No, wait. Scratch that.
Take two: I love THE IDEA of picnics. I have to admit growing up on Enid Bylton books have filled me with much fluffy ideologies of what happy children do all day long with their nannies. Thanks to Hollywood and the American media, the 'picnic' is a much-romanticized concept attached to love and carefree living. Dating couples locked in each other's gaze... Lily-Pulitzer-clad moms laying out the food while children and their dads play tag in the background...
Yet thanks to our humidity, the birds, bees and bugs, the 'picnic' remains an ungraspable idea to me. I don't know about you but since I don't believe in 'sweating it out' so I rather take my romantic endeavours indoors, with the air-conditioning on high fan speed.
Don't count on me to be the postergirl for Romance Singapore 2010
Having said that, well... maybe.. JUST MAYBE!!! with a stroke of Cupid's Arrow, there's hope for me after all!
Da Paolo, Gastronomia to the rescue!
The concept behind Da Paolo, Gastronomia is 'gourmet takeaway'. Their food made and packed in microwave-safe containers, which make it convenient for people to just unpack, heat and serve.
Da Paolo, Gastronomia is probably the closest thing I will have to a picnic for now. Last Sunday, my family did the unexpected. We chose our nosh, asked to heat up our hot food, and cramped into a small table cum bench. That's it! Fuss-free except for some plastic disposable cutlery, the five of us picnic-ed outside the shop.
In the shop, for the pizza display, think open concept where they are left exposed on a coveted rustic table. It was visually appealing but that meant that the pizzas were caught on the dry side. The three different pizzas we had were: Arugula & Tomato (Dad=big fan), Mushroom and Ham & Cheese. The recognizable rectangular slices were generously topped and each had a thin, fairly crisp crust.
The spinach lasagna made me rethink my aversion towards lasagna. It spun a web of chewy mozzarella and delightful chopped spinach, which had me hook, line and sinker.
White chocolate and cornflakes scone. Almost half the size of my face.
I HEART HEART HEART the giant scone- anything smaller would have been too painful too share. It sure bore little resemblance to its sun-deprived pasty English cousin but the rocky surface pockmarked with caramelized buds wasn't difficult to fall in love with. The malt candy bits are the best! They also have a chocolate valrhona version, which I'm sure would have many salivating over their keyboards.
If you are not already planning to make a trip down, the array of pound cakes and cheesecakes will sort that out. I would personally recommend the orange almond cake, which exuded a lovely citrusy aroma and was well-matched with the moist buttery touch.
Home to an all encompassing variety of antipasti, pizzas, desserts and SO MUCH MORE, Gastronomia is godsend to undomestic goddesses..
"Oh yes, I hope you like the simple meal that I prepared today. I was pressed for time so please excuse the 5 different types of antipasti, 4 soups (vegan and non-creamy varieties included), shabby lamb shank, tiramisu and chocolate valrhona scones..."
Let's face it, it doesn't hurt that Da Paolo is yoga-hip as hell. Though the outdoor benches are few and far-between, you can always eat in the car- I'm not kidding. All hail Earl Tupper.
Da Paolo Gastronomia
43 Jalan Merah Saga #01-74
Tel: 6475 1323
8 comments:
actually...i kinda gave up on their valrhona choc scones as they always came out half-baked...prolly due to the large size of the scone. But their profiteroles are EXCELLENT OH LORD! U MUST HAVE THEM :D
hi, I am actually an old schoolmate of yours from SNGS. (from your batch actually. haha)
This is not very related to the the current post, but i was wondering if you could give me suggestions on a few venues for dinner buffet as my friends' and family members' birthdays are coming up and i am giving my family a treat. My budget is from $25 to $35....yeah kinda short of cash right now as i have been shopping excessively!
Nicely done. Cat and I like to get our picnic food from places like this as well. Fortunately for us, the weather in Southern California is more forgiving towards people dazzled by the idea of a romantic picnic.
The last time we tried, I was hit in the head by someone else's frisbee. Weather isn't everything.
- Chubbypanda
lol: 'always'? how many times have you ordered and actually received a half-baked one? haha.. did you tell the folks at da paolo about it?
alma: sure i remember you! honestly, it is difficult to find a good $25-$35 dinner buffet as most respectable ones are at least $35 (at least $40 for hotel buffets).
having said that, it is not a lost cause for Rice Table (located at Suntec and Orchard) has a good eat-till-you-pop spread at $19.90+++. best thing it's ala carte which means your family can have a good sit-down dinner without ny stand-upto-get-more-food interruptions.
Kuali at Suntec convention centre has a not-bad western buffet though i think you have to visit their website for more details. they offer both 'soup/salad/dessert' as well as 'soup/salad/dessert/main course' buffet.
have fun!
chubbypanda: sigh! picic hazards.. how un-hollywood!
okok maybe four or five times last year :P I would buy it then eat it on the way to wherever I was heading to. And each time it came out half baked (center was still dough!) :( They might have gotten better now haha...but why bother when scones from cedele are also good enuf :D
I totally agree Cedele has great scones. However, they only have one miserable but flavour!
Cedele's crumbly wheras Da Paolo's more buttery cum doughy (too doughy in your case!)... Different texture for different moods..
Your photos are from the place? The last time I tried snapping, they seemed quite touchy about photographs being taken.
yes they are a really uptight wedgey bunch.. i took photos of what i bought- can't stop me this way~
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