Wednesday, December 02, 2009

La Braceria Pizza and Grill, Greendale Avenue


La Braceria (5 Greendale Avenue, tel : +65 6465 5918), formerly located at the time capsule of Ban Guan Park near 6th Avenue is now literally around the corner from Greenwood Avenue. I hadn't realised that this current location was actually so close to the cluster of restaurants at Greenwood. And that someone I used to be acquainted with lives just above the restaurant.



Dinner started with a serving of an aromatically smoked scamoza cheese with parma ham and their trippa alla Fiorentina which is essentially a beef tripe stew in a tomato based broth with herbs. The latter dish appeared very different from what I had previously where it appeared more like a soup with pieces of tripe swimming in the broth. This time round, there wasn't much in the way of broth and it was actually more of a sauce in a bowl laden with very generous portions of the soft stewed tripe. I hadn't expected the portions to be so huge, making me regret asking for extra portions of bread while waiting for the food to arrive. But, I am definitely not complaining.



Both the house pasta, which was orecchlette with sausages and broccoli and the porcini risotto came in hearty portions as well. The decision of stuffing more bread earlier sunk heavier as they arrived. The former pasta which was done in a light but robust flavored sauce of what tasted to be meat and cheese was decent, albeit a little undercooked to be even al dente. The bits of meat tasted exactly like the sausages with fennel seeds that I had previously. Hearty, but the fennel wasn't something that I normally enjoy much.

This risotto was definitely well done as it struck an excellent balance between the taste of the poricini mushrooms and the truffle oil that perfumed the creamy reduction on the rice. Must make a mental note of this being one of the enjoyable risottos that I've had around.

The location was a little remote, but in the evening, had exuded a kind of charm which I found appealing in the quiet little corner relatively unrustled, mostly, by the noise of traffic. And with pizza bianca options on the menu, I'll definitely be looking forward to coming back.

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