This Precious Life

We were cruising the highway at 90kmh when the boyf popped the question. “So, what would you like to eat tonight?”

It took me half a second to answer.

“Italian”, I said.

But then I felt bad about Italian. “Italian” isn’t like Roti Prata or Char Kway Teow or something easier to find and more specific to look for. Italian is a whole cuisine on its own and available at select restaurants only.

I said, “You know, if you were to ask me what I would like to eat yesterday, today or tomorrow, I will still say Italian. So why don’t we put that aside and grab a simple, conveniently available meal?”

The boyf smiled, he has a trick up his car door’s pocket. He picked up a dog-eared book and threw it at me, saying, “Look for the page on Italian restaurants.”

30 minutes later, we found Porta-porta at an almost forgotten part of Singapore. It is in the kind of building where you expect the door to creak loudly.

We peeped inside and found that while the outer wall of the restaurant is a faded white and covered with dead grey algae, the inside is a passionate maroon and covered with quirky sculptures and paintings. There was even a decapitated mannequin hanging from the ceiling.

“You were the one who called earlier?” The waitress with Gengis Khan eyebrows greeted.

“Yep, we were.” She smiled her recognition.

We ordered the House Menu which provides a little bit of everything that the chef thinks you should try at his restaurant. I’ll let the pictures tell you about the food.

I enjoyed the antipasto, particularly the capsicum. The boyf liked it for the mushrooms.

The squids were succulent and had a great bite to it. It wasn’t chewy, yippee.

The beef was very beefy. By that I mean there are some beef in this world that do not taste beefy, and this one, although not very tender, tasted of 100% real beef. The kind that you would expect in your Bovril back when they weren’t made of yeast.

I was afraid that the boyf might not like pesto because  of how green it is. Surprisingly, he liked it. Pine nuts for the win.

I think the Tortellini may have been his favorite though.

But then again he slurped the Vongole equally as loudly.

All the good broth from the Vongole went down the drain that is  my throat. Not a drop was wasted.

For dessert, the chef dished us a Tiramisu and an Apple Pie.

The sprinkling of icing sugar made this feel Christmassy even though it was a week past Christmas time.

For my mouth -  slightly caramelized, melted hot apples in a crust.

For his mouth, creamy Tiramisu that sticks to the spoon

It looked as though the top of the jar fell off when the chef was shaking out the cocoa powder, it was such a generous downpour.

I tasted a lick and went on to finish almost the entire cup, only to remember that it wasn’t mine to complete.

Finally, a slow sip of Lavazza coffee while bemusedly observing a plaster-cast shirt on the wall. It was created by the chef himself who is the owner of the restaurant.

Porta-porta is at 971 Upper Changi North Road at Changi Garden. It gets busy so call 6545-3108 for reservations.

We were seated near the front door and even though we neither saw nor heard the door open, yet by the time we left, the originally empty restaurant was miraculously filled with diners. The waitress explained that regulars prefer to come in through the backdoor in the kitchen.

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