What's coastal Italian cuisine you might wonder? You might heard that the new Caffe Cicheti at South Beach was described as serving such food. Well, it is…
What's coastal Italian cuisine you might wonder? You might heard that the new Caffe Cicheti at South Beach was described as serving such food. Well, it is still Italian style but features a touch more seafood since they have the access to it from the sea, making it a bit more Mediterranean. And that's the perfect transition from Australian brunch cafe Finn's to this new concept by the same owners of the Cicheti family. Cicheti means little plates and since opening up the original woodfired pizza and pasta place at Kandahar St, they have since opened Bar Cicheti at Jiak Chuan Rd and now, Caffe Cicheti.
The decor still works, and it's easy breezy beautiful! (:P thanks Covergirl)
Here's the short 2 page menu (love) with just 6 sections - the panini being only available from lunch at 11.30 to 2.30pm. Prices are also very very ok for where they are.
We started with some Sardine Fritte (S$18) with garlic aioli. Straight up coastal feels, haha. It was nice and crunchy but not very remarkable. Maybe get some prosciutto to pair with their lovely wine list (more relaxed, organic/natural wines available) instead. 2.5/5
We also had the appetising Panzanella (S$15) featuring heirloom tomatoes, stracciatella cheese, Spanish onions, cucumber and herb croutons. For cheese lovers this is a tangy and creamy one to whet your appetite! I felt it was exactly that, and a good way to start even if no technical skills were involved. 3/5
We also sampled an off-menu special of octopus and kale, or Polpo if you want its Italian name. This was well-seasoned and the octopus was soft and tender, like a sea potato. Try requesting this if you are there for a starter dish!
On to the star. The Pesto pasta (S$22) was such a simple but scrumptious dish with the generous use of basil and grounded pine nuts on al dente spaghetti. One of my personal favourites of the night. Everyone knows I'm a pasta monster. 4.5/5
The Gnocchi (S$23) with mushroom veloute, forest mushrooms and shaved parmigiano was delicious too. Those naughty balls of dough were bouncy and bright without being too monotonous. For vegetarians this or the Pesto pasta are both good dishes to have! 3.5/5
Then there's the Cioppino (S$26) for seafood lovers. It's a rich seafood stew with flower clams, grey prawns, squid, big fat scallops alongside some very well-baked homemade focaccia (so addictive!!). I had hoped the stew to be even thicker for the bread to soak up, but the generous servings of ingredients more than made up for it.
By the way, don't turn your attention away from the sides because the Brussels sprouts (S$10) was AMAZING. The pomegranate molasses and candied pecan really elevated this to a buttery umami-ness that was unexpected. What a dark horse! I think even non-fans of brussels sprouts will change their mind when they have the ones here.4.5/5 In comparison the Asparago (S$13.50) in the background was so-so only at 3/5.
That prepared us for the proper main dish - the flavourful Iberico pork with granny smith apple and kale (S$29.50). The apple slices are a bit sad but really what you are there for is the lean, juicy cuts of pork. It was fantastic but we were so stuffed we could barely finish this! 3.5/5
To end off we had another amazing dish, the Giandula semifreddo (S$12.50) dessert. It looked unassuming but it's like having Italian frozen Nutella (yes there's a difference where it is made) ice cream with crunchy hazel choconut bits. No kidding! It's homemade and definitely a MUST-ORDER item when you are here. It's ok to break away from the Tiramisu mold, you know.. 5/5
The lighter Olive oil cake with vanilla gelato (S$11) would be for those who are looking for a sweet but gentle ending to the meal. The citrusy olive cake wasn't too dense and balances well with the gelato! 4/5
We had our desserts paired with this wonderful Sourgal Moscato d'Asti, which was scrumptious on its own. I have a fatal attraction to these sweet wines, and this was just perfect in its slightly tart but light sweetness to refresh the palate! Throughout the meal we had wine recommendations and they went so well with it so if you're there be sure to get something paired!
It was overall a wonderful meal at Caffe Cicheti. I couldn't recommend this place enough since relaxed, modern and good Italian restaurants are hard to find but this has managed to squeeze right in. And I heard that starting from January they will be launching their all-Vegetarian menu with 15 meat-free dishes. Yay!
Caffe Cicheti
26 Beach Road, #B1-21 South Beach, Singapore 189768
Brunch/lunch from 11.30am (11am on Sat, 10.30am on Sundays) to 2.30pm (4.30pm on Sundays); dinner from 5.30pm to 10pm (no dinner on Sundays)
+65 63841878
Thanks Daniel and Caffe Cicheti for the invite!
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When I was at AMK Hub today I wondered out of curiosity if the Singaporean outlet of the popular Taiwanese lu rou fan, or braised meat rice, shop called Jin Feng 金峰 has already opened. Turns out they have! It's endearingly called Jiak (means eat in Hokkien, a shared dialect we have here and in Taiwan) and was open since last week! And when I saw it was operating and had no queue today, I knew I had to set my lunch quota aside to try it.
A rather simple menu with a few star items on it.
Here's the menu at a closer glance. A main, basic Lu Rou Base (mushroom braised pork on rice or rice noodles) costs S$4.90 for a medium and S$5.90 for a large. Incredible value! They also have the braised pork belly version for a dollar more on the M and $1.50 more from the large. As well as a "rou geng" 肉羹 base which I didn't understand was what. You can also make it a combo to add on chicken wing/chop or the rou geng. I just got the basic order, plain, because I wanted no distractions.
A lot of curious bystanders and people just perusing their menu but not many queuing. I had to wait for one person to collect their food before I got mine.
Meanwhile, would you take a moment to admire these glorious salty crispy fried chicken just like I did?
Here's my lunch box, which I had to get home to consume because there was no seating - Jiak is only a takeaway stall!
Tadah! Here's how it looked when I unboxed it.
Verdict? Damn friggin good. It's amazing how something as simple as fatty pork braised in good sauce can be so foodgasmic. The braised egg was a nice touch, while the cucumbers were pickled (not like the raw ones in nasi lemak) so it lent a good tart crunch and cut through to the fattiness. The rice was normal and in fact quite generous for the price since this is definitely more than the typical round metal bowl serving.
Need I say more, it's definitely worth checking out because there's nothing quite like it here in Ang Mo Kio (I would know) or nearby, so if you are looking for a taste of Taiwan, this is it! I'm glad they have managed to open their first outlet here in Singapore - please do open more!
Jiak by 金峰
AMK Hub #B2-47, Singapore 569933
Seems to open daily 10am to 10pm (mall hours)
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