Porta Porta Italian Restaurant

A well-executed squid ink pasta, the squid was cut into too small pieces to enjoy properly tho. Taste was quintessential, not the seafood base type that's very good as well. It's quite oily though

The focaccia was average but the ingenuity comes from the aubergines. It's baked with balsamic and has all the sour notes yet comes with a fuller body.

I've never been a fan of balsamic vinegar+ olive oil cos I feel the dip lacks body but boy was I blown away by this. Certainly an upgrade over tradition, and that's something that's incredibly rare

Must try in my eyes, I'm very biased

Rediscovered an Italian restaurant that had wow-ed me many, many years ago, thanks to the @ourgrandfatherstory video I co-hosted with @cheahwenqi. When the Producer @jialinng mentioned that @portaportaitalianrestaurant was one of the places we would be filming at, the name rang a bell in my head. During the shoot, we got to meet Chef-owner Rosie and I recognised her at once from my visit to Porta Porta when it was at its first location, directly across from Changi Prison. After stuffing my face on a few of her restaurant’s specialities on camera, I vowed to return for a proper meal. So last Sunday, that was where I took my parents for dinner.
As usual, I decided to order us a few dishes to share, so we could try a variety. One of these was the “Tagliatelle Al Nero Di Seppie” which had me and my mum floored with its overwhelming tastiness. Memories of when I last ate this dish of squid ink pasta suddenly flooded back - it was during the early days of the restaurant’s opening and I recalled meeting Rosie‘s now late Italian husband who had come over to chat during our meal. If time has had any bearing on this dish, it’s only for the better because honestly, words fail to describe how helluva spectacular it currently is. I loved the perfect al dente-ness of those eggy ribbons of tagliatelle, and the midnight-black sauce was unbelievably umami. Chef Rosie’s unconventional addition of chilli for spiciness only propelled the pasta to stratospheric deliciousness.
Warning: Eating this leaves you with black lips and teeth. There is no way to avoid that. But trust me, it is worth the weird looks you’ll get when you grin in supreme satisfaction.

Flavorful tender. Dip a chunk of that awesomeness in the tomato based sauce mixed with bone marrow.

Aglio Olio, Sgd 38 for 1.5 portions, one of my fav dishes. This restaurant is around for a Long time and popular with those who are regulars, remember to reserve on Weekends as it is usually fully booked!

Appetizer. $30.90. Big portion