Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria: Bukit Timah’s Hidden Gem

When an Italian trattoria cures its own meats, has a brick pizza oven and a curtain of handmade pasta drying out at a corner, you can at least be half sure of its Italian authenticity. The other half comes from flavours of the food on your plate. From our dining experience at this small neighbourhood restaurant, we can tell you Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria is quite possibly Binjai Park’s best kept Italian secret. Your meal even comes with a tour of Italy’s beautiful regions via the hand painted tiled artworks on the walls, or Milan-born owner Frabrizio himself, who will be more than happy to share on Italy’s rich food heritage.

Monthly Regional Specials: 3 Dishes Per Month It’s easy to be overwhelmed with an endless list of dishes (with names we can hardly pronounce) that originate from almost 20 Italian regions. So the newly introduced Monthly Regional Specials menu at Capri comes in handy. Not only is Executive Chef Domenico able to highlight three distinct dishes or new creations, but you would also learn about less heard of provinces such as Piedmonte and Abruzzo. Swing by in June, when the antipasti, Tagliere Casereccio ($20++; left), takes the spotlight. Home-cured cold cuts of pancetta, capocollo (pork neck) and bresaola (air-dried beef) meets a light drizzle of olive oil before olives, cured chillies and sundried tomatoes completes the ensemble. Our Star Picks: Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Dessert

Antipasti: With large and juicy prawns and scallops stewed in an ambrosial mix of Mediterranean herbs, Gamberi e cappesante alle herbe ($20++; right of second image) is no doubt a seafood lover’s dream starter. Primi (second course): When it comes to pastas, a plate of Pasta riccia all’nduja ($25++; left of third image) gives us the best way to enjoy a creamy and tomato-like base that also holds a fair amount of spice. The sauce is a house-made nduja – a fiery blend of pork, olive oil, garlic, ground black pepper, chilli flakes and ricotta to soften the spiciness. Did you know? Italians from Calabria in Southern Italy are known to love their fiery-style dishes more than their northern counterparts. Secondi (main course): From the meat and seafood options, 300g bone-in deep-fried breaded veal chop, Cotoletta alla Milanese ($48++; right of third image) stands out. Here, Chef Domenico substitutes the pan of melted butter – used traditionally in the region of Lombardy (Northern Italy) — for a lighter alternative of premium vegetable oil. Dessert: To round up that hearty meal, go for their best-selling Torta al limone ($10++), a warm lemon cake with a surprisingly dense and buttery texture that we would gladly sink into again. Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria, 3 Binjai Park, Singapore 589819 See Also: More eateries around Bukit Timah More Italian food to satisfy your tastebuds

Written by Peh Yi Wen