An impromptu decision to head down to da Mario's (60 Robertson Quay, #01-10 The Quayside, tel: 6235 7623). The case with a place that got media attention was that it inadvertently got inside your head once in a while.
This restaurant turned out to be quite good. Nice food, reasonable pricing and attentive service. All checked. I was encouraged to seriously consider returning soon. I was also a little amused at seeing my name on the reservation tag on my table. We decided on some of the chef's creations since it was a likely indicator of how we'd like the place. We started with their insalata Mario, followed by a pizza that went by dolce vita, their capellini regina and a tiramisu.
I had intended go light for a starter and I didn't expect the salad to be a warm one. This was a bunch of sautéed button mushrooms, sliced garlic, black olives and sun dried tomatoes on a bed of semi wilted greens, cherry tomatoes and some mozzarella cheese. And a healthy sprinkle of black pepper. Turned out to be quite enjoyable. The portions were rather generous as well.
Pizza bianca excludes the use of tomato for the base. It's probably not so common here (still). Back on track, their dolce vita was one of a few pizza biancas available. I found myself liking this particular pie of theirs quite a bit. For starters the toppings of the spinach and Gorgonzola were more pronounced compared to a tomato based variety. I suppose I feel that tomato tends to murk the flavours a little. The crust wasn't the thinnest I've had, but I'm sure it's not about having the thinnest crust here.
The picture above was a half portion of the pasta. da Mario's cappelini regina was another rendition of crab meat pastas which seem to be everywhere lately. The crab they used came in small chunks instead of the finely minced ones. This was on top of button mushrooms, artichoke hearts and some spicy garlic/white wine sauce. The spiciness had a kick but wasn't overwhelming. Not detecting any sweetness from the crab though. It's probably difficult to tell with the heat. In the end I prefer this crab pasta over the one at La Strada.
To quell our curiosity on their tiramisu, we decided that we'd just have to try it. It was okay. Not something that I'll be looking forward to again. I found the sponge fingers a little dry. I've had better for sure. Like the one from Da Paolo.
This restaurant turned out to be quite good. Nice food, reasonable pricing and attentive service. All checked. I was encouraged to seriously consider returning soon. I was also a little amused at seeing my name on the reservation tag on my table. We decided on some of the chef's creations since it was a likely indicator of how we'd like the place. We started with their insalata Mario, followed by a pizza that went by dolce vita, their capellini regina and a tiramisu.
I had intended go light for a starter and I didn't expect the salad to be a warm one. This was a bunch of sautéed button mushrooms, sliced garlic, black olives and sun dried tomatoes on a bed of semi wilted greens, cherry tomatoes and some mozzarella cheese. And a healthy sprinkle of black pepper. Turned out to be quite enjoyable. The portions were rather generous as well.
Pizza bianca excludes the use of tomato for the base. It's probably not so common here (still). Back on track, their dolce vita was one of a few pizza biancas available. I found myself liking this particular pie of theirs quite a bit. For starters the toppings of the spinach and Gorgonzola were more pronounced compared to a tomato based variety. I suppose I feel that tomato tends to murk the flavours a little. The crust wasn't the thinnest I've had, but I'm sure it's not about having the thinnest crust here.
The picture above was a half portion of the pasta. da Mario's cappelini regina was another rendition of crab meat pastas which seem to be everywhere lately. The crab they used came in small chunks instead of the finely minced ones. This was on top of button mushrooms, artichoke hearts and some spicy garlic/white wine sauce. The spiciness had a kick but wasn't overwhelming. Not detecting any sweetness from the crab though. It's probably difficult to tell with the heat. In the end I prefer this crab pasta over the one at La Strada.
To quell our curiosity on their tiramisu, we decided that we'd just have to try it. It was okay. Not something that I'll be looking forward to again. I found the sponge fingers a little dry. I've had better for sure. Like the one from Da Paolo.
5 comments:
Was the capellini done al dente?
Hi ice,
yes it was.
i tried the other signature dessert they had (sorry forgot what it's called), something with almond and pistachio, and i thought that was great, unusual too.
I noticed that dessert too and I was actually contemplating between that and the tiramisu. I'll probably give that a try the next time.
Is that gelato? I tried their pistachio & vanilla gelato before. They weren't good. At least it was a consensus all round the table.
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