Pasta Fresca

77 Upper East Coast Road #01-01/02

+65 6241 5560

www.pastafresca.com

On the day of our visit, the restaurants in the busy Siglap area of the East Coast area are full of families having a meal together to avoid the washing-up, while their helpers take a well-earned Sunday off.

Not one but three of my son’s five-year-old playmates are also eating out tonight, which means he is noisier than usual as we take a seat in the busy restaurant.

We start with an antipasto platter loaded with parma ham, olives, tomato-topped bruschetta, bite-sized pieces of garlic bread and marinated bocconcini, which our seven- year-old daughter declares “pretty good”.

The children’s meals are served quickly. Sharing a ham and cheese pizza ($12.80) and shell-shaped pasta dish, conchiglie alfredo ($12.80), keeps them silent as they tuck into the large portions.

Manager Anthony tells us that the menu is new. We are impressed with its colourful pictures of the different types of pasta, which makes it easy if you’re on shaky ground with the Italian names. Choosing a sauce is easy too, as they are categorised according to their bases: olive oil, seafood, tomato or cream.

A glass of the dry house rosé ($8.30) pairs well with my meal, dory alla Livornese (27.90). The red snapper that is usually used in this dish is unavailable today, and I find the sauce perhaps a little overpowering for the subtleness of dory. My husband sticks to Heineken with his order of risotto alla Catalina ($20.80), which is topped with a generous selection of seafood.

Too full to eat dessert and conscious of the children’s bedtime, we leave Pasta Fresca satisfied with simple, hearty food served in a cheery and friendly atmosphere.

Katie Roberts