Sunday, August 29, 2010

Procacci @ Customs House

I have been to Florence in Italy, but I never saw Procacci while there. Maybe it's the Christmas season and they were closed for that week.


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Procacci has a looong loooong history. Opened in Florence in 1885, Procacci is one of the few gourmet shops in Italy which specialised in truffle. But what made them famous was their panini tartufati – soft rolls smeared with fragrant truffle salsa. Unfortunately, it's still not available here in Singapore.

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Sitting al-fresco is a good idea when there is no noisy YOG concerts or when the weather is cooler. The view outside is also better. However, we chose to sit inside as it was more quiet and cooler during a warm Wednesday evening.

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Free iced water is served here. This is Procacci's first ever shop outside of Europe. And Singapore's outlet actually follows their one and only Italian full restaurant in Vienna, Austria and no their gourmet shops concept in Italy.

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The bread is quite dull, but as I was hungry, had no problems finishing it. The olive dip was really good.

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The restaurant was pretty quiet in the inside, but was already full and reserved outside.

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Had a serving of Truffled Potato Soup (S$15) . The soup may taste ordinary, but I was hungry and cold that day, so I was pretty much satisfied with this warm soup. The restaurant did not stinge on the truffle oil. Quite robust.

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Capellini, caviar, truffle oil (S$50) - Chilled pasta with caviar and truffle oil. Gunther's still make the best version, but Procacci has almost double the portion of Gunter's. Taste was good.

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Classic Osso Buco, saffron risotto (S$35) - The big bone is the bone marrow and is from the veal's shank bone. Very very tender and flavourful. This was recommended by the serving staff. The risotto was also nicely executed together with the aroma of the saffron.

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I didn't quite like the Milanese-style breaded veal (S$30) . No doubt the veal is tender, but I think the chef over fried the crumbs till there was some "burnt" smell and taste to some part of the veal.

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Price is not cheap, but the food is quite good. I am waiting for them to introduce their panini tartufati which made them famous in the first place. Menu is limited now as they will only have a full menu in September.


Procacci
1st Floor
Customs House,
70 Collyer Quay

5 comments:

  1. We booked this restaurant for New Years Eve. When we booked it we were told it was A la carte menu, which was one of the main reasons we booked it, only to find out when we arrived that it was a 6 course fixed set menu. The food they served was dreadful, cold and uncooked, however the real issue with this establishment is the manager, who is rude, arrogant and inhospitable. Just because you are Italian, it does not give you the right to tell a customer to "shut up" when they are talking. I will never be eating here again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.

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  2. Oh gosh...feel bad to learn about your horrible experience, especially visited with celebratory mood during New Year Eve. During my visit earlier, the service was not good, but at least it was not really rude, just cold and unfriendly.

    Thanks for updating. Belated Happy New Year.

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  3. We were also at Procacci to welcome in the New Year and I can only concur with the above review.

    It was obvious from the start that the kitchen was in a complete mess (cold food, slow service...)and this was confirmed when the chef came out (after our complaints) to acknowledge that the restaurant has "a lot of issues" including no hot plates and a tiny kitchen.

    The General Manager (short, angry Italian man in a navy blazer) was rude, aggressive and unhelpful when we raised our issues. In fact I would go as far as to say he should not be working in the service industry - he displayed no customer service skills whatsoever.

    I would hate to say Procacci runined our NYE, as the company and setting were fantastic, but I am hoping that we don't experience a meal (or service) like this again in 2011. I will be telling everyone I can what an awful restaurant Procacci is.

    Happy New Year anyway!
    Lisa x

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  4. I went there twice on friday evenings and I must say the waiters were extremely friendly to us, the hospitality there seemed wonderful.
    Could it possibly be just a one night affair when people (i.e.customers) are just overwhelming?!?! being public holiday eve, nowhere around that river is going to have tiptop service.plus being a singaporean customer, our standards are usually higher than usual combined with low level of tolerance for mistakes bound to happen in any line of service industry.
    their prosecco is refreshing and the ambience provides a serene and calming experience. i have yet to try the food but I believe the situation there on a non-public holiday is a lot more pleasant.

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  5. Really? The service has improved? Hope it will stay on that way...it has loss a lot of customers, including myself, just after the very first visit...

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