Galbiati Gourmet Deli - Revisited

It has been about more than a year since I last visited Galbiati. Since then, Galbiati has become much more famous, owing to the reviews in the media. When we reached, we couldn't find a seat within the small shop, and ended up sitting outside. Gone were the days where you could come without making reservations. The overall look hasn't changed, but now they present their wares much more like a restaurant than a deli. There's a menu now, with all the Italian names laughing at you. Prices have climbed by about $1.50 too. We looked through the menu and decided on the same old favourites, in addition to a pasta entree for everyone.
G ordered the Pasta al Nero di Seppia ($18). Although the pasta comes with no squid or anything else, it was heavenly. Prepared much like aglio olio but without the chilli, the pasta was strong with the fragrance of extra virgin olive oil. Next was the impressive squid ink. They were extremely generous with it. The slightly sourish taste, reminiscent of the deep sea, and brought out with some freshly grated black pepper completed this pasta. I can't really find fault with it, other than the oilyness gets to you after some time. But this is cuisine Italiano we are talking about!
I had the Gnocchi con Quattro Formagghi ($18). Gnocchi are often termed italian dumplings, but are more like little cuboid lumps made with potato. This dish here is served in a thick sauce made from 4 cheeses, hell for the cheese hater but heaven for cheese lovers. The gnocchi were smooth on the outside, yet puffy, fluffy and also chewy on the inside, very interesting experience. The cheese sauce was incredibly thick, and the aroma of cheese was powerful, lively yet not overwhelming and pungent. The mentor loved the cheese too, for its wholesome and full flavour. Add some black pepper and the taste is even better.
G only took the photo when the mentor had already tucked into his Vongole ($18?). Linguine looked al dente and the clams were huge. I had a few and they were fresh, tasting of sea salt and juicy. They were generous with the clams as well.
Beef Goulesh ($7) kind of disappointed. The slightly sourish and meaty sauce still scored pretty well with us, but the beef chunks were large and tough and did not absorb the flavour well. The Beef Goulesh of old was better, with smaller chunks and better flavour. By the way, the white stuff is potato slices served with a light cream sauce.

Cottage Pie ($7) was as good as old times. The mashed potato layer was so smooth and flavourful it was irresistable. It melts smoothly in your mouth, and releases the savoury flavour that it hides. Minced beef with garden veggies went well with the potato, making it a very homely dish.

The apple pie ($7) was a unique one. other than tasty and soft cinnamon apple slices, the pie hid pine nuts and raisin which gave some variety to the texture of the pie. However i personally found the crust too hard. There could be more filling too.

The mango mousse cake ($7), interesting, bouncy yet moussey. It looks so fluffy, like a normal sponge cake, and even bounces when you hit it with a fork. However once it enters the mouth, the mousse just melts gently, releasing all the fresh mango flavour. Very interesting texture..We wondered how the chef made it. It was that good! I enjoyed this cake very much.

Food: Food has more or less maintained standards, still offers good italian fare better than many restaurants elsewhere for similar prices.

Price: 6/10 With the extra presentation not present previously, prices have risen

Ambience: Pretty fine service, although G had everything to find fault with the engrish of the waitress. The service was sufficient for me though.

Location: 7/10

Address: The Rail Mall 400 Upper Bukit Timah Road S 678050