Jamie's Italian in Singapore & The Addams Family Musical

Having lunch at Jamie's Italian at Covent Garden was one of the highlights of my trip to London. After years of watching his cooking shows and repeated attempts of replicating his recipes, going to one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants was a dream come true. That meal was such a wonderful experience so I was thrilled to know that he decided to open his first outlet in Asia in a country I'm living in!

After watching the musical, the four of us headed to Vivo City for an Italian treat at the newly opened Jamie's Italian.
The interior and the vibe of the restaurant is consistent with other branches. Wooden sturdy tables, metal outdoorsy chair, lots of natural lighting during the day and candles for the night and cans and cookbooks stacked up to the ceiling created a casual and comfortable dining environment. 

It would be wrong not to start the meal with the Italian bread selection. Warm crusty bread with fragrant extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enough said. 

Jamie's walnut salad was a crunchy combination of salad greens, baby beets and chopped walnuts. The bitterness from the leaves was well balanced by the sweet balsamic dressing.

Honeycomb cannelloni three-ways was filled with aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin and spinach and ricotta cheese and baked in a tomato-based sauce. The cannelloni was creamy and delicious. Pumpkin was my favourite!

Prawn linguine was my favourite pasta dish of tonight. The prawns were juicy and the thin pasta, cooked to al dente, was perfect for the delicate sauce of tomato, fennel and chilli. 

This was the tagliatelle bolognese. The flat pasta had a slightly rough texture and had absorbed the intense sweetness from the mince and aromatic tomato sauce. The generous serving of Parmesan cheese gave the sauce extra richness. 

Vongole tagliolini was slightly bland when compared to other pasta. The clams were a bit small and dry and the sauce was a bit spicy. 

The smooth and creamy tiramisu was an unbeatable dessert. The orange flavour lightened the heaviness of the mascarpone cheese and the bitter espresso. I enjoyed every bite of this. 

Brioche con gelato, quitely literally, consisted of lemon and strawberry ice-creams sandwiched between two brioche buns. Despite the lovable presentation, this was just an average dessert. The ice-creams were melting quite quickly and the brioche became soggy after absorbing the melted ice-cream. The best part of the dish was the lemon ice-cream, which was refreshingly sour and icy.

Although the menu was not as extensive, the standard of the food here at the Singaporean branch was comparable to the one I tried in London. Their pasta, made freshly on site, is definitely something I would come back for. I had expected better customer service after reading several reviews complimenting their waiting staff. The server for our table was absent for most of the night and we had trouble locating a waiter for ordering and the bill. I look forward to my next meal here (which I am sure won't be long), hopefully with more variety on the menu.

Jamie's Italian
1 Harbour Front Walk, Vivo City
#01-165-167

The Addams Family Musical from Broadway was on tour and we bought tickets to watch it on their last day in Singapore. Without much expectations, it turned out to be one of the most entertaining stage performance I have seen.
The songs were catchy and energetic and filled with comical lyrics. There were a lot of dance routines and all the choreography was amazing. Jennifer Fogarty who played Wednesday had an incredibly powerful voice and the sweetest face. Keleen Snowgren and Jesse Sharp shared great dynamics as Morticia and Gomez. Jeremy Todd Shinder who played Pugsley probably had the weakest voice among the cast and struggled with some high notes. 
In this production Wednesday introduced to the Addams her "normal" boyfriend and his parents, who came to visit the family from Ohio. It is definitely an experience that most of us can relate to and the father-and-daughter scene had even made me shed a few tears. 
From the cast to the costume I have thoroughly enjoyed this musical. I have yet been able to stop playing the soundtrack on my phone.