We had a visitor from New Zealand and so decided that an introductory trip to the Singaporean’s favourite dish – Chilli Crab was in due. A friend suggested Jumbo seafood restaurant so off we went. We patronised the branch at Dempsey, seeing this as a wonderful opportunity to introduce this part of Singapore to our guest as well.

Personally, I’ve never been to Jumbo, and so was taken aback to see so many customers that weekday night. Indeed, the restaurant was packed! My hopes at finding good food that night was elevated. We went for a set dinner package for 4 people, so that we could try a variety of things. We were not disappointed. Here are some of the dishes we ordered.

The mixed platter, featuring seasoned jelly fish, braised duck with cucumber and mango salad, seafood rolls and fried special beancurd was a good start to our meal. The jelly fish was tangy and spicy, whetting our appetite.

Next up, steamed drunken prawns. They were so sweet and succulent! Absolutely lovely.

We had to have some vegetables for a balanced meal and this was surprisingly good. A common dish, but nicely done.

The chilli crab was the highlight of our dinner. It was the very reason why we were even there in the first place! The crab was fresh, succulent and sweet. The chilli gravy really complemented the crabs well. Served with fried and steamed mantou buns, these were really fulfilling.

Location: Jumbo Seafood, Blk 11 Dempsey Road #01-16

Ristorante Da Valentino serves authentic Italian Cuisine. The restaurant is run by an Italian family and they’re good at it. Very good at it. It is one of those fairly cosy establishments that makes you leave with not just a warmth in your stomach, but also a warmth in your heart. Of the couple of times I have been there, the service has always been impeccable. One of my friends, M, absolutely goes gaga over the food whenever we go there. Here’s an idea of the things we like to order.

This mozzarella cheese is an absolute favourite among us. It is different from the usual Caprese that most Italian restaurants serve. This is hand braided buffalo mozzarella, freshly imported from Naples, Italy. The taste is fantastic, if you are a cheese fan, of course.

This antipasti is very appetising and really whets your appetite. The vongole is fresh, sweet and succulent. The white wine tomato sauce complements the vongole totally.

This is one of our house favourites. The squid ink crab meat pasta. I don’t recall a time at the restaurant when this was not one of our orders. If you enjoy seafood pasta, you have got to try this. The handmade squid ink pasta retains some resistance when you bite into it. Flavoured by the chunky crab meat in a tomato based seafood sauce, the taste is heavenly. Enough said.

This was one of their specials of the day and so we decided to try it. The pasta tasted typical, but the meatballs were really good.

How can we forget their wood fired pizzas? This one has a thin and crisp crust. The fillings were rich but accompanied with the rucola and freshly shaved parmesan, the taste was delightful. J had many slices of this.

Check out the restaurant at 11 Jalan Bingka, Mayfair Park.

J and I decided to try out the new pizzeria – Pane’s Pizza, near our house today. He went down to buy some while I prepared some soup for us. I wasn’t expecting much from a neighbourhood pizzeria actually; I was just looking to fill my hungry tummy. J came back rather excitedly, however, and started to rave about the pizzeria (before we even started eating). He spoke of how they used top quality ingredients, such as mozarella cheese and parma ham imported from Italy. In fact, the staff shaved the leg of parma ham in front of him. He bought a 10-inch pizza – Pane’s Pizza, their specialty for $17. It was basically fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil and Italian Parma ham topped on a tomato based crust. The crust was thin and slightly crispy, unlike the bready ones that most pizzerias here serve. We really enjoyed it.

J also bought a small rectangular slice of Pepperoni pizza to try. That too, was delicious. The pepperoni and cheese was topped over a flavourful tomato based crust. The crust was more crispy that the earlier pizza that we tried.

Address: Blk 164 Bukit Batok Street 11, #01-152 (Near the market, beside Guardian Pharmacy)

I had wanted to try this place out after hearing some raving reviews from one of my colleagues. Since it was mom’s birthday, coupled with the fact that she loves Japanese food, what better place to go?

We went for their Ala Carte Buffet, which comes with free-flow of drinks. The main highlight for us that it was free flow of sashimi as well. Yes… free flow. And the variety was truly worth the value of the buffet. They served up the typical Salmon sashimi, but also served Hamachi (yellow-tail), Tai (Sea bream), Tako (Octopus) and Ama Ebi (sweet prawn). The sashimi was fresh and sweet. It was truly mouth-watering.

We tried their tempura, which was lovely as the prawns used were very fresh, and also their grilled Sanma Shio. The fish was grilled to perfection, with just a pinch of salt so that one can taste its natural sweetness. J couldn’t stop raving about this.

Their softshell crab was a tat bit puny though, but still delicious. We tried a variety of sushi and handrolls, and were impressed with their california maki and unagi handroll. Personally though, I would give their chawanmushi a skip. When dinner’s almost done, we washed everything down with a serving of their clear and tangy teapot soup. Dessert was homemade macha ice-cream and grape sorbet.

A truly contenting meal.

Location: Keppel Club, Level 1
Price: $38++ for non members
Buffet availability: Saturday and Sunday (Lunch and dinner), Monday (Dinner only)