Da Paolo @ Holland Village

The last time I visited Holland Village was like, a decade ago. Seriously! I have generally avoided Holland Village in the past because parking was a nightmare, and the place was usually too crowded. Now that there is a train station right at its doorstep - and a 50% discount on Da Paolo here (via AMEX Palate) - I decided to drop by with my gf.

Carpaccio Manzo, $24

Thinly sliced beef tenderloin, with rocket salad and parmesan cheese. The beef was totally raw, by the way - 'carpaccio' refers to thin slices of raw beef. I found it a bit too thin to have much beef flavour, so this was just average.

Zuppa del Giorno, $13

This is actually cream of pumpkin soup. I thought the breadsticks were quite unnecessary, actually. The soup still tasted not bad - at least it didn't have that 'instant' kind of taste.

Tagliatelle Granchio, $28

Tagliatelle pasta with crab meat, tomato, cream, and vodka. I liked this dish; the ingredients were combined together quite well to give a unique taste. There's almost no vodka taste in it though.

Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia, $27

Squid ink spaghetti with cuttlefish. This is obviously the kind that gives you black teeth, black lips and a black tongue. I found the cuttlefish to be quite tasteless, while the spaghetti was nothing special. 

Tiramisu Da Paolo, $13

According to the menu, this had ladyfinger biscuits, coffee, mascarpone cheese, valrhona, chocolate, and marsala. This tiramisu was good! It was rich and yet not too creamy.


This dinner was average (after discount). I wouldn't make a trip down here just for this, but I wouldn't mind dropping by just for desserts after dinner.