Sage The Restaurant Part 2

Having had an excellent meal at Sage's previously, my gf has kindly agreed to bring me back to celebrate my birthday this year. Now, i missed this place tremendously after my last and first visit and was all pumped up to have another excellent meal here. However, this time, we chose lunch so that we could have a more budget experience. Also, another update on this place is that they've moved to a different address as below:

Address: No. 7 Mohamed Sultan Road Singapore 238957

Contact: 6333 8726

Website: http://www.sagerestaurants.com.sg/index.php

Price Range: $70-80 per head

Brighter Interiors

Complimentary Bread

Another look

Da Mario

Found along a stretch of restaurants and bars along the quayside is this quaint little restaurant run by none other then Chef Mario himself. With a mission statement of bringing authentic italian cuisine to your table without the need to buy an air ticket, Da Mario brings with it plenty of expectations to fulfill.

Address: #01-05/06 The Quayside, 60 Robertson Quay

Contact: 62357623

Website: http://www.damariopizzeria.com/home.html

Price Range: $30 - 40 per head

Da Mario Pizzeria Ristorante Bar

Stylish Semi Interior

Simple al fresco dining is the call of the day. Although there is an interior section, its open ended with no glass doors nor walls impeding its interaction with the outer atmosphere. Seating capacity is approximately suitable for up to 30 patrons. Given the fact that the restaurant is run by only Chef Mario and his assistant, the waiting time can stretch depending on the crowd during your visit.

Calamari ($32 for 2)

The calamari, i found, was a cut above the rest. Although the batter was thick, it was sprinkled with salt and pepper for added taste. The batter is thick but crispy. I found the price for this rather steep though.

Bruschetta Al Pomodoro ($9)

Da Mario's rendition is overly oily and a little too small for my tastes. It retains much of the intended flavor but doesn't manage to impress.

Portobello Gratinato ($18)

This is worth a try. Topped with sun dried tomatoes, olives and a sprinkling of cheese. The huge portebello mushroom tastes balanced, succelent and appetising.

Capellini Regina ($20)

The Regina is essentially angel hair pasta with seafood and prawns with pinches of basil. It wasn't bad per se but came across as overly oily and had a strong resemblance to "fried bee hoon" from normal zhi ca stalls regretably.

Stuff i didn't try

Tortelli ($18)

Had a small sampling of this and i felt that the ravioli is a tad too thick for my liking, making it more chewy than usual. The filling of crab meat wasn't exactly generous either.

Omega 3 Pizza ($18)

Having tried smoked salmon pizza at Restaurant de Parma, i was quite honestly wary of this version having the same fishy taste. My worries were laid to rest after the first bite however, the salmon was possibly a little more cooked then De Parma's version which managed to rid it of any unsavory tastes while the thin crusted pizza, though charred in places, complemented the delicious fish. My vote for the better salmon pizza here.

Seafood Cartoccio ($22)

My order, which i declare as the most worthwhile order of the day. Cartoccio,which means the food is wrapped in paper, baked and then served piping hot. If you're not a tomato lover, this might not appeal to you since its tomato based and everything is literally soaked in it. Generous helpings of clams, mussels and prawns adorn the dish while the pasta is chewy and al dente.

Tiramisu ($7)

An average tasting Tiramisu with overly soft mascarpone cheese and not enough alcohol. It resembled a cake more with its generous portion size and would have faired better being called a cake.

Bill

The bill came up to $313.50 or $35 per head for this meal.

Overall score: 6.5/10

Last word:
High expectations? Definitely. And Da Mario does live up to some while missing at others, the end result is a mixed bag and i don't blame him. Regardless of what he does, he's using ingredients found in Singapore and thus, freshness and authenticity is likely compromised. Still, its an affordable little joint that can be visited for its Cartoccio.

Ristorante De Parma

Seragoon gardens is a place i've worked at for about 2 years and i'm ashamed to say, i've never tried anything here apart from the fish bee hoon from the hawker centre, Pow Sing chicken rice, Jumbo restaurant and Mcdonald's. So now that i'm revisiting the place as an outsider, its quite interesting that there's so many places i've yet to try. Ristorante De Parma happens to be one of them and i had to pay it a visit after a friend gave me a nice discount voucher to play around with.

Location: 14B Kensington Park Road

Contact: 6280 1096

Price Range: $30-50 per head

Cozy interior

Located along the same stretch of shophouses as Icecube and Frolic, this unassuming and quiet restaurant is located all the way to the far end of that stretch. Its difficult to miss with its soft ambient music and overall soft demenour. Classy table setting and warm lighting embrace the patrons who venture forth while unintrusive service makes the meal pleasant and relaxing.

Complimentary Bread (Foccacia)

The focaccia is served first to quench the hunger of waiting for the fresh pizza to be served. I suppose its a 1 piece per person serving since there were only 3 pieces. We were, however, delighted when a second serving was provided when the first was exhausted. Taste wise, the upside is that the bread is fluffy and warm while the downside was how dry the bread really is. The olive oil and vinegar combination helped somewhat, but not enough.

Lemon tea ($5.80)

At the time, i didn't notice the cost of this but now as i'm writing this. 2 lemon teas cost us $11.80 ++ ???? Overpriced most definitely covers what i feel about this order. Its normal home brewed lemon tea with sugar syrup and no, its not justified in terms of cost no matter how it tastes.

Pizza Margherita ($16.90)

Tomatoes, mozeralla cheese, basil and dough. Simplicity can sometimes be the best option, even when it comes to food. The crust is paper thin and charred at some areas but otherwise fragrant and light. The toppings blend perfectly to provide a moist and juicy layer of bliss. Very enjoyable even though its one of the most economical items on the menu.

Deparma's Smoked Salmon Pizza ($28.90)

Introduced by FZ as one of the must try pizzas in this outfit, i have to say, i'm not too impressed.
Suffice to say, ordering an item not on the menu is an interesting change, the price of this is once again, like the lemon tea, bordering on ridiculous. The paper thin pizza is still a wonderful idea but the salmon has an obvious fishy smell about it that really detracts from the experience. Although i like the combination of peppers, raw salmon and what i suspect to be mayonnaise, the pizza was cold when served and didn't appeal to me much further.

Tiramisu ($12.90)

Thankfully, the meal ended with a bang with this lovely dessert. I'd go so far as to say its one of the best tiramisu's i've had in Singapore. A balanced mix of mascarpone cheese and sponge without the overarching wetness of alcohol even though it lingers in each bite. Nicely done.

Bill

The bill came up to a whooping $91.52 before discount from the voucher. Which reduces it to about $60++. Judging from the sheer amount and variety of food, its still a rather steep price to pay.

Ambiance: 7.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Food: 7.5/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall score: 6.5/10 (7/10 for Margherita and Tiramisu)

Last word:
The food is great when it works. And honestly, shrug off the salmon pizza, pop in another hot pizza and i'll be singing praises of this place as my favorite Italian restaurant. Still, factor the price and its around the same league as Spizza in my books. Although it does much better then Spizza in many respects. As of now, i still prefer to frequent il piccolo simply because, being financially challenged is the order of the day nowadays.

Porta Porta (Changi)

Was introduced to this place by my colleagues and was there for a celebration for "da boss" on this weekday noon. Porta Porta apparently has 2 outlets, one in Changi and the other in Stanley Street, we went to the Changi branch since it was nearer to our office. Its location is somewhat obscure and according to a friend, the buildings have already been enbloc so i'm not too sure about the fate of this restaurant as of now. The following is a rather late post of my previous visit there and my thoughts on the food.

Location: 971 Upper Changi Road North

Contact: 65453108

Price range: $35-45 per head

Despite the rather lacklustre appearance of the shop front, this restaurant exudes a laid back and quiet charm which is easy to like. Cozy sofas adorn the 2nd level and simple tables in a soft lit dining level. All this gives it a rustic and homely feeling which is both comfortable and relaxing.

Bruschetta

This was served hot and straight out of the oven. Its a little different then the usual bruschetta in that the tomato is not chopped and served as a whole slice on top of the focacia bread. This results in a squishy texture and might not be for everybody since you really need to like tomatoes to enjoy this. For me, i prefer the diced tomatoes version.

Complementary bread with Olive Oil and Vinaigrette

Simple, serviceable and nothing extraordinary. The only thing worth mentioning is the dip which is still an appetising treat with its sourish and saltish taste.

Tomato and Crab Meat Pasta

Despite the small portion size, this was nicely done. I liked the strong crab taste and tomato combination and the pasta was done al dente. The problem with this is that the tomatoes were watery and thus resulted in a visually less appetising presentation.

Lasagne

Spinach Pasta (?)

Grilled Chicken with Herbs

Leaving the rest of the above out as i didn't really get to try them. Enjoy the pictures.

Calamari

The calamari is probably the best thing i had at the restaurant that day. It was lightly battered and retained most of its springy texture without the overwhelming taste of batter. The batter itself is rather salty but went well with the calamari which is lightly sweet.

Tiramisu

This was.....average at best. There was too much cream and not enough cake. Also, instead of a chocolatey taste, it had a strange strawberry-like taste instead and there was no rum.

Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 6.5/10
Food: 6/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall Score: 6/10 (not an average)

Last word:
I can't quite confirm if the restaurant is certified halal but my Malay colleagues were able to enjoy the food without worry. I can thus say safely that our Malay compatroits should be able to enjoy the food here without incident. Service is good and the ambiance is decent but the food and value for money-wise could do better for me. Overall, still an enjoyable meal but i'd not bet on it being a hit with everybody.