Part of the LifeBrandz group, which owns Zirca, Borgata is a semi casual Italian restaurant located in Clarke Quay.

My love affair with Borgata began way back in 2008 when one-half of Borgo, Chef Andre Badiali and Ganesh, the ever affable manager. Borgo (now-defunct) was a restaurant that was situated just before Sixth Avenue, and which now houses L’Ancora.

The other half of Borgo, ala Chef Mimmo, struck out on his own, to open Al Borgo along Bukit Timah Road.

You can read previous review of Al Borgo here. I have, however, heard somewhat negative reviews of the pastas there recently from friends and family. Nonetheless, the grilled meat dishes that Chef Mimmo dishes are still, excellent.

Instead of the usual complimentary bread basket, we were offered a complimentary bruschetta platter.

Who doesn’t enjoy olive oil marinated diced tomatoes served on top of warm freshly grilled/toasted bread?

Appetizers

An order of 2 appetizers to share – Mixed Garden Salad and Parma Ham.

Mixed Garden Salad

Fresh, crisp greens to start the meal seemed like the ideal way to start the meal.

I would have asked to have the (somewhat overpowering) onions omitted, had I known that they were going to be included. It is, of course, just my personal preference.

Note: I love onions, especially for the flavours they lend to a dish; just not served up raw.

Prosciutto Salad

What comes to mind when you combine two thoughts – Italian Restaurant and Parma Ham. Parma Ham and Melon.

In all fairness, parma ham and melon are like yin and yang but it does get boring after a while.

Borgata does away with the melon and combines it with a fresh greens and olives. The greens helped to counter the saltiness of the thinly sliced parma ham.

The combination of greens, olives and prosciutto was just a joy to eat.

Main Courses

Spaghetti alla Vongole

A classic pasta dish, the Vongole was a natural choice for my dining partner.

The white wine and clam stock ere more than sufficient to flavour the dish.

Unfortunately, some of the clams had remnants of their sandy home, in other words, some were not cleaned as thoroughly as they should have been.

Duck Tagliatelle

Although cooked perfectly al-dente, the pasta somehow failed to gel with the creamy, cheesy sauce.

Personally, I prefer light sauces and this rich sauce just did not cut it out for me. After a few bites, it gave me the jelak feeling.

The one saving grace was that the duck meat was really tender.

Dessert

Tiramisu

My dining partner’s de-facto dessert of choice at any Italian restaurant is the ubiquitous tiramisu.

Borgata’s rendition of the Italian classic was decent at best. While not overwhelming sweet (which I absolutely adore), there was hardly any hint of alcohol and coffee.

Note: I did not manage to clarify with the Ganesh if it was meant to be that way, or it was just a chef’s bad day at work.

jelak: Cloyed with an excess of something so as to cause disgust
(From: http://www.singlishdictionary.com/singlish_J.htm)

Borgata Trattoria Osteria

Blk 3C River Valley Road
#01-02 The Cannery, Clarke Quay