Spageddies Italian Kitchen @ Marina Square

We were spoilt for choice.

Despite the countless restaurants/cafes/bistros/foodcourts in the City Hall/Marina Square/Suntec City areas, we found it hard to decide on THE perfect eatery on the night of Deepavali. Readers might be anticipating THE perfect eatery that we have chosen, but disappointingly, THE perfect one was finally decided based on the nearest walking distance from our point of exhaustion.

Perfect or not, Spageddies at Marina Square instantly greeted us with it's cosy Italian setting and smiling staff. I have been to the Paragon (Orchard) branch before and was not amused by the food at all. Despite the reassurance from my friends, I was prepared for the worst. Luckily I had Bak Chor Mee an hour ago, I told myself.

Browsing through the menu, Mikey was fast to order half a dozen of baked escargot or French Snails (S$8.50). I was surprised with the order and didn't expect much from it. This is afterall, an Italian restaurant. The relatively large snails turned out quite flavourful, albeit the slightly overcooked meat. The melted cheese, combined with finely chopped garlic provided a rich and aromatic flavour. Addition of herbs would have accentuated the taste and scent.

Next on the list was the Grilled Chicken Primavera (S$16.50). According to the menu (which included Katakana characters), this dish was voted by Excellent food Award on exceptional culinary skill and consistency in 2001 & 2002. Recognition aside, this dish was again, quite flavourful. The al dente spaghetti, was stir-fried with olive oil, heaps of garlic and chili flakes, I appreciate the well controlled usage of salt and the pungency of the garlic chopped. The addition of vegetables (including broccoli, cherry tomato, and carrot) and slices of tender wood-grilled chicken added texture and flavour to the spaghetti.

As the Seafood Sizzlelini (S$46.50, serves 2 persons) was served, I was reminded of a paella as the spaghetti was basically covered by a generous amount of seafood including mussels, prawns and crayfish. The densely flavoured neapolitan sauce was very appetising and tasted rather sweet, perhaps to due to the juices from the fresh seafood. It also complemented the naturally bland spaghetti very well. I enjoyed the bell peppers and onions the most as they were surprisingly fresh and sweet.

We also had a bottle of 2005 Chardonnay from Folonari (Soave, Italy) at S$39. Tasted rather mild and fruity, it went well with the dishes. Other beverages consumed included soft drinks (S$3.90 each), iced lemon tea (S$3.90) and Italian Margarita (S$8.50).

With a little room left for dessert, we shared a Tiramisu (S$5.95).Credit must be given to the creatively designed top (cocoa powder dusting resembling the restaurant's name), Aesthetics aside, it was just alright for me. Definition of alright: well-controlled sweetness, soft sponge and generous portion of mascarpone. To me, the taste of kahlua was almost non-existence. Perhaps I was still in love with Alexis' version. The unripe strawberry and kiwi slices were also unnecessary, in my opinion.

The bill summed up to S$156.25 for 4 persons.

The food at Spageddies was quite decent and definitely a far cry from the experience I had at Paragon. With cosy ambiance to boost too.

Spageddies Italian Kitchen
No. 6, Raffles Boulevard
#02-138, F&G Marina Square
Tel: 6337 9156
Website: www.spageddies.com.sg