In an unassuming row of shophouses in Holland Village, there lies a small but happening restaurant Amici. The service can be, at times, sporadic and the waiters forget to bring random items of cutlery or accidentally charge for two drinks instead of one. However, overlooking the minor blunders with the wait staff, the food is well worth the hype.

The eggplant parmigiano is abundant with cheese and, at the appetizer portion size and price (S$12.80), is almost like a meal in itself. Fettuccine alla russa ($20.90) is a main dish to drool over - with salmon and caviar over a bed of fettuccine, coated with a generous serving of vodka sauce.

A simple meal consisting of an appetizer and a main dish can leave you well fed and asking for take away containers. Reservations are generally required, as the place gets extremely busy on the weekends, but the trip and the food will definitely leave you wanting to come back again and again.

I visited the Dining Room at Tanjong Beach Club with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago and sat outside to enjoy the view of the pool and the beautiful people.

Our experience started off relatively well - he ordered Half Spring Chichen (S$26) with jerk seasoning, cooked superbly but with a sauce that was a little bland. I ordered a Tanjong Burger with a side of fries (S$25) and a Tanjong Salad (S$19). The fact that both dishes bore the name Tanjong seemed to have a certain significance since both came out superbly. The staff, however, was a bit slow in their delivery of the food to our table and in bringing us our final bill. They misplaced our change and were reluctant to apologize, when their error was brought up to the manager's attention.

All in all, the food is worth the hit-or-miss service, but come prepared for a very long lunch or dinner!