Problems
Location
Finding the Latteria Mozzarella bar.
Name
What does the name Latteria mean?
What exactly is mozzarella?
Menu translation - what is burratina?
Answers
Location
Finding it is not problem. It's on the corner in Duxton Hill, which is clearly marked by a signpost.
Name
The name Latteria means dairy. My first thought was latte is milk. Right. As Singaporeans say, correct. But I guessed milk bar, and it's dairy.
Menu and Mozzarella
According to Wikipedia:
"Mozzarella (English /ˌmɒtsəˈrɛlə/; Italian: [mottsaˈrɛlla]) is a southern Italian dairy product traditionally made from Italian buffalo milk by the pasta filata method. Mozzarella received a Traditional Specialities Guaranteed certification from the European Union in 1998. This protection scheme requires that mozzarella sold in the European Union is produced according to a traditional recipe. The TSG certification does not specify the source of the milk, so any type of milk can be used. In Italy mozzarella made with the milk of the Italian water buffalo is an important variety."
Ampelos Wine Cellars of California
I went to a wine dinner, a set meal with pre-arranged dishes (no choices) and matching wines. The meal featured wines from Ampelos Cellars in Santa Barbara, California. The name Ampelos is Greek for vine. The winery owner Peter Work wore a distinctive American cowboy hat.
Peter told us about the winery following the organic principles established by Rodolf Steiner, better known to me for his architecture featuring curves to soothe both the well and the sick.
The other speaker was Peter's wife Rebecca. She enlightened us about how many choices you make when deciding on the kind of wood for wine barrels. Wood from which country (American Oak, French Oak etc). Should it be roasted, if so, medium ...etc. Should the wood be made with dry or wet treatment.
We started with Italian Prosecco which is my favourite. The staff are Italian and the waiter who served us came from the same place as the Prosecco. The name Prosecco di Valdobbiadene means Prosecco from Valdobbiadene. (Confusingly, Prosecco was originally both a place name but the grape has now been renamed Glera, to avoid confusion.)
Welcome Canapés
As we stood around outside the front of the restaurant, we had Prosecco with canapés. My favourite was the smoked salmon - which I love. I'm allergic to calamari, which other people sampled.
Sit Down Menu
Then we sat down for the dinner, matching the food to the pre-ordained wines brought over by the wine maker, rather than the usual way you dine by choosing your food and then the wine.
I marked both the wines and food dishes out of ten as a simple guide to what to re-order. (My husband made proper detailed tasting notes for himself, on appearance such as colour and density, bubbles if any etc, aromas, taste (sweet, acid, tannin, finish) and quality assessment.
The Burratina
The mozzarella cheese I tried was a burratina, served in a white bun shape, with a soft centre. Rather bland, but lifted by the tasty accompaniments. That was a novelty. I gave it 5 out of ten, but loved the Viognier, which I gave 8 out of 10.
An Italian meal includes a past a course, before the meat. Yes, we then had pasta. Veal ravioli. Enhanced by a cream sauce, visually enhanced with the contrasting colour of pistachio nuts scattered on top. The numbers I awarded were creeping up. Seven out of ten both food and the Pinot Noir, Santa Rita 2012. I don't normally like Viognier, nor Pino Noir, so I was impressed.
The next dish was the highlight for me. Oven baked Chilean Cod fish. I normally prefer plaice to cod but the cod was exceptional, with roasted pumpkin. None out of ten for that.
The main dish was Lamb shank. To finish we had dark chocolate and hazelnut parfait.
Service was brilliant, except I was not offered the coffee or tea.
My observation is that when you have a speaker, they should go round every table in turn to speak to every diner. The waiters should have a tick list of every table being served tea and coffee. Also just because the husband or host says, 'no thank you.' to the offer of coffee, does not mean that the wife or guest did not want any.
My overall assessment of the meal was 4 out of 5 stars. That's the top mark for a restaurant.
What would have taken it up to 5 stars - Michelin standard in my opinion?
1 A real surprise in the presentation of the dessert. For example, made in the shape of a swan or ship or basket; or a surprise - doing something unusual such as an exploding bombe, or cutting open to reveal another colour and flavour.
2 Special chocolates served with the coffee and/or bill.
3 Something to take home - such as a rose for the ladies, a chocolate wrapped in foil, a discount for another meal on paper shaped like an origami swan, or even an address card in the shape of a Prosecco bottle, or shutters opening to reveal a Prosecco bottle.
At the side is a pleasant patio if you want to eat and drink al fresco.
Latteria mozzarella bar (and restaurant)
40 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089618
Tel:(+65) 6866 1988.
Open lunch time 12-2.30 and evening 6-11.30.
info@latteria.com
www.latteriamb.com
www.ampeloscellars.net
www.ampeloscellars.com (the vineyard in California, USA)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker
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