Ristorante De Parma: Tell me, Hungry Really Go Where?
Pizza Bianca $24.90 12 inch (Pizza Night every Tuesday, 10 inch pizza $12.90)
Now, I am sure everyone here knows about the Hungrygowhere website right? Well, I had the opportunity to work with the boys from Hungrygowhere recently on the Heritage Hawkers project. During one of our lunch sessions I casually asked Hoongy the $64K question: "Ay, so tell me, you've been eating at all the best restaurants in Singapore for almost two years, Hungry REALLY Go Where?"
His answer was really quite unexpected. Rather than spewing out the names of some of the really well known restaurants in Singapore, the first restaurant he mentioned was this small little family run Italian Restaurant in Serangoon Gardens.
So since the kids were hankering for pizza, I decided to pay them a visit. Now if you are a parent like me, you really need a handy list of places which you can go for a casual pizza or else you will be doomed to eating at Pizza Hut. I am glad to tell you that here is a place where you can enjoy your gourmet pizza while the kids have their Hawaiian.
Ristorante de Parma pride themselves on using the best ingredients and making everything from scratch. They tell me that their pizza base is made from Italian flour and they make their own pizza sauce from canned Italian tomatoes. The base is nicely crisp at the edges and thin and chewy in the middle, just the way I like it. Best of all the toppings go right to the edge so that when you pay for a 12 inch pizza, you are getting almost 12 inches of topping, not 10. I just wished the Mozarella were thicker and more chewy as I enjoy a Mozza which can give you a masticatory workout at the same time.
We started with the Bianca, which is a light pizza that does not have the tomato based sauce. Instead it is made of three cheeses and topped with semi dried tomatoes which they make themselves. It's a pizza which Ping, the owner, said is popular with a lot of ladies. I should think so, since the guys (such as myself) usually tend to be more carnivarous in nature. 4.25/5
Smoked Salmon Pizza $28.90
Their house specialty is the smoked salmon pizza which is quite unusual. Instead of having the usual thin pizza base, they used a thicker base which has an unique texture which is somewhere between a cracker and a bread. The combination of the base with the tarragon mayonaise, smoked salmon, onions and capers worked really well. Quite unique and definitely not traditional Italian pizza but something worth trying. 4.25/5
Calzone with assorted Mushrooms and Foie Gras
It's amazing how much influence Seinfeld has on this blog. Aside from the concept of the Food Nazi which was derived from the episode "The Soup Nazi", I first learnt about Calzones from the episode "The Calzone" where George again got himself in trouble when he was caught retrieving his tip from the tipping jar. For those who may be unfamiliar with the Calzone, it is basically a pizza which is folded over and then baked. I guess you could think about it as a huge baked curry puff. There was a period of time in the past where I was quite crazy over the Calzone. You've gone through food phases right? The great thing about the Calzone is the fact that the ingredients are cooked inside the crust, so it is still very nice and moist and the natural juices are trapped within the Calzone.
One of the great things about eating here is that, being a family run place, they are quite happy to cater to your requirements. So as I thought about the filling for my Calzone, I wondered if I could replicate the amazing aroma of Porcini Mushrooms and Foie Gras with truffle foam which I came across when I did my stint as a Commis Cook at Aurum. I thought it would be pretty amazing if I could get that aroma coming out of the Calzone when you cut into it.
Well, the first try wasn't quite up to expectation. We lacked an important ingredient that day which was the truffle (or at least the truffle oil). The foie gras with sauteed assorted mushrooms and cheese Calzone was still pretty good. Have to try this again and hopefully they might have some truffle oil next time! 4/5
Pizza Philip (named after a regular Aussie patron
Talking about designing your own pizza, here is one that was introduced by an Aussie patron who ordered it so frequently that Ping decided to add it to their latest menu. This particular pizza had spaghetti and bolognaise sauce on it topped with cheese and ham. OK, Philip might like it, but I think this will be as popular as widgety grubs in Singapore. 3/5
Tiramisu $12.90
For dessert, I highly recommend the Tiramisu which is one of the best ones I have eaten. The cake is overflowing with coffee liquer and they don't stinge on the mascapone cheese.The portion is rather big too. At first, I thought it would be enough for two people, but when you start eating it, I think one portion might not be enough. 4.5/5
Conclusion
Ristorante De Parma is the kind of place I like. It is a family run restaurant passionate about providing good food and small enough to give that personal touch. The basic pizza base and sauce is very good, so it is up to you to choose the toppings that you like. I've got to go back and get that Calzone right. Next time I might get them to do George Costanza's Eggplant Calzone for me.
They are currently having a pizza promotion every Tuesday night where 10 inch pizzas are going for $12.90, which is excellent value.
Check out other reviews at Hungrygowhere here. They have just revamped their menu so there have been some adjustment to their prices.
Ristorante De Parma
14-B Kensington Park Road
Serangoon Garden Estate S557265
62801096, 97633147
Closed on Weds
www.ristorantedeparma.com
21 comments:
i do find the tiramisu a tad too expensive.
Sounds like the perfect place to bring my kids. They can have their Hawaiian while I have the smoked salmon one. Then we can all eat the tiramisu. Oh, I'll bring my bottle of Truffle oil. I bought it at a countryside market in France last year at a steal.
I agree Parma's tiramisu is one of the best I've eaten too. And it's really worth the $12 because the portion is very generous compared to a $12 fine dining portion that many other Italian restaurants serve.
The pizza bianca and calzone look absolutely delicious! :)
I am so trying this when I am back this Dec. In fact, I think most of my meals will be at the spots you recommended. And friends wonder how I keep in touch with the makan scene in Singapore, LOL!
I usually make Tiramisu @ home. If you really made one before, you would know that making one Tiramisu is definitely not cheap. So I would consider this good tasting Tiramisu is reasonably priced. =)
thanks for this review ieat! it's so near my house yet i didn't know it existed! since tmr is tuesday shall give it a try heehee..
Imma big fan of this pasta/pizza chain sprouting in some neighbourhood estates
Been ordering their $12 12inch Hawaiian Pizza religiously.
More so after finding out that I can pre-order my pizza via telefone and pick it up 10/15mins later.
Il Piccolo's the name!
cheap and good ah!
-ber
I luv smoke salmon! & that picture of it sends rumblings through my tummy, especially at 4am. Hope they are opened for lunch & would it be too hopeful if their promotion includes the salmon pizza?? My wife will go for the Bianca & to avoid a fight we will order 2 tiramisu...thanks ieat, great blog! Your site is MY hungrygowhere ref.
Yep. I would rate their Tiramisu better than Da Paolo's which I tried over the weekend.
You can try their soups as well - I would recommend the Minestrone alla Genovese, which for $6.90 is very worth it! Their version was intense in flavours from the herbs, yet light on the palate - you got to try it to understand what I mean.
may i have the opening hours ??
Been looking for a no-frills good ol' pizza.. Da Paolo last week was horrible. Will definitely be there later this week!
Prelude to Biscotti and Zanotti in Bangkok... mmmm..
Hi Leslie
Thks for the review.
Yes... we shall try the Calzone experiment again.
Cheers
Ping
i heard of de parma for a long long time, but den serangoon gardens quite out of the way for me, so haven try them yet
hi doc!
imma huge fan of food photography(read: food + photos = <3) and i think your photos are really awesome!
i've friends who like italian food and they happen to stay around this area so i guess i'll pop by one day.
keep up the great work, and i hope we will get to eat and shoot together someday!
cheers!
Le Marc
went down to de parma for the 2nd time.
this time i tried the 4 cheese pizza and managed to get their tiramisu..
however i feel that alforno is much better. their 4 cheese pizza is too dry and tasteless (as in i cant taste the cheese at all). their tiramisu was too bitter. (too much coffee). was kinda disappointed as i was hoping that it was as good as alforno or even better.
however i must really comment that during the first time (last week) when i was there, their pizzas were fantastic. i love the "meat lover" pizza and their marinara pizza. they ran out of tiramisu so they gave us complementary desserts. i think their carrot cake and think its cream bulee? cant remember the name but is very very good. =)
Yes I also mentioned to Ping that I love the chewy mozarella at Al Forno!
Chongs :
My family really loves this place!! we first tried out the restaurant 3 mths ago despite having driven past it for the past 2 years! We love their soups, pizzas and desserts! We particularly like their pizza crust, thin and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We haven't had a bad experience with it yet.
Their set lunch is especially value-for-money at $15.90+ : you get bread, soup or salad, pasta or pizza and a drink. Pizzas on Tuesday nites are also a good deal. We've been there 5 times in 2 mths already! Hope they'll hang on and survive this economic downturn though....
Was there with a friend last Tuesday, and we were told that they were full house! But the really nice people there manage to get us a table. I don't know much about Italian food... but we had a salad, the smoked salmon pizza, a 4 cheese pasta thingy as well as a tiramisu. I'm a huge fan of cheese, so I really enjoyed the pasta whose sauce was really thick and creamy. The salmon pizza was a bit of mixed bag for me. Both of us found that the pizza crust was a little too hard, it was a hard time for our jaws. The tiramisu was amazing... the cake actually just fell apart in our mouths with chewing. Unlike some of the tiramisu that I've tasted, this has much much more flavor and not as sweet as the usual tiramisu that is served as else where. I would definitely go back again... this place has one of the best service!
My friend is interning there currently, and his heart would warmly melt over that comment.
Their mushroom pizza is really wicked. The one littered with shitake. Their rosemary bread is also a killer. Baked fresh, it's really, really awesome.
What's not to love at Ristorante De Parma.
Okay finally did Ristorante de Parma @ Serangoon Gardens on Tuesday evening, when it is Pizza Night ($12.90 for 10-inch, 6 slices).
Was dying of hunger (i could eat a cow) already so almost ordered two pizzas. Had wanted "Prosciutto Di Parma con Rucola" (Arugula/Rocket Salad with Parma Ham) since it is my ultimate yardstick for pizza plus the restaurant's namesake. Eventually settled for Pizza de Menzo (for meat lovers - beef, salami, pepperoni & ham). The pizza is really one of the best I've had in SG. Thin crust, with generous servings of ingredients. 'nuff said.
To kick off, ordered two portions of soup. Their Soup of the Day (Clam Chowder) was good, but my favourite was their "Di Pesce alla Provinciale", the seafood soup which is spiked with chilli padi for the powerful kick. Simply Superb. Their homemade foccacia was excellent too. Can't be better with olive-oil-balsamic-vinegar.
Ordered carbonara linguine to see how their pasta section fares. Marvellously Al Dente. Full marks. Huge portion too! Slurped it all up.
"Finished off" with a salad (weirdly, cus wanted greens after all tt meat and carbo). Insalata Spinache (Sauteed Spinach served on a bed of raw spinach - Salad with Pine Nuts, bell peppers and balsamico vinaigrette) was recommended and it should have started off our meal! Was also craving for Foie Gras De Canard on mixed greens & the mixed calamari, but had to exercise great discipline to prevent over-eating (I missed lunch so I was really in danger of stuffing myself)
Dessert was Tiramisu & all I can say is that it certainly did not disappoint.
I must give special mention to the service quality here (despite - or should I say because - it being a family run business. Very warm and professional, thoroughly impressed me (u all know my high standards for service). Water & drinks were promptly re-filled. Think it was the lady boss who attended to us and she was very patient, accommodating and approachable. When we had problem choosing, she helpfully recommended according to our preferences & even offered her favourite choices and we were mostly convinced to follow suit, that's very skilful upselling which most restaurants do not possess.
All in all, Ristorante de Parma is really a hidden gem in Serangoon Gardens.
I will most certainly be going back there next Tuesday again.
P.S: Yeo - Xi Yang/Wei, is that you? Hey cousin!
good
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