Drool Blog #2: Cool with Al-fresco dining

Having been pretty pre-occupied by work recently, I thought S would have been too busy to go on the little "specials dates" we would usually have on the days past the mid-month. I was caught in a (pleasant) surprise when he nonchalantly "reminded"me of our dinner date in the morning. Technically, it should not be deemed as a reminder cos there was no pre-appointment. Nonetheless, the fact that he actually made the effort to keep the evening aside amidst vying attentions means much.

We settled at this little al-fresco dining place at Labrador Park called "THE OLIVE RISTORANTE". Very italian name that speaks of the food served indeed.


I was initially pretty skeptical about doing an outdoor dining as such in Singapore. In fact, I started off, unable to help, but scrutinizing whatever little insect that may be having a wheel of time trying to find the shortest way off the table before I squash them.

Perhaps weather that day was good. Or perhaps Hong was right when she said being under the trees beat being in the air conditioned room. To be exact though, we were never directly under the trees, thought we were made to believe so. There was a transparent shelter cleverly hidden above the plant-parasites, making outdoor dining experience possible even in the rain.

With the fan supplying sufficient draught, we manage to have an outdoor dinner without much complaint of perspiration pouring. It is either that, or we were simply too distracted by the pretty food...


First on the order was the seafood platter appetiser. The presentation sent us drooling, and the dish delectable. okay... ... maybe it's my photo-taking skills that still pend improvements... here's another shot I got from streetdirectory.com...

Scallops topped with prawns, and smoked salmon topped with cavier

The pros made it more palatable looking indeed. I loved the prawns & scallops... and the drips of rich balsamic vinegar that goes with the greens. Smoked salmon and the cavier was a tad too salty though.

For the mains, we ordered Al fungi linguine that S thinks looked like chinese noodles on the photo... yea... blame the incompetent photographer and her phone again..

The color looked off indeed for it was not exactly the usual tomato based gravy you normally have on your pasta. This one has a little buttery goo kinda texture with a little spicy, but nothing overpowering. Just lacking in the tomato flavor.

Star of the night was the dessert. Since this is our first visit, and we are unfamilar with what's best, we went for the cannot-go-wrong choice: warm chocolate cake with ice-cream.

The cake was warm and heavenly, the vanilla ice-cream cutely sitting on a little round dish goes perfectly well with the chocolate. We cleaned off the plate in matter of minutes. Lingering, we observed that the crowd is made up of couples seeking their romantic whiles under the velvety dark, and a number of yuppies chilling out over bottles of wine.

The casual tranquaility made the dinner experiential, and have me appreciate the food and the company better. An after-dinner walk around the area (didn't wander off too far though, cos scarey cat is not too comfy with places that are too dark & deserted) , and subsequent drive down the hill ends the evening on an awesome note.

Might be nice to have dinner against the setting sun. Guess I can do this another time... earlier...

Address: Labrador Park 1019, Labrador Villa Road, Carpark A, Singapore

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