Al Dente Trattoria, Holland Village

Expensive meal!

Was here for dinner last Friday night with 3 friends. This place was recommended by LS who dined at the Great World outlet a couple of times few years ago. She will usually go to this restaurant whenever she craves for Spaghetti Bolognaise.

Front view – There are both indoor and outdoor seats. Reservation was made in advance therefore we were given the indoor seats. Despite the restaurant is air-conditioned and we were sitting indoor, we still feel very hot. The staff told us that the air-con was already to its lowest and he concluded that the warm temperature should be due to the hot weather recently. Well, we got to live with it then.

Our orders for that night were:

1. Fontanafredda - Here comes our wine. LS initially chose Shiraz but it wasn’t chilled. There were only two options for chilled wine so she chose this.

2. One dinner set that comes with

A) Crab Bisque – 5/10

It should be made from puréed crab. The soup was too thick and creamy for me.

B) Starter – Bread topped with melted Cheese – 6/10

I thought this was Focaccia bread but it did not taste like one. The bread was very soft but too ordinary. I missed the Herbs Focaccia which my friend ever bought me from Garibaldi. It was absolutely delicious. I must go back there one of these days.

I divided it into 4 so that each of us can have one.

C) Prawn Salad – 6/10

It was fresh, simple and so-so only.

D) Oven-baked snapper and king prawn with deep fried potato balls and sautéed baby asparagus – 6/10

The prawn was big, fresh and crunchy. As for the fish, it was too tough to my liking.

3. Spaghetti Bolognaise – 8/10

It was Al dente! (means “to the tooth” in Italian phrase). It was neither too soft nor hard. The texture was slightly chewy when I bit onto it. Neither the sauce was over-added. I read about the Italians way is to toss pasta with just enough sauce to coat it without leaving a big puddle on the bottom of the plate. This dish was exactly what was described.

4. Hawaiian Pizza – 7/10

Wood Fire pizza topped with generous spread of Mozzarella cheese and pineapple. The crust was so thin that you will not feel the guilt of having too much carbohydrate. However, the crispness was still not there yet. I still prefer the one I had at Timbre the day before.

5. Sausage & Artichoke Pizza – 6/10

This is a promotion item that costs only $10. The crust size was slightly smaller than the usual one. The topping choices were quite limited but what do you expect from a $10 wood fire pizza?

6. Tiramisu – 6/10

A popular Italian dessert. The liqueur was too mild.

This was one of the expensive meal I ever had.

Most likely, I will come back for its Spaghetti Bolognaise again.

Address:
Al Dente Trattoria

22 Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Singapore 227681

Tel: 6468 4688

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11.30am - 3pm (lunch), 6pm – 10.30pm (dinner)
Weekends & Public Holidays: 11.30am - 3pm (lunch), 6pm – 11pm (dinner)