A little bit of history, Modesto’s has been around in Singapore for more than a decade. Of which I think the flagship outlet was at Orchard Parade Hotel. The Italian restaurant chain was founded by an Italian chef, Modesto Marini, and till date has expanded to 3 outlets in Singapore, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Not too sure about the rest, but I liked the ambiance of this outlet at Vivocity. The interior lighting a was a little bit dim which I thought was nice and cosy. There’s also an al fresco area that just overlooks the harbour and Sentosa. Definitely a nice place to sit down and chill at night. A slight draw back though, would be that it can get rather noisy during the peak hours, and somehow, the aircon was a little chilly that night.

Modestos Dinner Set Menu

After some deliberation, we decided to go for the dinner set for 2. At $48 nett, I thought it was very reasonably priced, with one option from the Appetizer Selection, two main course, and one dessert.

Bread with Olive Oil & Vinaigrette

We started off with some homemade bread with olive oil and vinaigrette. Though the bread was quite soft and sparse, but I thought it would be much better if the outer layer was a little crisp. Then again maybe its because of our “extended” photo taking session.

Insalata Alla Cesare - Cesar Salad

Next for appetizers we had the Insalata Alla Cesare or rather simply known as Cesar Salad. The plate was filled with lots of fresh green lettuce, topped with thinly sliced cheese, croutons, n bacon bits. The salad dressing used was sorta creamy, with a slight yet distinct garlic taste.

Regular Pizza Gamberetti - Tomato, Cheese n Lemon Marinated Shrimps

Next up was the Pizza Gamberett and Spaghetti Allla Carbonara. The pizza caught my attention because the description said it consists of lemon marinated shrimps. Of which the lemon part made it sound quite refreshing. To be honest, I think I could only taste a hint of lemon within the shrimps, and also I think the cheese had some lemon juice in it too. Very slight though. The crust was really thin, light, and crispy. I for one, wouldn’t even consider Pizza Hut after tasting this.

Spaghetti Allla Carbonara

The memory that’s left within me of the spaghetti is rather vague, but I think the done-ness was pretty Al Dante style. The sauce wasn’t too creamy either. Relatively speaking, I think the spaghetti here can take on Prego’s, hands down anytime.

Tiramisu Modestos

Last but not least, my beloved Italian dessert. I really really loved this one a lot. The cheese was very light and yet not too sweet, while the lady’s finger inside was generously soaked with aromatic espresso, and coffee liquor. If you love Tiramisu, then the one at Modesto’s cannot be missed out.

If you’re in the vicinity of Vivocity and craving for some Italian cuisine, then Modesto’s is definitely the place to go. Do check out credit card promotions and the lunch / dinner sets available which are generally quite value for money.

Modesto’s @ Vivo
1 HarbourFront Walk #01-166/167 VivoCity
Open daily from 12:00pm – 10:00pm
Tel: 6376 9808
Website: www.modestos.com.sg

An Italian song that talks about love, pizzas, pastas, and what they have in common. Enjoy~

When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore…
“That’s Amore” by Dean Martin

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Tucked away in the basement of Takashimaya , is an Italian Bistro like setting called “Ambush”. Basically what it is is a simple shop front where you place your order, and a seating area (kinda small) at the back while the kitchen has a transparent window. Its like an open concept situated in the middle of the basement area within Takashimaya.

From the looks, it would seem like its an eat and go kinda place, where the business model is more for the Takashimaya shoppers to take a break. I for one wouldn’t have thought that they would serve decent, if not very good Italian spaghetti there!

Both my friend and I ordered a main course, and an addition of about $4.50 for a soup OR desert.

The soup of the day was cream of mushroom. One of my personal favourites. The soup is definitely homemade. Unlike many bistros these days, Ambush doesn’t use those instant can or packet soup mix. You can taste the broth with lotsa diced up shitake mushrooms inside.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

I’m a sucker for cream soup, hence I thought it was really good. Though my friend thought that the soup was a little bit too creamy. So I guess its an individual’s preference.

For appetizers we had the “Queen’s Scallops”, its basically baked scallops (with the shells) with some herbs on the top. Pretty decent with 6 shells on one plate. Don’t expect some fine dining type of quality cooking, but for about $12 per plate of 6, I think the pricing may be a little on the high side as well. Unless you are a seafood fanatic, you may want to skip this and try other types of appetizers.

Queen Scallops

My friend then ordered the Prawn Linguine with Arriabiata Sauce. Basically its tomato based type of linguine with a generous amount of big succulent prawns. The prawns were quite fresh and were very chewy. The tomato based sauce wasn’t too “tomatoey” and you can taste some garlic and other herbs within. For me, I’m more of a “creamy” person, but I think its still ok. The noodles though were cook to perfection, not soggy, and the chewyness was just right.

Prawn Linguine with Arriabiata Sauce

For me, I ordered the Scallop with Fresh Roe Linguine. Hmm firstly the base was kinda like those white creamy sauce, with a generous serving of fresh scallops (different type from the appetizer we had earlier on), and lots of fish roe sprinkled on top. The gravy was just right to me, not too creamy, being able to taste some herbs. So far, I think its one of the best Cream based pasta that I’ve tasted in Singapore. The ingredients used were very fresh too.

Scallop with fresh Roe Sauce

I think both pastas were value for money. They were roughly about $12-$14 per dish, and even so, the amount of ingredients added were in abundance.

For dessert, we tried the apple crumble. Nothing super fanciful, but it tasted home made, not those factory mass produced type. The apples inside were fresh too.

In terms of pricing and food quality, the only other place that can match this would probably be Creations at Shaw Tower. Taking the price and food quality served, I think this can easily beat fine dining restaurants like Prego’s, hands down.

Highly recommended for pasta lovers!

Ambush (Takashimaya)

Ambush
391B Orchard Road,
#B2-04-2-1 Ngee Ann City Tower B,
Singapore 238874
www.ambush.com.sg

Esse nufesso qui dice male di pasta…

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