La Braceria

First impressions last.

And our first encounter with La Braceria's profitterol in July was so impressive that we were looking forward to enjoying it again during last night's dinner.

Finding the place is a mite tough the first time around, as it's tucked away in a small two-row shophouse enclave nestled deep inside the Greenleaf residential estate. By car, it would probably be easiest to turn into Maryland Drive from Holland Road, or work your way through Ming Teck Park from Sixth Avenue. Maryland Drive flows straight into Greenleaf Road; the entrance to the carpark appears soon after the downhill on the right-hand side. It's actually fairly difficult to spot the place until you're almost upon it, so go slow.

J and I were the first customers to arrive at the restaurant yesterday, just past 7:30pm (they open for dinner from 6pm). Mom and Dad had called to say that they were stuck in a traffic jam and would be late. Shortly after we arrived, we watched as an unlucky couple without a reservation was turned away, after being presented with the restaurant's business card and some advice to call ahead for their next visit.

Like Buko Nero, La Braceria is fully packed every night, with just five or six tables available. Thankfully, unlike Buko Nero, we didn't have to book a month in advance - we called just two days before.



(I'm not very good with remembering names of dishes due to lack of familiarity, especially Italian dishes, so please excuse me if I get them wrong or leave them out in favour of ingredient names.)

On our last visit we tried the eggplant, the homemade sausages and the stuffed portabello mushrooms for starters, polished off a spaghetti vongole (Dad's regular Italian restaurant order) and a great wood-fired pizza (forgot which) and maybe one other main, and ended off with the absolutely amazing profitterol on the waiter's recommendation.

This time around, we went for the Antipasto Braceria and a baby spinach salad as appetizers; rosemary lamb chops, fillet of beef tenderloin and a spaghetti vongole (no prizes for guessing whose order that was) for mains; and followed up with profitterol and a lava cake for dessert.

The Antipasto Braceria. Oven-baked scamorza cheese, topped with mushrooms. The cheese was like mozzarella but milder, chewy and soft. I liked the edge parts where the cheese was a little more cooked and brown.

J's baby spinach salad, which came with extra bits of avocado by special request. Topped with sliced almonds, cherry tomatoes, bacon and a light dressing.

Mom's lamb chops - she had them done medium. Juicy and succulent, with unhealthy chunks of fat attached to each rack. Very nicely done. Highly recommended by the waiter.

270 grams of mouthwatering tenderloin steak, done medium rare, and all mine! Well, most of it was. Also highly recommended by the waiter. The photo doesn't do the steak justice; it was fabulously done. Even J caved in and took some, despite the meat being fairly red (yum!).

Dad's spaghetti vongole. The quality of the pasta was amazing - the spaghetti held a beautifully firm texture without being hard, the gravy thick and intense, and the clams cooked just nice. Wow.

The lava cake took a short while to come as it baked in the oven. In the middle of the icing-sprinkled confection is a reservoir of sticky, gooey chocolate... mmmm. Great with a coffee.

What we'd been looking forward to - the profitterol. Four pieces of puff pastry stuffed with thick, rich cream, and topped with melted chocolate - heavenly! Unfortunately the first impression had stuck; it didn't feel quite as nice as before, perhaps because the chocolate wasn't warm and oozing like the first time. But still delish!

Cost-wise: the lamb chops and tenderloin were $32 each, starters are in the range of $16-18 and the pizzas go for $20-22-ish. But hey, you get what you pay for - excellent quality Italian food, and a good wine selection (taking Dad's word for it).


Cheers!

Service-wise: staff are friendly and helpful, and overall service is generally of a high standard. However, our empty water glasses went unnoticed for some time, and required some prompting for refills.

Second impressions either confirm first impressions, or shatter them. And our second experience with La Braceria was still as impressive as the first. It's a great place for a nice, upmarket meal.

La Braceria Pizza & Grill
70 Greenleaf Road
Ban Guan Park
Singapore 279356
Tel: 6465 5918
Open Monday to Sunday
Lunch 12pm to 2pm
Dinner 6pm to 10:30pm