asparagus and mushroom ragout. The pastry is quite flaky and the ragout was not too creamy.

Deep-fried eggplants, king oyster mushroom and asparagus were stacked neatly and garnished with mesclun salad leaves. The king oyster mushroom is smoothered with some vinegrette which I like the slightly tangy flavour. The tomatoes were topped with some sesame and walnuts paste which I forgot to request them to remove it. I had to scrape them off by the side.



Seafood Aglio Olio
HT is not a fan of scallops thus she changed it to all prawns for their pasta. The pasta is served with about 5 prawns( which I think is very small)

HT commmted :” The pasta is a little dry and bland and what is the green green thing doing in my pasta?” The green stuff is actually chives + corriander and it has an acquired taste thus HT is not used to it.



Sea Perch with Wasabi Vinegrette ($20.80)


Friend working at TCC recommended the Sea perch and I decided to try it. 2 sea perch fillets lightly seared and served with brocolli, tomato and wasabi vinegrette.

I didn’t think much about the fish as they were rather bland and personally I didn’t like the texture of sea perch. The wasabi vinegrette is quite interesting… it taste mild at first but it was in a sudden that the pungent flavour rushes into my nostrils and I starting weeping. The wasabi vinegrette is not as strong as the real wasabi but HT thought was rather weird and awful.


Dark Devotion ($11++)

Dark Devotion, the all time favourites at TCC. Frankly speaking, it was my first time trying their warm chocolate cake despite the raves about it. A 15 mins waiting is required and the cake came warm, topping with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. We were excited and slowly pierce out spoon into the cake , hot lava chocolate flows out instantly and blends in with the vanilla ice-cream…. that was gorgeous and we slowly enjoyed the cake.

HT commented ,” Personally I like the one at Fish and Co as the chocolate is not that rich and it cost only $4.50!”.




Caramel Soy Pudding & Citrus Jello (9++)


A lovely dessert appeared right in front of me. The dessert is basically some vanilla sponge , a caramel soy pudding with lots of fresh cream and strawberries and the bottom consists of citrus jello and crumbles.I can only say that there is too much cream. The caramel soy pudding is very light but the texture was a little firm. The Citrus Jello a.k.a Agar agar and the crumbles was what I enjoyed most… soft texture + crunchy crumbles. The mashmellows would probably be what kids would enjoy.


I beg to differ, the chocolate lava was rich but the quality of the chocolate used was relatively good but a little on the sweet side. I didn’t enjoy the vanilla ice-cream as there is a heavy usage of milk in it.

Vis a Vis means ”face to face” in English but here I am not teaching or translating French language into English but to recommend a French Fine Dining Restaurant. Vis a Vis is located at Chun Tin road and in case you are wondering where is it, it is just opposite Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and along the row of shophouses. I was working around that area for more than a year and did not realise there is actually a French restaurant.



Vis a Vis has merged with Sursip Thai Restaurant and therefore, they do serve Thai cuisine besides French.


The interior has a elegant-looking style. Awards and accolades were being displayed and visible the moment you stepped into the restaurant.

The menu offers a selection of french dishes but rather on a pricey side. I would suggest to order the set lunch priced at $21.80 ++ or perhaps the 3 course chef’s menu priced at $58++. Appetitizers are priced ranging from $17 – $30 onwards,Mains $30 ++ onwards and desserts , $15 ++ onwards.

I took the Chef’s menu as it seems more reasonable for 3 course.



Avacado & Crabmeat Au gratin

The avacado au gratin appeared to be my starter instead of ”The Vis a Vis House Salad”.

Baked in the oven, forming a browned crust, the avacado and crabmeat were mixed and blended together . Au gratin dishes are normally baked with cheese or breadcrumbs as toppings and this Avacado & Crabmeat version was very creamy . I can see the mashed avacado but crabmeat was not in sight.I know they mixed the carbmeat in as there were some bits of crabshells in the gratin.



Grilled Black cod dusted with garlic chips laced with tangy passionfruit coulis

The mains was a choice of The Black cod / medallion of Emu (Ostrich). I had the former as I have no idea what is Emu until I goggle searched on the net.

I was very pleased with my Grilled black cod. Deepfried minced garlic topped on the tender and melting black cod fillets. The minced garlic added a nice fragrance to the fish too.

I was a little surpised that they served a small little puff pastry filled with creamy mushroom ragout. Indeed, the puff pastry is very flaky and the creamy mushroom ragout were superb!

Ratatouille is worth mentioning as well as the vegetables were crunchy and appetitizing.
The passionfruit coulis is slightly creamy and it provides a tangy and refreshing flavour to the dish.



”Vis a Vis House Salad”


I thought salads are usually served as the first course but they served it to me right at the last dish, becoming a dessert instead.

The salad was served beautifully in a glass plate. Mesclun salad leaves with diced pears , strawberries, tomatoes, almond flakes tossed in a home-made dressing. I like the dressing which is quite different as the chef added some minced garlic to the salad as well. I enjoy the pears and strawberries as they were crunchy and sweet.

Overall: Good food but the service totally sucks to the max. The moment I enter the restaurant, they handed me the menu and before I could ask anything or order, the waiter seemed to be very kan chiong and snatched away the menu from me. It was the first time I encounter this which is kinda rude ??? They seemed to be having a grumpy face and purposely made noises using the untensils which I felt was rather fustrating and on top of that, the moment I finished my last morsel of the salad, they quickly asked me ,” You want the bill?” Of course I would gladly foot the bill but it’s kinda rushing me …

I am very pleased with the food in terms of taste ,presetation and quality. My favourite would be the Grilled black cod which is so tender and melts in my mouth in every bite. I would strongly encourage them to improve their service to avoid losing customers … Of course I would love to make a re-visit as the food was superb!