Da Paolo La Terrazza

Fridays are my favourite workday ever. For one, the next day is the weekend (Yay!) and for another, I usually try to schedule lunch catch-up sessions with ex-colleagues, current colleagues on Fridays when everyone's in a more relaxed mood, and leisurely lunches are a perfect way to chill out and get into the weekend vibe.

This Friday was no exception - I had arranged to meet my mentee at Da Paolo La Terrazza, at Chip Bee Gardens. I had been meaning to try this branch of Da Paolo out for some time, but always ended up eating at Au Petit Salut (just next door). So since I was feeling a tad over-dosed with Au Petit Salut, no better time than to try Da Paolo.

For the starter, I had the Carpaccio di Pesce Spada - which was thinly sliced raw swordfish salad with sun-dried tomatoes. Great choice! This was totally fresh, refreshing and tangy - a classic and lovely dish for the hot sunny day. For main, I had the homemade pasta with seafood in a tomato-based sauce with white wine. Now, this was a tad disappointing as somehow the home-made pasta lacked the oomph that I had experienced in Biscotti (bangkok) and Third Floor (kl), and to be frank, my own home-made pasta tasted better. Not that it was bad - just that I expected more of it. We ended off by having lemon cheescake and coffee (the coffee was not the best - slightly overbrewed and bitter).

Set lunches are priced very affordably, at $22 per pax. I would come here again to try their Parma Ham salad starter (i pinched some of Joan's parma ham and it was really good too) and for the great laid-back ambience.