A to Z of 2024: Pasta goes artisanal

SINGAPORE – The hunger for artisanal pizza is eternal in Singapore. But in 2024, the spotlight shone on another well-loved carb: pasta.

Diners may shun chi-chi restaurants, but they cannot say no to a plate of noodles.

And restaurateurs heard them loud and clear. Many more places sprang up for diners to have a plate of pasta and perhaps a glass of wine.

Sure, a diner can opt for a basic plate with that Singapore favourite – carbonara sauce – but restaurants have been upping the ante. The sauces are more complex; in many cases, the pasta is made in-house and comes in ever more esoteric shapes. Most places price their plates below $30.

Chef Denis Lucchi opened Locanda in July. Diners at his one-Michelin-starred Buona Terra constantly clamoured for pasta and he decided to open the casual offshoot in Rowell Road. Pasta dishes – ranging in price from $20 for Casarecce with tomatoes, capers and olives to $28 for Taglioni with tomato and crab – are, arguably, the stars of the menu.

Sospiri, from Italian restaurateur Beppe de Vito, also opened in July at IOI Central Boulevard Towers in the Central Business District, offering pasta ranging in price from $28 to $45. Especially memorable are plump pillows of Ravioli alla Vaccinara ($30), stuffed with oxtail; and Pappardelle con Funghi e Bottarga ($28), wide noodles housemade and topped with mushrooms and shavings of cured tuna roe.

Singaporean chef Willin Low’s Pastaro at Chancery Court opened in August, offering diners the option of eating the housemade spaghetti, spaghettini and fettucini with chopsticks. He keeps the menu concise – some starters and two desserts, with the main focus on pasta. Apart from vongole and carbonara variations, the pasta comes with a distinct Singapore accent.

There is Buah Keluak Spaghetti ($21), with cubes of chicken in an inky sauce made with the bitter Indonesian nut; Singapore Fried Noodles ($26), his take on fried prawn noodles, with crustacean oil, prawn, chilli and makrut lime leaves; and the signature Laksa Pesto Spaghetti ($28), the dish that launched his career in 2005.

Casa Vostra in Raffles City Shopping Centre, a partnership between the Ebb & Flow Group and chef Antonio Miscellaneo, whose La Bottega Enoteca in Joo Chiat serves artisanal pizza, has been reeling in diners.

Those pizzas are a draw here, but the restaurant also has a comprehensive pasta menu, with plates ranging in price from $13 for Aglio e Olio Spaghetti to $28 for Agnolotti del Plin, pasta filled with pork stew. Two more Casa Vostra restaurants are expected to open in 2025.

Chicco, Australian chef Drew Nocente’s pasta bar, opened its first restaurant in Telok Ayer in 2023. Its pasta, priced mostly below $24 a plate, was so popular that he opened a second one in Holland Village in 2024. Options range from Rigatoni Carbonara ($18) to Mafaldine Spanner Crab ($24).

The trend shows no sign of slowing down. Pasta, it is safe to say, has staying power.