Prego Restaurant & Deli @ Fairmont Hotel

I interrupt our usual Melaka Series with a 'broadcast' on a local restaurant.

As much as I have lots to say about the food in Malaysia, I am a Singaporean and I do eat, so I do have opinions about the food here. I guess the usual staple here in this website will eventually shift more to a local theme instead. Meanwhile, I still have some reviews of Kuala Lumpur before I consider the Malaysia series done.

Back to the topic, Prego is an established Italian restaurant since the days of long long ago. Prego is located at the Fairmont Singapore Ground Level, which is part of Swissotel and Raffles City. It is located in a little corner connected to the Fairmont Hotel. IMHO, it is still one of the better Italian restaurants in Singapore.

When I was still a student almost 18 years ago, we used to visit the restaurant when they had 1 for 1 deals. Then it was an awesome experience - the decor was classy and top notch. People literally dressed to the nines when they come for a meal here, and the waiters address you by name, fuss over you like a personal butler. It was true luxury.

However, fast forward to now, Prego has undergone an uplift/modernization a few years ago. The decor and ambiance feels more accessible, having a bistro and lively feel, the colours are brighter, wooden and lighter furniture.

(Taken from http://www.smugourmetclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Prego-entrance.png)

The interior as taken from my Ipad:

Unfortunately, since the renovation, they don't pay attention to your name anymore. However, the servers still try to fuss around your needs. Our server, a nice lady named Erjoy, came to our table and welcomed us to holler her anytime we need something. She was very polite and it was a real joy to be served by her. Unfortunately, initiative was a bit lacking, and I had to ask her to top my water several times. I'm being picky here but I'm a thirsty guy and I really hope my water could be topped up without asking. As you know, I'm particular about water (see bit about being charged for water). :)



More pics taken from our table:

The windows seats are the best. If you reserve in advance, do ask for a window view. Unfortunately  I didn't get one - reserved too late.

(Taken from http://sg.lifestyleasia.com/var/lifestyleasia/storage/images/media/images/import/article/24/image_249601/1736267-1-eng-GB/image_249601_cover_655x380.jpg)

There are some tapas style appetizers located at the front counter near the entrance. You may simply pick what you like from the counter and have them sent to you. It's about SGD5 per tapas. I didn't pick any as they were not appealing to me. They were some open-faced sandwiches as tapas as well.

We ordered the Mushroom soup and Parma ham to share as starters:

For SGD19, the mushroom is expensive, and it's a small bowl. I think I only got about 5-6 spoons after sharing. It's not that special - the mushrooms has been chopped finely so you don't get to taste chunks inside. The good thing though is that the cream did not taste heavy, and surprisingly light. If you have tried the Mushroom soup at Poulet @ Bugis, that's what you call HEAVY - very creamy and milky until it almost puts you off with the 'jialat'. Prego's Mushroom soup is light, but the portion is small and haves you wanting more,  SGD19 is steep...

The Parma ham (SGD21) was also petite - I remember they served 4 slices in the past (correct me if I am wrong)? It was just 2 melons with slices of thin ham on top, served with some bitter tasting vegetables (I'm sorry I don't know the name - please tell me if you know). As usual, the small portion leaves you wanting for more. I can't say this is the best Parma ham I've ever tasted, so nothing special to shout about. It's decent enough - but the price is a deterrence.

Along with the starters, we were also served a bread roll, which is their specialty - freshly baked everyday and garnished by a little sprinkle of herbs and spices. I forgot to take a picture when it arrived, so here in the picture is only the leftover. The bread is tasty and complimentary. It's also free-flow, though I noticed no one asked for a second helping - you'll need space for the pasta/pizza main courses later, Italian food is lots of carbo!

For my main course, I ordered the Seafood Pizza (SGD35). It was really sumptuous and good as usual - always my favourite here in Prego. The ingredients are generous, with plenty of squid rings (Calamari), mussels and sweet tomatoes. Yeah - small sweet tomatoes which adds another dimension to the usual savoury pizza. Don't worry, it's not sweet to the extent that it steals the attention away from the seafood, it's just a dash. The cheese is also generous, chewy and sticky as you lift the pizza slice out.

The pizza is huge, and I could only finish of it. By this point, I already had too much carbo. I was stuffed! The pizza comes in Full and Thin crust, and I ordered Thin. I've never tried Full before because I assume it may be too filling. I prefer Thin where it is more crispy and you get to taste the ingredients more.

My companion ordered the Chicken Rotisserie (SGD36) - it's written in complicated French but simply put, it's roasted chicken. Hmm.. what's French dining doing in an Italian restaurant? :)

It looks cute, isn't it - a spring chicken strung up on a stick.. haha The presentation is creative.

It tastes nice too. It was served really piping hot. The serving plate is thick iron cast plate, so it keeps the vegetables and wedges hot. The chicken looks small, but when we worked on it, we couldn't finish it - only managed to finish 3/4 before we gave up.

The roast was really tender - even the breast meat portion, one of the best breast meat I have ever tasted. Because the dish was hot, the chicken remained piping hot, fresh and tender. It was marinated already with herbs, pepper and spices, so it tastes good on its own. But the dish came with brown sauce - thick and flavourful, definitely reduced from some kind of stock, if you don't find it flavorful enough. We really liked the chicken - it tasted better than it looked.

In the end, we were too full to order desserts, but I know the Tiramisu is really good. Also, there were several tables celebrating birthdays and the staff presented the cake with a candle and sang the song for them! Overall, the mood was casual, comfortable, yet dignified.

P.S: I packed half of a pizza. 1/4 of the chicken, and many potato wedges back. I noticed many other tables packed food back too, btw.

Verdict:
I had the Feed at Raffles (FAR) card, so I received a 50% discount (now that's the catch of the story). With that discount, I would say YAY! The ambiance is great, the food is tasty and the service was warm and friendly for this price. Be careful about the starters though. Even with the discount, the Mushroom soup wasn't worth SGD10, same goes to the Parma ham. Order the Fried Calamari instead, it's more worth for money.

Also, always order the pizza when you are at Prego - the pizzas are the 'bestest' items here. This is the first time I tried the Chicken Rotisserie and I think it's nice for its discounted price.

Another catch is I paid about SGD200 for the FAR discount card (under the DBS credit card scheme), so I am trying to reap back the cost. Overall, it still isn't cost-effective until I have had enough meals at Prego! I guess you have to factor the SGD200 I have paid for the card.. I'm not too sure how many meals I need to eat to break even??

If you don't have the FAR discount card, then it's NAY. I'm sorry to say this, but it's too expensive for this price. I think you can get your Italian fix at Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore, and it's sometimes even prepared by an authentic Italian chef. Though not the best quality, the price is more cost-effective and decent enough at that price. I haven't tried Michelangelo's though, though I have their 50% Palate discount card. Any reviews?