Posted by Gabriel
I first had a meal at il Piccolo when I accompanied my friend, who was craving for Botak Jones, to the Clementi outlet. Not wanting to eat fried Western food but still wanting to treat myself to something more than the usual hawker fare, I decided to try il Piccolo. Located in the same coffeeshop, il Piccolo serves pasta and pizza and looked to be of a similar level as Botak Jones.
I was pleasantly surprised at the dishes I had (and they were pretty cheap too, at least compared to Botak Jones, the main courses priced around $6-8) and brought some friends back there a few days later. Alas, the second time round was a much less satisfying experience.
The dish that I had loved so much the first time was the Gnocchi Di Patate, which is basically little blobs of potato wrapped in pasta served with asparagus, mushroom, cream and tomato sauce. Although the dish was a tad overwhelming and filling, the gravy was flavour-packed and delicious while the potato dumplings were soft and melted in the mouth. The second time round, though, my friend who had it commented that the gravy was excessively salty and it was a taste dealbreaker.
On my second trip there, I had the Frutti de Mare, a seafood pasta in tomato sauce which should be named Frutti Nightmare instead. While there was admittedly a generous load of seafood added, the prawns were unshelled (something I find unacceptable even from hawker stalls), there were sand fragments floating around and, like with my friend who tried the Gnocchi Di Patate, the chef apparently went trigger happy with the salt shaker.
Another friend had the Buongustaio, a chicken, mushroom and onion pasta in cream sauce, which was the best main dish of that second night, although slightly underwhelming. The gravy was decent if nothing to write home about and the chicken was chewy.
The mixed green salad though, was definitely the best part of both meals. Priced at a value-for-money $4, the salad serving was large and definitely enough for two people to share comfortably and was packed with fresh ingredients. The lettuce were crunchy, the tomatoes solid to the bite and, although I personally found them a tad strong, my friends loved the olives.
With such inconsistent quality, I’d find it hard to heartily recommend il Piccolo’s offerings but, for those prices, the outlet could serve as an alternative to those not wanting to spend so much or eat so unhealthily at Botak Jones but still want something more than the usual coffeeshop staples.
I was pleasantly surprised at the dishes I had (and they were pretty cheap too, at least compared to Botak Jones, the main courses priced around $6-8) and brought some friends back there a few days later. Alas, the second time round was a much less satisfying experience.
With such inconsistent quality, I’d find it hard to heartily recommend il Piccolo’s offerings but, for those prices, the outlet could serve as an alternative to those not wanting to spend so much or eat so unhealthily at Botak Jones but still want something more than the usual coffeeshop staples.
