To Italy and back

Apart from housing one of the world's largest collections of modern and contemporary South-east Asian artworks, the Singapore Art Museum holds another treasure in its bossom.

I'm talking about Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo, a vibrantly-decorated little restaurant that enchants with some of the best Italian food I've ever tasted.

Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo has been keeping stomachs happy since 2003 and I've been there several times. Perhaps it was a selfish thought that restrained me from blogging about it - I want it to stay a secret among consumers in the know, so that it will never be too crowded.

But, you know, you can never hide a good thing and the restaurant has picked up quite a bit of press coverage.

Ah well, there's no point in keeping one of my favourite haunts under wraps anymore - it is hardly a secret today.

In October when a travel trade show was in town and I had one of my foreign colleagues over, I brought the editorial team to Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo for dinner. Dinner was supposed to be had at Pizzeria Mozza (by celebrity chef Mario Batali) at Marina Bay Sands, but it was just impossible to secure a reservation. With 11 people in my dinner group, I cannot afford to make the journey to Pizzeria Mozza and take a chance.

"We have to take a chance; the pizzas there are truly amazing," insisted my sub-ed who have had meals at Pizzeria Mozza in California and Singapore.

I suggested Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo and promised that they won't be disappointed. True enough, they loved it.

Today, some errands took the husband and I into town, and the Singapore Art Museum was just round the bend. It struck me then that I've never brought the husband to Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo. There was no better time to have a nice dinner date in a charming little restaurant than this stormy evening. So, there we went.

I have a number of favourites there, including Zuppa di pesce (a generously portioned seafood soup),  Carpaccio di manzo, Risotto ai porcini, Tagliatelle alla Nonna Teresa, Gnocchi di patate al pomodoro fresco and Pizza con salmone e rucola. It is awfully painful to have to decide on only one dish for myself. Restaurants like Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo are best visited by many friends and loved ones, so a wide variety of dishes can be ordered and shared. :)

Since there was just the two of us, and I insisted on saving space for some heavenly Tiramisu, we ordered a Tagliatelle alla Nonna Teresa and Pizza Capricciosa to share. Frankly, that was quite ambitious too, as the pizza was rather huge.

Tagliatelle alla Nonna Teresa is a flat ribbon pasta with Bolognese sauce, mushroom and ham, oven-baked with a thick layer of mozzarella cheese on top. Divine, I tell you! Pizza Capricciosa is a tomato sauce-base pizza with mozzarella, artichoke, ham, black olives, salami and mushrooms. Not one of my favourites since I don't like artichoke, but it was still nice.

There was something very enjoyable about stuffing one's face with glorious food like these on a cold, stormy evening, and having beer to warm the blood. The whole experience was even better when one's seated by the window at Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo, which granted one views of the rain pelting down on people and vehicles rushing by outside.

When both dishes were polished off, I called for a sweet ending - a bowl of Tiramisu. Trattoria Lafiendra Al Museo does Tiramisu brilliantly, and this dessert should never be missed, even if your stomach was close to bursting.

This splendid meal and precious time alone with the husband set me back by S$90.98. Beautiful number. If I was a gambler, I would go out and buy 4D. But I am not. So you see, an authentic Italian meal is affordable...at least in comparision with the airfare to Italy.  :)