Da Paolo Pizza Bar

If I hadn't known any better, I would describe pizza as a calorie-laden junk food, staple of society's underbelly, masked as comfort food for the masses and glamourised by the folks over at NBC.

Truth is, I really don't know any better.



Apart from pizza chains and those frozen prepacks, I haven't tasted any that qualifies as weapon of mass toxication. Am I just plain lucky? Nah. It is just that my judgement has been marred by deadly conoction of melted cheese and baked dough. A whiff of which tickles my nasal cavity and eventually morphes into an intangible clamp over my being, not unlike Ursula's tentacles clasped over Ariel's voicebox.

Adding onto that, there was a time when I would and could gamely finish an entire pizza on my own. I still could though I probably shouldn't, because nobody would want to hear me sing about my 'lovely lady lumps'.

On Sunday, my cousin celebrated his birthday at Da Paolo's Pizza Bar, a family-run Italian restaurant, at Chip Bee Gardens. Oooo family run? Must be homely, cosy... Erm well actually, this is one family whose 'Mamma' and 'Poppa' are short of down-to-earth and they happen to be regular fixtures on the glossy pages of Tatler.

The Da Paolo chain in Singapore is like what Prada is to luxury bags- synonynamous with quality but on the commercialized side. Despite the well-regarded chains of restaurants, I have only visited Da Paolo Gastronomia, which is a short walk from La Terrazza and Da Paolo Pizza Bar.


Calamari Fritter

I never order fried calamari because somehow, someone around the table would definitely ask for it. Yes, the calamari suffers from overexposure but I still dig those squiggly bits.


Bruschettas

The delivery was hardly surprising- an insipid dish of diced tomatoes on toasted baguette. Having said that, bruschettas IS an unimaginative dish and to traditionalists, it should stay that way.



The grilled tuna salad with black pepper rims, adorned soy sprouts, greens, olives and wasabi dressing above was marginally interesting but only because I'm less than partial towards soy sprouts and arugula. However, the pretty pink tuna does remind me of designer guild furniture...

Done with the duds, moving onto the dudes.



The Pizza of the Day was one topped with Italian sausages and bunashimeji mushrooms.


Seafood pizza

Also making an appearance was the seafood pizza, with more than sufficient toppings of mussels, salmon, prawns.



For something more 'out of the box,' the pizza above topped with salmon and capers was definitely funky food for thought. The drips of salty piquant capers, against the backdrop of salmon was a bold take which I appreciated.



Oh, pizza prosciutto e funghi.. the ever dependable ham and mushroom combination.



On the whole, the pizzas were great, save for one problem. Ok, one BIG problem.

The pia-zzahs were TOO WET.

As in "slippery-slop-slop, OOO there goes my white chiffon top" WET!

I know that must be hard to imagine but because we shared the pizzas, there was a whole lot of 'tearing and dragging' going on. In mid air, each slice limped at a ninety degree, allowing laws of gravity to set in as the fillings drooped off the pizza dough.

Of course, an intact pizza still sensational.. but it wasn't along the lines of "INSANE WICKED AWESOME". Though the crust had a burnt crispness edge, more attention should have been paid to the sturdiness of the pizza.


Calzone Vegetariano

I always wondered under what circumstances was the calzone created. Was it a "geez, the pizza's too ugly, let's fold it up" moment? Anyhow, I loved the calzone and will be back for it.

I never thought I would whisper these words, but I think "I OD-ed on pizza " Yes, the unthinkable has happened and the Unidentified Flying Object you saw last night was a flying pig.

Hey guys, gotta run.. I see the chef coming after me with his rolling pin. But not before I introduce dessert...



We didn't order dessert because my cousin brought a chocolate cake, made by a retired ex-chef of some five-start hotel. Chocolate fudge top with hazelnut and cream layers... Oh, the stiff waffle layer never fails to get me. I'm trying to refrain from making biblical references but it was gAWd-FULLY godivalicious-ly gorgeous.

Self-restraint? What's that?

da paolo pizza bar
44, Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-46, Chip Bee Gardens, Holland Village.
Tel: 6479 6059