Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) Appreciation Dinner

As reviewer Weighty Man had mentioned, a group of 30 of us were recently invited to an appreciation dinner at Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma). Held to commemorate their 5th year of operation, the owner, Ping, invited the folks of HGW, her suppliers, as well as several friends to celebrate. 


I remarked to reviewer fatpig (of http://www.timelessfacade.com/), that the owner, Ping, really didn't have to hold this appreciation dinner. Doing so, she had to close the restaurant for one night... Losing a night's worth of business, while offering a complimentary meal to outsiders! First time I've heard any restaurant do something like this... So a Big Thank You, Ping! 


Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) is a proponent of the slow food culture, so dinner was a 7-course affair spanning 3 hours. We started off with house-made Foccacia Bread with an olive oil dip, and a refreshing house-brewed Iced Mint Lemon Tea. 

Appreciation Dinner Menu 11-Jun-2012

Iced Mint Lemon Tea

Next, lightly breaded Calamari with a house-made Tomato Dip. The tomato dip was fresh and flavourful. 

Calamari Squid Rings With Tomato Dip

This was followed by 2 pizzas. The Smoked Duck Pizza has been improved with a new sauce, which complemented the pesto crust and the saltiness of the duck. 

For the Pizza Bianca, I loved the semi-dried tomatoes, which was just bursting with flavour. The 3 cheeses (Smoked Scamorza, Provolone, Mozzarella) were baked directly into the crust, and it was light and well-balanced. 

Smoked Duck Pizza Slice With Pesto Crust, Romaine, Radicchio

Bianca Pizza Slice With Smoked Scamoza, Provolone, Mozzarella, Semi-Dried Tomato, Basil

We then had 2 pasta dishes. The vegetarian Spaghetti Con Funghi E Olive was done Aglio Olio style, and was light on the palate. I think it's great for those who don't want to feel to full after eating pasta.
 
The Home Made Gnocchi With Bacon And Mushrooms was, in contrast, much heavier as it came in a cream sauce. 

Spaghetti Con Funghi E Olive With Mushrooms, Kalamata Olives, Semi-Dried Tomatoes, Pine Nuts

Home Made Gnocchi With Bacon And Mushrooms

Service, which had been excellent up to this point, stalled a little when it came to the Pork Ribs. We think the kitchen had some trouble getting the food out, and Ping even went back to assist. 

Still, we were having a great time chatting, and being that the staff were really friendly and helpful, and the meal complimentary, nobody really minded the wait.
 
We would have been fine if they had just skipped ahead to the dessert, but the kitchen persevered! And when they finally served the Pork Ribs, it was worth the wait. Tender, fall-off-the-bone meat, with a hint of rum in the sauce, enhanced by the smokiness of the grilled baby corn. Although I have to say that I couldn't really taste the smokiness of bacon in the roasted potatoes though. But it was still good! 

Oven Baked Pork Ribs Marinated In Jamican Rum With Grilled Baby Corn And Roasted Bacon Potatoes

Finally, Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) famous dessert, their Tiramisu. The layers of biscuit and cream were just drenched in liquor and cocoa, wonderfully tasty, and just so sinfully heavy! I couldn't finish it although I wanted to... Ate till I couldn't eat any more! 

Tiramisu

We had a wonderful dinner at Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma). Thanks for everything Ping! 






















Just an additional observation as a Mass Communication major. With an increasing number of businesses going online, using new media and social media to engage their customers, many times they forget that the new media audience are active consumers and producers as well. 


Simply putting up a web page, facebook profile, blog, or youtube account means nothing without regular daily or weekly updates of content and news, and two-way interaction with their audience. Without such engagement, their audience will simply wander off. 


Claiming to be a personal and friendly restaurant, Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) has indeed lived up to its claim, utilizing new media and social media to engage their customers, basically putting a 'face' to the brand name. This 'personal touch' is what wins people over, and causes them to spread positive word-of-mouth to their friends and network. 


By leveraging off Hungry Go Where (http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/villa_di_parma/), a blog (http://www.villadiparma.com/), and a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Villa-Di-Parma/167292796623340), Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) is able to reach out to its audience / customers, at very low cost, while bringing the all-important factor of human touch. 


How can they improve from here? 


For starters, I felt that Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) could have taken photos and videos of its appreciation dinner. 
With the abundance of bloggers / photographers present that day, it would have been simple. Post the photos to facebook, and the videos to youtube, and those present could have shared them with their networks.
 
This would generate publicity for Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma), and thus, more business. 


Regular blog update would help as well... Not just promotion or news, but maybe even simple recipes readers could prepare at home, or perhaps the history and culture behind a certain item on their menu. Or maybe share more about the social causes / environmental causes that interest them.
 
From here, they could even rally a community of loyal readers, to participate or engage in other ways. 


Finally, Villa Di Parma (Formerly Ristorante De Parma) could explore advertising through new media. Targeted ads on facebook, hungry go where, youtube, or even google are cheap, and helps raise brand awareness. 

Or utilize search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Include keywords in their content such as "Italian Food", "Singapore", "Serangoon Gardens", "Villa Di Parma", "Ristorante De Parma", "Pasta", "Pizza" or "Home Made".