Da Paolo is one of the grand-daddies of Italian fine dining in Singapore. When they started back in 1989, Paolo Scarpa cooked, whilst his wife Judie Scarpa ran the front of the house. Fast forward 33 years later, and Da Paolo is now one of the most well-established brands here when it came to Italian dining, with the flagship Da Paolo Dempsey Restaurant & Bar at trendy Dempsey Hill dining precinct, besides eight casual dining Da Paolo Gastronomia bistros across the island, plus Da Paolo Pizza Bar in Holland Village. Both Paolo and Judie had retired since a decade back, and the family-owned restaurant chain is now run by their son, Andrea (Group Executive Chef); daughter, Francesca, and her husband, Guillaume Pichoir (CEO).
I was at Da Paolo Pizza Bar last Monday for dinner with a couple of old friends from Singapore Airlines. We noticed that the offerings are not all Italian per se, but also included an interesting selection of fusion/pseudo-Mediterranean dishes which appeal to Singaporeans. Da Paolo has always believed in giving their customers what they want.
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Crab cakes with avocado and mango salsa - Da Paolo became the latest eatery to jump on the crab-cakes-with-mango-avocado-relish bandwagon that seemed to have taken over the casual dining market in Singapore, as it has around the world in the past 2-3 years.
Quite a substantial amount of fillers in the crabcakes. I miss lump crabmeat that seemed to be getting rarer these days here, maybe to keep the costs down.
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Classic tomato bruschetta
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Burrata and prosciutto
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Lobster bisque croquettes, with piquillo sauce - quite a tasty creation here, though being deep-fried, it had an overly-greasy after-taste.
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Tri-colore pizza - Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella, burrata, rocket leaves, basil pesto - this is where Da Paolo excels. My fave item for the evening.
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Tagliatelle al granchio - home-made egg pasta, crabmeat, Italian tomatoes, cream and parmesan - quite a good rendition. My dining companions waxed lyrical over the dish.
Desserts:
7) Tiramisu - quite an average rendition of the classic dessert. Don’t know why, but I was actually expecting a bit more from Da Paolo.
I remembered my first taste of tiramisu - it was in 1991 when Fratini’s (on Neil Road) introduced the dessert to Singaporeans: at S$16 (US$12) for a single portion, it was rather exorbitant at the time. But I was so hooked on the dessert, I’d go for Sunday lunch at Fratini’s each weekend, so that I could order the tiramisu at the end.
- Gorgonzola burnt Basque cheesecake, with mulled wine, Biscoff biscuit and dehydrated orange - this was truly a letdown: it was dense and dry.
It was a “good” meal, but not quite the “special night out” kind of meal I’d envisage we’d have.
I remembered a time when every trip to Da Paolo (its original branch on Club Street) felt so very special. That was back in the early-90s. Judie Scarpa was a picture of sophistication with her perfectly-coiffed hairdo, her slinky form-fitting gowns, and her immaculately manicured nails.
But fine dining went out of fashion in Singapore by the late-90s, just as it did around the world. The formal dining rooms at grand restaurants in town like Le Restaurant de France, Maxim’s de Paris, Truffles, Compass Rose and Le Duc were suddenly swept away, replaced by casual bistros and cafe-like eateries. Likewise, the old Da Paolo remade itself into what it is today. But sometimes, I do wish some things remain unchanged.
Address
Da Paolo Pizza Bar
44 Jalan Merah Saga, Singapore 278116
Tel: +65 6479 6059
Operating hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm Mon to Fri;
11am-10.30pm Sat & Sun.
