I had heard about this place a while back - it is run by the former chef of Cantina. Given the great experiences I've had there, as well as the horrible experience at Mamma Lucia last night (as well as a reminder from a fellow reader), I finally made it out here (11 Jalan Binka along Rifle Range Road, 6462-0555). It looks like Mr. Valentino has got quite a penchant for choosing out-of-the-way locations. But the crowds still come, which is quite a testament to the quality of his food.In my own twisted little way, I ordered (nearly) the exact same thing that I ordered last night at Mamma Lucia just so that I could make an apples-to-apples comparison: minestrone and penne alla matriciana. It was like night and day. The minestrone was so much cleaner and fresher with a nice sour bite, as was the matriciana sauce. The tornarelli all granchio was pretty darned good too; it was reminiscient of Cantina's delightfully creamy crab sauce, as long as you could get past the disturbingly dark look of the squid ink spaghetti.
But how did it compare to Cantina? I still prefer Cantina. Why? The biggest problem here was that the portions were small; I literally had to order another dish after finishing my pasta, and I still felt unsatisfied. The service wasn't the most attentive here either (in fact, we left without getting dessert since it took them too long to wheel that clumsy dessert cart over). And the food, while pretty good, still wasn't as hearty as Cantina to me (for instance, the minestrone at Cantina was much richer, thicker, and more satisfying). This puzzles me a bit since it was largely the same kitchen...or at least, Valentino's legacy. Anyway, next time, I'll still choose Cantina over Valentino's: Cantina is also a bit more down to earth to me.
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