Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler Tasting Session
38 Mosque Street
Opening Hours:
Tue - Sun: 11:30am - 2:30pm (Lunch), 6pm - 10:30pm (Dinner),
Closed Mon
http://www.vita-italiana.sg/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Chope, Chubby Botak Koala, Purple Taste, and Little Tiny Sun.
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| Carbonara |
Fantastic, Authentic Italian Chef's Table
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 10
Value for Money: 10
Budget about SGD $57 per person.
Lunch (per person):
2-courses = $12++
3-courses = $28++
Dinner (per person):
5-courses = $38++
7-courses = $48++
9-courses = $68++
13-courses = $98++
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Chef Carmine is not one to shy away from a challenge. Challenged by his uncle to take over a bankrupt restaurant in Vietnam, he managed to turn it profitable within just a few months at the helm, eventually selling off the now successful restaurant last year. His uncle however, offered him a tougher challenge, to repeat the same feat of turning a failed restaurant profitable, but this time, to do so in the highly competitive dining scene of Singapore. Thus, Chef Carmine, along with his cousin, took over the helm of Vita Italiana in May 2016. Update Dec-2016: Vita Italiana has since been renamed to Your Italian Butler.
It's worth noting that Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler, as a restaurant, was actually established back in July 2015, offering an ala-carte menu. Under the new management of Chef Carmine however, Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is taking a vastly different direction, offering a no menu, osteria / omakase style, authentic Italian dining experience. Essentially, any information about Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler BEFORE Chef Carmine took over in May 2016 should be disregarded; while the brand name remains the same, the concept and management is now completely different.
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| Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler Signage |
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| Us |
Ambience at Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is modern, casual, and cozy. The small floor space features modern furniture and cushioned booths, comfortably spaced and lit by warm lights. Styled after communal Italian meals in the countryside, the intimate setting is well suited for gatherings with family and friends. Along the wall, the eye-catching, well-stocked, dark wooden wine rack allows guests to browse the various labels available. With a seating capacity of just over 45 people, Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is able to host small corporate events. What shocked us was finding out from Chef Carmine that the rental of this cozy space costs SGD $15,000 a month!
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| Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler Exterior |
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| Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler Interior |
Service at Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is even better than most fine dining establishments. You almost feel like you're dining at the home of a friend! Chef Carmine and his team, including front-of-house manager Giorgia, host you like honoured guests, engaging you in conversation, introducing the nuances of each dish, clearing and changing cutlery regularly. Trading jokes and stories of his home in Abruzzo, Italy, Chef Carmine and team ensure that each visit to Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is a memorable experience. Personalisation at its best!
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| Entrance |
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| Seating |
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| Shelf Of Wine Beer |
Food at Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler is home style, rustic Italian cuisine. Down to earth and authentic, there are no menus here. Instead, you tell Chef Carmine what you cannot eat, and he'll tailor a meal for you, drawing on his family recipes and popular Italian comfort dishes from the 20 different regions of Italy. With a daily changing menu, dining here is both surprising and delightful, especially since all ingredients are freshly sourced from local markets, or directly imported from his uncle in Italy. Along with his cousin, they hand make items from scratch in the kitchen, an impressive feat!
Portions are individual or tapas sized, but served communal style. As there is no menu, you decide the number of courses you wish to have in your meal. Prices are incredibly affordable, a 2-course lunch (soup or salad + pasta) costs just SGD $12++, while a 3-course lunch costs SGD $28++ per person. For dinner, meals start at 5-course for SGD $38++, a 7-course dinner costs SGD $48++ per person, a 9-course goes for SGD $68++, and the largest 13-course meal costs SGD $98++ per person. Fantastic value for money, I've never heard of a chef's table concept like this where prices are so wallet-friendly and affordable!
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| Kitchen |
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| Menu Price List |
Choose from a list of 6 flavours of Collesi Wine-Beer, an artisanal Italian beer that is the world's 1st beer made using Champagne wine making techniques. With mineral water from Monte Nerone along with grapes and barley from the family farm of Giuseppe Collesi, master brewer Marc Knops skillfully applies Belgium Trappist and French Champagne brewing techniques to create the exquisite range of Collesi Wine-Beer. For just SGD $38++, you'll get 5 glasses to pair with your meal, and you can even change the varietal!
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| List Of Collesi Wine-Beer |
The Ambrata is an unpasteurized, hazy amber beer, that is naturally refermented in the bottle. It has a clean, intense dried fruit aroma; with an exceptionally creamy, smooth, medium body; and a complex flavour of cereal, hops, apple jam, and prunes. Some sweetness with a touch of bitterness, moderate carbonation, warm and radiant like autumn.
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| Ambrata |
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| Ambrata |
The Appetizer Platter is meant for sharing, this version we had features 2 courses, a salad, and a traditional antipasto.
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| Appetizer Platter |
Named after the valley of Val Taleggio in Lombardy, Italy, the Taleggio cheese is a semi-soft cheese with a strong cheesy aroma, yet has a mild, slight fruity sweet taste. Delicious.
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| Taleggio |
An example of how Chef's uncle supplies him with the finest Italian produce, the Cured Ham Salame Di Sant'Olcese is a lightly smoked ham, with a 50/50 mix of beef and pork. This rather uncommon, cured ham has a bold savoury salty, meaty flavour, with a good amount of fat and a soft texture. Hints of pepper and garlic give this a slight edge.
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| Cured Ham Salame Di Sant'Olcese |
A good, straight forward, hand made Burrata cheese. Nice creamy texture, rich and nearly buttery, very fresh and clean. Best paired with the other bold flavours.
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| Burrata |
The Lettuce, Tomato, Olive Salad features fresh, crunchy green and purple lettuce, but it's the other 2 ingredients that star here. The tomatoes are small but juicy and sweet, while the black olives, imported from Italy through Chef's uncle on his family farm, have a strong earthy salty kick that lifts the whole dish.
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| Lettuce, Tomato, Olive Salad |
The simple, straight forward, home baked Filone bread has a fluffy texture with a crisp crust. Drizzled with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil, lending it a wonderful fragrance.
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| Filone |
The Potato Focaccia is a traditional Italian treat of finely sliced waxy potatoes baked into the top of a focaccia bread, perfumed with oregano herbs. Very aromatic, I felt the taste of this was decent, as the combination of bread and potato was saved by the herbs.
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| Potato Focaccia |
Despite being the most luxurious dish of the evening, I felt the Seared Shrimp And Scallop In Saffron Sauce was also the least memorable. It's not bad, with the fresh sweet deshelled shrimp / prawn having a nice smoky flavour, the small but meaty scallop has a lovely sweet flavour, and the crunchy baby spinach is fresh. The creamy and luxurious saffron sauce is big on flavour, but when everything is eaten together, the saffron sauce somewhat distracts from the fresh sweetness of the seafood.
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| Seared Shrimp And Scallop In Saffron Sauce |
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| Seared Shrimp And Scallop In Saffron Sauce |
The Sauteed Salmon With Pomelo has a fresh salmon fish fillet, sauteed to a nice medium well, still moist with a tender flaky texture and a sweet savoury taste. The garnish of earthy salty black olives, juicy cherry tomatoes, sharp sour Indonesian pomelo, and a unique white vinegar cream, all lend a nice layer and depth of taste to the salmon fish, complementing it well.
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| Sauteed Salmon With Pomelo |
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| Sauteed Salmon With Pomelo |
The Triplo Malto is a complex, hazy golden beer, that uses 3 times the amount of malt, hence its name. It has a strong, spice and wheat aroma; with a rich buttery, smooth, medium body; and a complex flavour of bread crust, vanilla, pineapple, and honey. Bold citrus sweetness with an edge of spice and tropical fruit, moderate carbonation, refreshing and rounded.
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| Triplo Malto |
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| Triplo Malto |
What I liked about the Pork Ribs With Fregula was the chewy bouncy fregula / fregola pasta, made with semolina dough. The pork ribs are meaty and savoury, with tender and moist meat that comes off easily from the bone. The sauce is a mix of bell peppers / capsicum and balsamic vinegar, in classic Italian style. Decent enough as a main course.
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| Pork Ribs With Fregula |
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| Pork Ribs With Fregula |
Loved the Grilled Lamb Rack With Seasonal Greens. Chef showcases the fresh local ingredients he got at the market, in this case, baby Chinese cabbage / bok choy, peas, chili, and bacon, which lends the entire dish a smoky, savoury spicy flavour. The cutlets of lamb rack are meaty and juicy, with tender meat that slices off easily, love the savoury salty taste that lacks the strong gamey flavour. Straight forward, but really good.
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| Grilled Lamb Rack With Seasonal Greens |
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| Grilled Lamb Rack With Seasonal Greens |
The Nera is an unpasteurized, dark black stout beer, that is naturally refermented in the bottle. It has a bold, roast coffee beans and toffee aroma; with a velvet smooth, creamy, full body; and a complex flavour of caramel, chocolate, licorice, and rhubarb. Good sweetness with a lingering bitterness, moderate carbonation, dry and heavy but appealing.
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| Nera |
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| Nera |
The Carbonara was executed in classic Italian style, with a thick gravy that clings to the noodles, and without using any cream. The spaghetti pasta noodles are al-dente, having a slight bite in texture, and the eggy flavours are beautiful. Satisfiying and filling.
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| Carbonara |
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| Carbonara |
The Dessert Platter is meant for sharing, this version we had features 3 courses.
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| Dessert Platter |
The home made, wobbly Panna Cotta was the best dessert. Rich and milky in taste, the melted brown sugar lends a nice floral sweetness to the chilled pudding. This was so good!
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| Panna Cotta |
An above average Tiramisu, slightly heavy on the cream, though the flavour of coffee comes through nicely. The texture is soft and moist, and they don't use liqueur with this. Could have used a tad less cocoa powder, but that's just a personal preference.
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| Tiramisu |
The Vanilla Gelato has a milky, creamy texture, with an intense vanilla sweetness. Rather hardy, it holds its shape for awhile when exposed in room temperature. I liked the other desserts better than this.
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| Vanilla Gelato |
The Limoncello is a sharp, sour sweet, lemon flavoured Italian liqueur, served here as a digestif. Taken straight, it's thought to aid digestion.
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| Limoncello |
I almost wish I didn't have to tell anyone about Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler. With authentic Italian home style food, excellent service better than other restaurants, and affordable prices that are a winner, Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler remains among the most memorable meals I've had. True chef's table concept, and while the ambience is decent at best, this is a place I genuinely want to return to, and support. I highly recommend visiting Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler, and let Chef Carmine wow you.
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 Reserve a table now @ Vita Italiana / Your Italian Butler |
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CONVERSATION