marvin lowe photography

This was taken over easter, at the children’s service. Kids are really incredibly easy and fun to shoot. I just felt so carefree and liberated just being there with them.

This is a joy so pure that it pierces my heart. I yearn for joy of this magnitude. The joy of the Lord shall be my strength again.

I can’t wait for term break to come.

Jazzfoodie: What was initially intended as a quick dinner turned into a lovely, leisurely meal. The last and only time I’ve been here was 5-6 years ago when Marv bought me here to celebrate my birthday. The place hasn’t changed much, it still retains a quaint and cosy feel. This homely italian restaurant doesn’t boast of modern fine dining cuisine, but the food is simple and very tasty.

Vinnythemarv: Why did we come here? Really, it started with a dream I had. I dreamt that I was having a meal at Porta Porta and that dream led to a stirring and a craving that wouldn’t go. It’s been a while even for myself since I last visited Porta Porta. I am glad to say, nothing much has changed. A nice rustic feel which made feel right at home.

Bread Dips

J: Being greedy (as usual), we were easily tempted and decided on the tasting menu (S$42 per person, min 2 persons) almost immediately upon looking through the menu, and we did not regret the decision at all. We started off with chunky strips of focaccia bread. Instead of the usual olive oil and balsamic dip, we were offered a ‘dip’ platter of pre-marinated, roasted vegetables doused with extra virgin olive oil. The roasted vegs consisted of white button mushrooms (probably sauteed), thinly sliced zucchini, aubergine, and red & yellow peppers, a yummy accompaniment to the bread.

V: This dip platter is probably something that you will get everytime you visit them. My personal favourite has to be the mushrooms. It’s got a love earthy fragrance which goes very well with bread. The peppers are excellent too, a little hint of spice and the tartness of the vinegar combines to excite the tastebuds on your tounge.

Appetisers

J: The rest of the assorted appetizers included a hearty aubergine parmagiana, slow-roasted with tomatoes; prawns and squid tossed with herbed-infused olive oil; bruschetta- diced tomatoes sprinkled with herbs, sitting atop crusty toasted garlic bread that you smell even before you taste it; and fresh tomato slices that provided a nice light contrast to the ‘meaty’ tasting smoked mozarella.

V: A whole plethora of appetizers were brought out to assault our sensese. We started off with the Aubergine Parmgiana which was nicely warm. A prawn and squid “salad”, nicely complemented with the herb olive oil. Next came a bruschetta which was really delightful, the sharp taste of garlic and fresh juicy tomatoes were lovely. Yet another tomato dish came with smoked mozarella.

Seafood Bisque

J: The seafood soup was simply delicious. It tasted like a light bisque, probably reduced from a thick flavourful stock of fish and shellfish.

V: From what I overheard the server telling another table, this was a fish/ seafood soup. It was really delightful and wasn’t too heavy on the tastebuds.

Chilli Mussels

J: The small-to-medium sized green-lipped mussels were bathed in a garlic and tomato-based ’stew’, lightly spiced with chilies. The light stew was simply delightful, most probably made from freshly blended tomatoes, not the tangy sort of commercial tomato sauce.

V: Chilli Mussels. The last time I had it would have to be at Concas in Perth. The Chilli Mussels wasn’t as fiery as Concas but still delicious. With a Tomato and Chilli sauce to go with it, this dish was a joy to eat. Somehow, the chilli used in this, though not as burning hot as concas, gave it enough punch and a local twist as well.

Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini

J: The spinach and ricotta tortellini and white button mushrooms in pesto and smothered in grated parmasean was absolutely divine. Upon the first taste, marv and I looked at each other in silent awe and agreement, and didn’t speak until the next pasta dish arrived.

V: We didn’t look at each other in silence, I nearly screamed ” Oh my GOD!”. This is really our first “Oh my GOD!” moment tonight. I did not eat the tortellini right away but chose to try the mushrooms that came with it. The melted parmasean and mushroom worked its magic right away.The rich creamy taste of the cheese harmonised with the mushroom perfectly. The tortellini itself was really a defining moment of the night. Once again, the rich flavours of cheese and spinach overwhelmed us.

Vongole

J: The second pasta dish was good, but coming off the tail of the tortellini, did not shine as much. Still, the spaghetti vongole was good, the small dish chock-full of clams in a reduced white wine & clam broth, topped off with herbs and sliced fresh red chilies.

V: I love Vongle. My brother and I would always order Vongle whenever presented the option at any Italian restaurant. However, with this dish coming behind a sensational tortellini, it did not leave much of an impression. The spaghetti was nicely al dente while the broth was flavourful.

Fried Prawns and Calamari

J: Next, we had the lightly floured prawns and squid platter. Very lightly crisped on the outside, but tender on the inside, with a squeeze of lemon juice, the calamari had no hint of fishy-ness whatsoever, and was surprisingly delicious.

V: This was the second “ohmygod” moment. The Calamari was done to perfection. Here, the calamari rings are lightly battered. No thick doughy crust or dry and tough meat here. The light crust was crispy enough while the Calamari were nice and juicy. It’s so lovely that you won’t be able to stop popping them into your mouth.

Roast Lamb

J: Rounding off the savoury part of the meal was carved slices of lamb, roasted with potatoes and rosemary. The meat was tender and tasty, but I’m not much of a lamb-lover, so it was just not-bad for me.

V: Finally, the meat course. I was expecting the chicken that they serve so frequently. So to recieve the lamb was a little surprise, something different. I would have prefered the meat to be a little more rare rather than it being well done. Nonetheless, it was tender and juicy.

Lime Sorbet

Tiramisu

J: The desserts consisted of a creamy and refreshing lime sorbet, and a rather dense but slightly watery tiramisu that gets my thumbs up. We were so amazingly stuffed, but so satisfied after the meal. Definitely one of our favourite meals this year.

V: When the lime sorbet was served, for a moment I thought this was a palate cleanser and that more dishes were to be served. I nearly fainted as we were pretty much stuffed to the brim. Thankfully, this was not to be and signalled a sweet end to the night. We had a Tiramisu to go with it for desserts. The Tiramisu was rich and creamy yet was moist with rum through the sponge. A nice and sweet ending to the evening.

Little Part One

VinnytheMarv: Little Part 1 is a quaint little cafe/restaurant tucked away in the serenity of the Thompson Estate. When Mich came back after her first visit, she was so impressed with the place that she wanted me to visit the place as well. Thankfully for me, I have a 3 day week this semester and it’s easier for me to meet Mich for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays if we wanted too. So, on one fine Friday, I drove down to pick her up and her colleagues to head down to this quaint little place.

Jazzfoodie: I first learnt about this place from one of my colleagues, as it’s owned by his sister, and we had the opportunity to have lunch here about 2 months ago, and again, 3 weeks ago. I love the simple wall mural and the homely feel of the place aided by a sofa, coffee table and a shelf lined with books to read while waiting for your food. The indoor dining space is rather small and cosy, but there’s a larger al fresco dining area out back that would probably be great on cool evenings.

Silken Tofu Salad

V: For starters, the Silken Tofu Salad comes with strong recommendations. I am not a big fan of salads but this one was an exception. The soft silky Tofu added to greens gave it a unique mixture of textures. The Tofu was soft and smooth and went well with the dressing which was sweet and refreshing.

J: This salad is part of the organic food-focused menu, although meat-lovers can dine comfortably beside vegetarians, due to the expanded menu including fish and sausages. I don’t think the salad is meant to be an appetizer, as the portion is huge. The purple leaves of the radicchio added to the visual appeal of the dish amidst the usual greens and tomato. The sesame dressing, tofu, seaweed, alfalfa sprouts and seeds completed this east-west dish beautifully.

Mango Udon Roll

V: The Mango Udon Roll was a pretty unique creation to me. Wrapped like Vietnamese Springroll, the Mango and Udon were fused together by a sweet chilli sauce. This unusual combination worked well. The sweet chilli was available as a side-dip for this dish and it was mopped up pretty quickly.

J: The myriad of tastes and textures in the roll, like the soft sweet mango, creamy avocado and strands of udon, is well complemented by the tangy sweet chilli-based sauce and a hint of spice from the gari (pink ginger).

Little’s Fish and Chip

V: Mich had this and I manage to sneak a bite of it. To me, the fish was sufficiently fresh, well breaded and the herbs really made the dish more fragrant. The wasabi mayo also went well with this dish.

J: I ordered the fish the last time, and I was so impressed by it, I ordered it again. The generous portion of fresh fish was coated with herbed crumbs which came crisp and not too oily on the outside, and warm and flaky on the inside. The tartar sauce and additional wasabi mayo went well with the fish.

Shephard’s Pie

V: I ordered the Shephard’s Pie through strong recommendations by people who have tried it. True to their word, I wasn’t dissapointed. The potato base was rich and creamy and complemented the minced beef excellently. Thankfully, there wasn’t much garden peas in it. Instead, there were loads of corn kernels and that really made me happy. The Shephard’s Pie is indeed a very warm and hearty dish. It filled me up like a buttercup.

J: I had a bite of this- it was not bad, the potato top rather smooth and the mince beef within was tasty.

Bratwurst Brat

V: Auntie Kit and a couple of the ladies ordered this monster Weiner. IT was humongous and looked really succulently juicy.

J: The garlic bratwurst (pictured) was pretty good, and I preferred this to the mushroom sausage, although some others liked the latter better.

Crepe

V: Ryan had the crepe but I did not manage to try this. They have a few varieties of this as well.

J: I tasted 2 crepes on my previous visit, and while the mushroom and ham crepe oozing cheese was tasty, I preferred the salmon crepe.

Pumpkin Yam

V: This is really the classical evergreen Orh-Ni modernised into a chic glamourous dessert. I found it very light and smooth, very unlike it’s rich classical counterpart. Although it retained the taste and essences of the Classical Orh-Ni, I found the texture a little too smooth for my liking. It would have been perfect if there had been a little more texture to it.

J: I love Orh-Ni, so I loved this dessert, which is a chilled version of the teochew classic. The smooth paste was light enough to not feel too jer-lat after having it. The other dessert- the Citron Tea Yoghurt (not featured), was light and refreshing, with small slivers of fruit reminiscent of marmalade, and with light accents of tea.

V: Overall, I loved the place and I foresee us bring friends to this place to hang out, chill and have a good meal. The inviting environment and excellent food makes it worthwhile to revist this place again.

absolutely adore this. this actually made me dance.=p

Jazzfoodie: Oh my gosh! Never thought you would admit that online! But now that you have.. He is damn cute when he dances… hehehe! esp while he’s driving…. hahahha..