pasta fresca da salvatore, boat quay

ah, the lure of pork fat and cheese – and wine and pasta. I have a soft spot for italian eating – it’s hearty and delicious, and comforting and fresh with its honest, clear flavours.

pasta fresca da salvatore has been around for quite a while (nearly three decades!), and it’s one of those places that feels spectacularly appropriate for a cozy dinner with friends and wine. I was gobsmacked by the sheer range of food on the menu – as so would you be, even ignoring the fact that they allow you to customize anything from the noodle to the sauce they sit in (very good for fussy eaters who insist on customising their food a particular way – hi mum!)

saturday house, hougang

this is quite a homely cafe – it feels like a neighborhood bistro you would sit down at with a beer and pizza in hand. open air and communal feeling, it serves up unfancy, decent food at weekday-able prices.

california pizza kitchen, the forum shopping mall

decent-ish american pizza place – very much a comfort food sort of thing (if you grew up on american-type food), and not necessarily the best in execution.

I would likely recommend modestos or brewerkz if you wanted something a little higher on the quality, but this is the sort of relaxed american diner that sometimes is exactly what you want on a post-work weeknight.

and big portions – which quite positively is a reason to like this place.

pizzeria mozza, marina bay sands

one of my favorite italian places in singapore, for the buzzy-loud ambience, the good food, and the sparkling environ of marina bay sands. I know there are dissenters out there that don’t think the pizza is authentic, find the dishes overpriced, and judge the place too trendy – and you are might be right.

but there is something to be said about a kitchen that dishes out good food (I measure by taste rather than authenticity), with a modish, young outlook on dining, and isn’t actually that expensively-priced – located as is in perhaps the most expensive mall in singapore.

I like it, anyhoo.

bruno’s pizzeria and grill, katong

very good italian family-style trattoria in the food wonder that is katong. we’ve gotten in the habit of prowling katong hunting for new restaurants to try post-dinner, which is how we happened upon bruno’s – and it was a good thing we did.

the food is great – good ingredients, large portions, strong flavors – and the atmosphere of the place is as lovely as you’d want: there’s a certain coziness that comes with the patronage of clearly-regular customers who banter with wait staff and rambunctious children that properly create that rather indescribable something that makes an italian establishment.

la pizzaiola, serangoon

great pizza at below-market prices in this hidden neighborhood in serangoon – incidentally, a good precursor to a couple of waffles at wimbly lu. thin-crusted pizzas with a good amount of toppings – but not so thin you can’t taste the dough – especially good because they know how to let it get to a decent char.

and there’s a decent chocolate cake here – but more on that later.

pizza hut, home-delivery

surprisingly decent caricature of a pizza in the comforts of home. I like my pizzas thin-crusted, laden with good cheese and quality ingredients, and well-worth the extra miles at the gym – which unfortunately means most chain pizzas don’t appeal with their bright-orange cheeses and excessive grease. and while this particular pizza falls closer to the latter description, my family had a decently enjoyable meal – and so it’s well worth sharing.

I may not be a pizza expert, but I am a huge fan of seriouseats and their pizza-commentary – so I’ve been keeping up with pizza hut’s international exploits, of which this cheesy-bites-trio-pizza is one.

extra virgin pizza, novena

just-about-okay pizza at united square – I had high hopes for this place after reading quite a few rave reviews, but it was probably just a tad better than average. I was lured by the promises of tasty ingredients propped atop a well-cooked crust (which led me think this might actually be a convenient alternative to my current-favourite, mozza) and came here with the family – which took a fair bit of manipulative coercing – with our expectations further soaring with the queue and long wait for a table.

but it was a tepid, anticlimatic sort of meal – the pizzas were acceptable, the portions reasonable; but there was a little sticker shock when our order was rung up, and the wait rather too long to encourage repeat visits.

pizzeria mozza, town

great pizza joint at the marina bay sands. so I’ve been here before and also written a post – but removed it because I wasn’t happy with the photos – so I made such a huge sacrifice in coming back here again just so I can share nice photos with you. ok, so maybe it wasn’t such a huge sacrifice. I really really like this place, and sometimes I start daydreaming about the pizza here.

franco manca, london

amazing pizza down in chiswick. so I’m throwing my reviews into the lot all over the london blogosphere, and I’m in the crowd that really likes this place. good crust, interesting toppings, and a nice place to sit and have a chat from friends.

there are limited options on the menu here, and with a group of 5 or 6, you’ll very easily try the entire menu if you get everything to share. I don’t distinctly remember what we had, but it was mostly good, with good crusts and tasty toppings. there also are two specials on the board, so be sure to ask if they don’t tell you.

I just have two things to say in particular: