Modesto's, Orchard Parade Hotel

I have mixed feelings about Modesto's. After eating here, I'm not sure if it's a place which I liked or not. Probably have to come back again since the selection on the menu was large and there were some items which I found compelling. Hindsight impressed on me that the food wasn't all that great. I was thinking that certain things could have been done better. The service however was friendly and great despite the bustling crowd and agonizing waiting time. Over the course of an hour of wait for the food, the waiting staff had without prompt walked over to reassure that the food is in order and that they're doing their best for a busy Friday evening.

Bread served was pretty bad. Tasted like a dry herb focaccia which didn't taste fresh. Needed generous dips of olive oil and vinegar despite being hungry and having to go through a long wait for the food to arrive.

The starter of the antipasto italiano wasn't what I had expected. While quite palatable, the food felt limp. The grilled vegetables were a tad too cold, Mozzarella cheese felt crumbly from the caprese and there was noticeably little Parma ham that draped on the rock melons. 

The calamari fritti was second starter. Maybe because I like soggy fries, I had no complains with the soft batter that coated the squids which was actually quite enjoyable with the chew.

Was mulling over a few of the pastas and eventually ended up with the ravioloni di pesce al pomodoro.  Its fillings of supposed minced prawn and crab meat turned out to be quite disappointing. There was some creamy 'things' in the filling where neither the prawn nor crab were barely discernible. Whatever little of it was drowned out in the tomato sauce. The portions and doneness of the ravioli was good and if the stuffings were better, it might have actually been enjoyable.