The space that was once occupied by Shangri-La Confectionery & Delicatessen has now been taken over by their third generation. 🍞 I loved how the new owners were able to breathe new life into the neighbourhood by transforming the traditional bakery into a warm and cosy cafe, whilst retaining its rustic charm. 🍂

☕️ We had the White - 7oz ($6) and Hot Mocha ($6.5) — both were full-bodied, smooth and easy to drink.

The friendly owners even offered us a complimentary cup of Coffee Jelly ($2.8). The refreshing espresso jelly paired well with the sweet & creamy milk drizzled over it. 🍮

Definitely a spot I would hit up for a nice cuppa if I’m in the vicinity. 🌟

Let me start of by saying that: this picture does not do the burger any justice at all. 😅

🍔 We had the Magic Truffle Mushroom Burger ($16.9) + Beef Patty ($4.9). Not cheap, but well worth every bite.

Let me take you through the layers: Slightly crispy, but very fluffy toasted Brioche buns + Thick and Juicy Beef Patty + Grilled Portobello Mushroom slathered with melted Mozzarella cheese and wonderfully aromatic Truffle Aioli + Sweet, buttery Caramelised Onions + Fresh Tomatoes & Lettuce. 🤤

This is exactly how I envision my perfect burger to be. 🤩💯 No pickles, Ketchup, BBQ sauce or any of that BS. (I firmly believe that none of these belong on a burger! 🤢🤮) Slightly steep pricing, but it is worth the occasional splurge for a perfect burger.👌🏼

🍝 We had the Carbonara Chitarra ($24++). The thick and flavourful sauce consisted of: truffle cream (YUM), sous vide egg, parmesan and prosciutto crumble. It was simple yet delectable and it wasn’t as jelak as we thought it would be.

🤬 HOWEVER, there were only 3 miserably tiny (and I mean REEEALLY tiny— like barely the size of a pea kinda tiny LOL) pieces of “prosciutto crumble”. I’m sorry, prosciutto, who? 🧐🔍

For $24, that’s really pathetic. It was basically pasta + 3 pea-sized pieces of prosciutto crumble. (Okay, we used the Burpple Beyond deal, but we still paid an average of $17 per plate of pasta) So... 🥵 not cool man. I suspect that if you use Burpple Beyond, it’s actually reflected on the chef’s order chit, hence the portioning.

🍝 We had the Beef Short Rib Fettuccine ($29++). The al dente pasta had a nice bite to it and was well-coated with the flavourful sauce. I also liked how generous they were with their ingredients, although it did get a tad too cloying & salty towards the end (might have been the cheese 🧀).

Overall, this was a pretty damn good plate of pasta. HOWEVER, for $29++ (~$34), the portion is really small... 🥵 But with Burpple Beyond it was still okay I guess (~$17 for each plate after GST & service charge).

Found a lovely spot to chill on a Saturday afternoon. 🌱

Coffee was decent, I had the Hot Mocha ($5+). ☕️ The Macarons ($3.5+ each) were nice too. We had the Rose Petal & Pistachio Macarons and they were delightful.

The Burpple set was pretty worth it: 1-for-1 Specialty Coffee + Macaron. 🤗 But without it, the macarons are REALLY PRICEY ($3.5+ per piece 😱)

Lovely place to chill and hangout with friends after dinner! 🌟

🧇 The buttermilk waffles were really fragrant (without being too jelak) and it had the perfect texture — lightly crisp on the outside & fluffy on the inside.

🍨 There was a good selection of Gelato as well and we chose the Dark Chocolate and Mocha Biscotti Chips to go with our waffles.

Really appreciated how on-the-ground and friendly the owner was — seeing that there were 3 of us, he thoughtfully offered to split the waffles into 3 plates. Throughout the night, he also took the initiative to check in on the patrons and ensured that everything was going well. Keep up the great work & wonderful service! ✨

I would say that I’m a pretty adventurous eater, but these Ribena Wings ($9.9) were... A little too funky for my liking. 🥴
Sweet-savoury dishes can easily go from a harmonious union of two distinct flavour profiles that complement one another — to a disaster of overwhelming saccharine-sweetness. Unfortunately, their Ribena wings fell under the latter.
The Ribena did not enhance the flavour of the wings in any way. On the contrary, we found ourselves trying our very best to avoid the sweet blackcurrant syrup. 🥵
Interesting idea but not something I will order again.
(Suggestion: introduce a tangy/ acidic element to neutralise the syrupy-sweetness + add garlic/onion to bring another dimension to the dish)

🍝Mad About Pasta Tasting Menu ($32++)🍝
(1 Appetiser + 3 Pastas + 1 Dessert)

• Rigatoni Oxtail in Tiger beer and Black Pepper sauce, Arugula •

This was definitely the star of the show, the pièce de résistance! 🏆🌟 (Okay, I’m being overly dramatic.) But if you LOOOVE beef tendon/ oxtail stews as much I do, this amazing bowl of pasta is right up your alley.
The sauce is rich, flavourful and THICCC AF, I couldn’t get enough of it! And the oxtail is so deliciously tender, it just MELTS. IN. YOUR. MOUTH. 🤤
Well, this is it. This IS the dish I’m going back to LINO Pizza & Pasta Bar for. 😋
P.S. This is the tasting portion (50g). The full size pasta is available for $19.5++

🍝Mad About Pasta Tasting Menu ($32++)🍝
(1 Appetiser + 3 Pastas + 1 Dessert)

• Penne, spicy tomato sauce, pancetta, Italian sausage •

Not a fan of tomato-based pastas (so I won’t comment much), but this was decent and I polished off my plate. 😋 — So... I guess that says a lot!

🍝Mad About Pasta Tasting Menu ($32++)🍝
(1 Appetiser + 3 Pastas + 1 Dessert)

• Cold Angel Hair Pasta with Yuzu, Salted Seaweed and Ikura •
So let me start by saying: I really DO NOT like yuzu, what more in an item that’s supposed to be savoury. So I was pleasantly surprised by how they were able to incorporate the yuzu into the pasta without making it overwhelmingly tart and citrusy. 🍊
Honestly, the seaweed didn’t do much for me (except for a little of contrast in colours cos ~aesthetics~). BUT the ikura were like little flavour bombs, giving the Angel hair pasta a nice ocean-y taste 🌊

🍝 Their Truffle Bacon Mushroom Farfelle ($17) was hearty and comforting. I loved the texture of the Farfelle and they’re really generous with their ingredients! 👍🏼
🍖 The Honey BBQ Babyback Ribs ($22) was great too! Fall-off-the-bone: CHECK✔️ Fork-tender: CHECK✔️ Well-seasoned: CHECK✔️
Thanks to Burpple Beyond, we paid 22 NETT in total for two mains. 🤩 So. Worth. It.
I’ll definitely come back to try the other mains! 🤗

Large Hot Mocha ($6.5++)
✔️Wi-Fi
✔️Charging points
But it can get pretty busy in the afternoon, so avoid hogging seats!