http://sparklette.net/food/saizeriya-ristorante/ http://sparklette.net/food/saizeriya-ristorante/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:04:08 +0000 Veron Ang http://sparklette.net/?p=1309 Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe is one of those dining establishments that I feel a little guilty to be sharing. For one, if you are looking for great food, you probably won’t find it here. But for those days when the economic outlook isn’t looking so hot, you can have your fill here without breaking the bank. Where else in Singapore can you get a glass of red wine for $3 and a ribeye steak for $12?

The Saizeriya Italian restaurants first opened in Japan in 1967 and have since expanded to 800 branches in Japan, China and Southeast Asia. In Singapore, there are 3 Saizeriya restaurants at Liang Court, City Square Mall and Bukit Timah Plaza. Perhaps due to the affordable food, the restaurants are generally quite packed and popular with teenagers. The ambience is super casual with booth seating and efficient staff that don’t hover around.

Chicken wings
S$3.90 for 4 / S$7.70 for 8

Appetisers include the likes of sausages, chicken wings, grilled potatoes and even escargots. The chicken wings are served on a hotplate. They are crispy on the outside and quite delicious.

Cheese chicken fillet
S$6.90

For main courses, take your pick from a good selection of pizzas, spaghetti dishes and more. The cheese chicken fillet tastes a little under-seasoned and is rather dull overall. Like I said, don’t expect great quality.

Squid ink spaghetti
S$5.80

One of the more interesting items on the colourful menu is definitely the squid ink spaghetti. The few tables surrounding ours had all ordered the same black mess of spaghetti. The only seafood you would find in it are a few overcooked squid rings. It’s quite hard to spot them because everything is just, well, black. And that will be the colour of your lips, teeth and tongue after this meal. Black like Medusa’s!

That glass of red in the background is the cheap wine mentioned. You get a full glass of it too.

You can add on S$3.90 to get a garden salad and free-flowing drinks — a very good deal if you ask me. Help yourself to all the hot and cold beverages you want from the self-service drinks bar, which has Pepsi, Mug root beer, Mountain Dew, H-TWO-O, lemon tea, lemon barley, coffee and tea. I hear there was even Milo at one point, although we did not see it this time round.

So if you are on a budget and wish to dine Japanese-Italian style with appetisers, mains, desserts and even wine, there’s still one place you can go. That’s Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe!

(Also from Japan, but at the other end of the spectrum, there are fruits that cost more than S$100. We think these are the most expensive fruits in the world.)

Have Your Say!

Do you know of any other place to get shockingly cheap food in Singapore? Share all your thoughts via Facebook or Twitter or by leaving a comment!

Saizeriya Ristorante Menu

Salads

• Chef salad – S$3.90
• Grilled pork salad – S$5.80
• Smoked salmon salad – S$5.80
• Shrimp cocktail salad – S$4.90
• Tuna & mushroom salad – S$5.80

Soups

• Minestrone soup – S$2.40
• Seafood chowder – S$3.40
• Special mushroom soup – S$2.40

Focaccia

• Original – S$1.90
• Garlic bread – S$2.20
• Garlic butter – S$2.20

Appetisers

• Grilled potato – S$1.90
• Lamb steak – S$5.80
• Smoked salmon – S$3.90
• Spinach oven grill – S$4.90
• Escargots oven grill – S$5.80
• Sautéed spinach & bacon – S$3.90
• Black pepper smoked duck – S$4.90
• Italian style scallop oven grill – S$6.20
• Chicken wings – S$3.90 for 4 pieces / S$7.70 for 8 pieces
• Chicken sausages – S$4.90 for 4 pieces / S$9.60 for 8 pieces
• Home-made spicy sausage oven grill – S$4.90 for 4 pieces / S$9.60 for 8 pieces

Spaghetti

• Seafood spaghetti – S$7.40
• Squid ink spaghetti – S$5.80
• Spaghetti carbonara – S$5.80
• Asari clams spaghetti – S$7.40
• Peperoncino spaghetti – S$3.90
• Salmon cream spaghetti – S$7.40
• Bacon & tomato spaghetti – S$5.80
• Tuna arrabbiata spaghetti – S$5.80
• Mushroom cream spaghetti – S$7.40
• Spaghetti chicken bolognese – S$3.90
• Peperoncino bacon spaghetti – S$5.80
• Mushroom & chicken meat sauce spaghetti – S$5.80

Doria

• Chicken doria – S$5.80
• Seafood grain – S$6.80
• Doria with shrimps – S$5.80
• Chicken meat gratin – S$4.40
• Doria with chicken meat sauce – S$4.40

Pizza

• Beef pizza – S$7.80
• Salmon pizza – S$7.80
• Spicy sausage pizza – S$7.80
• Double cheese pizza – S$5.80
• Pineapple & bacon pizza – S$7.40

Risotto

• Mixed seafood risotto – S$7.40
• Mushroom & bacon risotto – S$5.80

Hamburger

• Grilled pork – S$6.40
• Pork & hamburger steak – S$8.90
• Cheese hamburger steak – S$7.40
• Mushroom hamburger steak – S$6.40

Steak

• Ribeye steak – S$11.90
• Cheese chicken fillet – S$6.90
• Vegetable chicken fillet – S$6.90

Desserts

• Tiramisu – S$4.90
• Coffee jelly – S$3.90
• Panna cotta – S$3.90
• Chocolate cake – S$4.90
• Truffle ice cream – S$4.80
• Oreo cheese cake – S$4.90
• Cassata ice cream – S$4.80

Saizeriya Ristorante Liang Court

Liang Court Shopping Centre
177 River Valley Road #02-22
Singapore 179030
Tel: +65 6337 9001

Opening hours: 10am – 10pm daily

Saizeriya Ristorante City Square Mall

City Square Mall
180 Kitchener Road #B2-55/56
Singapore 208539
Tel: +65 6834 4878

Opening hours: 11am – 10pm daily

Saizeriya Ristorante Bukit Timah Plaza

Bukit Timah Plaza
1 Jalan Anak Bukit #02-24C
Singapore 588996
Tel: +65 6467 9239

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Then there are the more premium variety of fruits that are meant as gifts.

The decopon, a seedless and very sweet citrus hybrid fruit, is packed in a simple white gift box. Half a dozen goes for S$79. Ouch.

Finally, there’s the infamous muskmelon from Shizuoka. With a hefty price tag ranging from S$79 to S$139 each, these ultra premium melons are usually bought as gift fruits to impress business associates or the in-laws. Boy, would it not be a terrible shame if the recipient didn’t know the market price? Anyone who calls the durian the king of fruits obviously hasn’t seen this melon.

Unlike the decopon, this one doesn’t come in any form of gift wrapping, just the usual shrink wrap. You would think they could have placed it in a wooden box with cushioning and fancy Japanese calligraphy.

If you are interested to know if the Japanese muskmelon is worth the price, here’s an account of someone who has actually tasted the melon:

The result was a ridiculously sweet, juicy, and tender melon – so tender that a spoon basically went through it like a hot knife through butter. It was all about quality – notice how the shape of the melon was perfectly round. This bad boy yielded about ten slices, making it about US$5.50 a slice, or perhaps even US$2 a bite.

Here’s another interesting read that may partially explain the astronomical prices behind these fruits.

No, I didn’t buy any of the fruits. I can’t justify spending that amount on a mere fruit, can you? A nice restaurant meal would almost certainly bring a better savoury and sensory experience. But if you have ever tasted these expensive fruits, feel free to brag about it in the comments section.

Have you ever bought or eaten these expensive fruits? Share all your thoughts via Facebook or Twitter or by leaving a comment!

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The winning teams from the preliminary round held at each of the six malls must now pit their culinary skills against one another in the grand final held at Liang Court. The grand prize? A cool S$2,000 worth of AsiaMalls shopping vouchers.

Winning it would not be an easy ride. The teams would need to impress the panel of judges, namely Miss Stephanie Ho, General Manager of AsiaMalls, Celebrity Chef Eric Teo and Chef Chang of Shin Yeh Restaurant.

In the preliminary round, all teams had to use one common ingredient to create a dish in an hour, with a S$20 budget. For the grand final, the difficulty is upped a notch. The teams now have to cook two dishes in 1.5 hours with a S$50 budget, including 3 of the following ingredients:

• Sambal prawn chilli
• X.O. sauce
• Hsin Chu rice vermicelli
• Rice cake slices
• Miso paste
• Tamarind paste

Team 1 from Hougang Mall turns up the heat with Mapo tofu, a spicy Szechuan dish.

Their second dish is a daring attempt of braised pork ribs with bitter gourd, with the ribs stuffed into the bitter fruit.

Personally, I am rooting for the all-male Team 2 from Tiong Bahru Plaza. One, because this is the mall I frequent most. Two, because the two men in the team simply look like pros and know exactly what they are doing.

As artful plating is one of the judging criteria, the team decides to carve a pineapple bowl on the spot and fill it with spicy pork, boiled rice cakes and colourful garnish. The beautiful presentation appears to be inspired from Thai-style pineapple rice. In fact the long-time friends profess that they are fans of Thai cuisine and like to decorate their dishes in a similar way. Will the judges be impressed with their effort?

The Team 3 ladies from Century Square put their creative juices to good use, concocting an ensemble of prawns, mixed fruits and rice vermicelli for their main dish.

Their balsamic infused strawberry dessert also makes use of rice vermicelli. Would this unusual pairing work?

Team 4, the husband and wife team from Tampines 1 cooks up the “Mushroomlicious” mushroom soup, and the “Fantastic Trail” main dish that has chicken done three ways — wrapped miso chicken, sambal chicken with pork and XO chicken.

Mother-in-law and son-in-law from Team 5, Liang Court, work hand in hand to simmer up a nutritious lotus root pork ribs soup.

Their spicy fried vermicelli features sambal chilli cuttlefish and rice vermicelli seasoned with XO sauce.

The mother and daughter team from Team 6, White Sands, comes up with a healthful combination of prawns and vegetables on a bed of rice vermicelli.

After one and a half hours, the time is up. The teams take turns to present their dishes in front of the three judges. Who will be the winning team? Drum roll, please.

Performers entertain the crowd with the Taiko (Japanese drum) as the judges deliberate.

Congratulations to the husband and wife team for winning the S$2,000 shopping vouchers!

The other teams each receive the consolation prize of S$500 AsiaMalls shopping vouchers, still a great prize in our opinion! Is it just me or does this make you want to take part in the next cooking competition too?

Until the next AsiaMalls event then!

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With close to 30 years of culinary experience, Chef Tsuzuki Naoki is currently the head chef and general manager of Kuriya Dining at Great World City. For the workshop, he would be demonstrating the cooking of two savoury dishes: Amberjack claypot rice and salt-baked salmon.

The class fills up quickly with dozens of participants, some armed with iPads and notepads, eager to learn some useful tips for the kitchen.

The claypot rice that we are cooking here is a very different rendition from the one we learned from Chef Mervyn Phan at Tiong Bahru Plaza.

For one, this is the Japanese version that uses amberjack cheek and Japanese eel rather than the oriental version with salted fish and Chinese sausage. The tasty fragrance permeates through the mall. As part of the audience, the tempting aroma sure is making us hungry!

One tip for claypot rice is that the amount of water used should be less than when cooking regular rice, as the moisture from the various ingredients would seep into the rice.

The final dish comprises baked salmon, shiitake mushrooms with the claypot rice, accompanied by a miso sauce.

And the best part? Everyone in the audience gets a plate of it for lunch! Not bad for a free hour-long class where you not only get to learn some useful tips, but you also receive S$100 worth of goodies at the end.

Download recipe (in PDF)

If you would like to try these at home, download the recipe for the two Japanese dishes.

Throughout this month, this series of MasterClass culinary workshops is happening at the six AsiaMalls: Hougang Mall, Tampines 1, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Century Square, White Sands and Liang Court. The first 30 participants at each mall to spend S$200 (maximum of 2 same-day combined receipts; S$400 for supermarket receipts) can sign up for the workshops.

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Sushi-making workshop

Check out the eager kids readying to get their hands dirty with sushi-making. Each group is given a stack of seaweed, sushi rice, strips of cucumber, and plastic gloves, although the emcee helpfully reminds the audience that the sushi should not be eaten.

We zone in on this group of Japanese children hard at work. They’re doing such a terrific job making their native food.

If you’re wondering how easy it is for the children to make sushi, the answer is: very! Here’s the little plastic contraption they use to mould and shape the rolls.

Within minutes, everyone has a very professional-looking sushi roll proudly displayed in front of them! The children had fun. Mission accomplished.

Sandwich-making workshop

For the second workshop of the day, the children get to make sandwiches this time round. Perfect for a picnic, don’t you think?

At this Japan-themed mall, the sandwiches have to be kawaii. With the help of special bread stencils, sandwiches in the shapes of adorable piglets and lovely hearts slowly form.

The activity looks so fun, we see many parents lending a hand to shape the bread. Mission accomplished.

AsiaMalls Food On Parade 2011

Check out the events calendar to see what culinary activities you and your young ones can take part in at the six AsiaMalls. We would continue to bring you some of the action here on Sparklette in the upcoming weeks, including a workshop with Master Chef Tsuzuki Naoki and cooking competition. You can vote for your favourite restaurants in the Best Food Awards on Facebook to win shopping vouchers.

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• Events calendar of 6 malls

Each mall features a unique cuisine, namely

• Malaysian cuisine at Hougang Mall (3-12 June)
• Korean cuisine at Tampines 1 (6-15 June)
• Hong Kong cuisine at Tiong Bahru Plaza (10-19 June)
• Taiwanese cuisine at Century Square (17-26 June)
• Thai cuisine at White Sands (17-26 June)
• Japanese cuisine at Liang Court (17-26 June)

If you don’t have time to drop by the malls, you can join the festivities on Facebook. Vote for your favourite restaurants in the Best Food Awards on Facebook and you may win shopping vouchers.

Here on Sparklette, we would be covering a few of the activities in the upcoming weeks. Look out for the event features here!

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That’s the name of a Japanese restaurant we checked out recently. Truth be told, it is the unforgettable name that enticed us to pay it a visit in the first place. There’s a Japanese movie that goes by the exact same name, and cheekily calls itself a “Noodle Western” movie (you know, like Spaghetti Westerns?). Aside from that we have no inkling beforehand on what the food would be like.

Stone grilled beef curry rice
S$16.80++
Rating:

One of the dishes that we have tried and liked is the beef curry. It is served in a rather dramatic fashion, with the stone bowl elevated upon a wooden holder. There’s ample cheese, egg and beef slices in this, and the thick curry lending much flavour. As with most Japanese curries, it is not that spicy, too.

Baked scallop with cheese
S$12.30++
Rating:

The cheese baked scallop is commendable. Served piping hot from the oven, you would find loads of onion slices and mushroom underneath that cheese surface layer. Yum, that is a great combination! The real deal here is, of course, the half dozen scallops, which do not disappoint.

Check out the Japanese Engrish on the colourful menu. The noodle is “thick & chewie“! Who wouldn’t want that, right?

Pork bone & seafood soup ramen
S$14.30++
Rating:

Amidst all the dozens of options available for ramen, we go for the chef’s recommendation of pork bone and seafood soup. They really pile on the shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) in this one so the broth is extremely salty. The pork bone has been stewed in it and you can see that the broth is a little milky, but mostly translucent and runny. What baffles is that there is no hint of any seafood flavour in it, except for a few of this tiny shrimp.

I have seen packets of the shrimp sold in Japanese supermarkets, meant to be eaten as a snack like potato chips. I do enjoy the crunchy shrimp, but aside from that the whole bowl of ramen is a fiasco. Just not my cup of tea, I suppose!

As I was doing some research on Tampopo, I came upon their website that I find really adorable. I don’t usually fancy websites that are made in flash or has music that plays with no warning. But this colourful website is made in the distinctively eclectic Japanese style that I find very interesting.

What is your favourite Japanese food? Where do you usually go for a Japanese meal? Share with us in the comments!

Tampopo Restaurant
2 outlets:
- Liang Court Shopping Centre #01-23/24 – Tel: +65 6338 3186
- Takashimaya Shopping Centre #B2-33 – Tel: +65 6235 2318
Website
Service:

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One type of coffee that I find particularly intriguing is the Vietnamese Ca Phe Phin (drip coffee). The coffee cup comes with a stainless metal drip filter on top that allows the coffee to slowly trickle through the press and into the cup.

The Trung Nguyen Coffee chain from Vietnam opened an outlet at Liang Court in recent months. I first encountered this café during my undergrad days, when they had an outlet within the National University of Singapore. It is no longer there today, but I think they have another outlet at Changi Airport Terminal One.

Various kinds of traditional coffee are available here, along with helpful descriptions to aid you in selecting your brew. We went for the “Thoughts” coffee, which is described as having an “elegant aroma” and “bitter sweet”, as well as the “Fiscover” coffee, which is “light and flavourful”.

The coffee is a deep shade of brown. Patience is required as it would take some time to slowly drip, drip, drip into the cup (which would contain condensed milk if that’s the one you opt for). I consider that a good sign, really. I have visited a few other Vietnamese cafés where the coffee was so thin and mild, all of it trickled smoothly into the cup in no time.

Traditional Vietnamese coffee (hot/iced)
S$3.20 – $5.90 (without milk), $4.20 – $6.90 (with milk)
Rating:

Initially I was lamenting the fact that the coffee only filled half the cup. But after taking a sip, I realised that a full cup would probably induce a sore throat. The coffee is extremely rich and robust, and this still holds true for the one that is described as “light”. I have never been to Vietnam, but some people say that the coffee there is even richer than this!

So caffeine aficionados would totally love this; the aromatic and full-bodied coffee gives a real kick. Casual coffee drinkers might find it too strong though.

Perhaps to cater to the Starbucks crowd, ice blended drinks and cappuccinos are offered on the menu too. Similarly, you would place your order at the counter and wait to collect your drinks. There are some seats by the counter, and if you venture across the aisle there is an even larger seating area available.

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