Lunch with the gang...so to speak...its been a while since we last managed to get together...and this time round, the gang is still missing Larry the Foodie. But we rode that day anyday...um, figuratively. And decended on La Nonna.
La Nonna now occupies the space vacated by sister restaurant Spizza. I am quite a fan of Spizza and also their upmarket fine dining cousin Senso. Superb Italian restaurants. I frequent the Spizza outlet in Balmoral, and this time, we thought of trying out La Nonna since they now have a lunch promotion of 50% off their a la carte menu...super value, methinks.
Starters was the La Nonna house pizza.
Mycroft immediately pronounced this as a winner. "Superb", he exclaimed, as he so often is able to underscore his emotions...this is a man famous for accidentally buying a watch, because his credit card flew out of his wallet. The crust was a thinly made pastry...very nicely browned, and crisped in the oven. I don't know if they have the traditional wood fired al forno, but it was excellent. Beautiful crust, lovely ingredients. I would have personally preferred the pastry to have a slight spongy edge, but that's me...and the La Nonna house special is quite delish.
Horolographer and JX had the crab and prawn ravioli:
I had a piece to taste. Pungent, spicy sauce. Tomato based, of course...the ravioli was just a tad below al dente, and the stuffing was quite tasty crab and I suppose lobster...within the ravioli, I couldn't really distinguish one from the other. But this is a nice ravioli.
Mycroft had the oxtail pasta.
With imaginings of grandeur chunks of oxtail wading on a bed of pasta...but this was not to be. The oxtail were shredded...possibly cooked till super tender, then pulled, and cooked again in braising liquid till almost paste like - the sinews in smitherins, the fat even distributed in the sauce. I can imagine this to be a wonderful, savoury, umami sauce...embracing, luxuriating over the pasta. I didn't taste it, so am not able to offer anything other than the imagined.
I had the rack of lamb. I ordered it medium rare, but charred outside...as I always do for my red meats:
The rack was a sight for sore eyes. Superb. No supreme. The insides were cooked perfect medium rare. Beautiful! Bellisimmo!
The lamb was very good. Ultra tender...flavourful, but not overpowering. The outside was slightly darkened by the attempted charring, and retained some flavours from the charcoal grill, but not quite as charred as I would have liked. But overall, this lamb is excellent. Deserves, no demands a revisit.
For desserts, they all ordered the tiramisu
de rigeur, methots. Mycroft thought there was no alcohol in the tiramisu. JX, thought he tasted some...and spent some time expounding how the tiramisu was made.
I ordered the panna cota:
Home made...the waiter advised...and I am impressed by that. But the dessert, when it arrived, was nothing to write grandma about (btw, La Nonna means Grandman in Italian). It was good...but at best above average.
So this was a rather pleasant lunch. Service was prompt, and reasonably good. Food is rather excellent. And the 50% off is a real treat.
La Nonna Holland Village
26 Lorong Mambong Holland Village - 6468 1982
Open Daily 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10:30pm
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