When it comes to foodies in Singapore, the option for getting it varies from one from another but nothing comes close to the sensation of an Italian dish sliding down the tongue and leaving a trail of mesmerizing flavors, just like what the tongue felt when the dish arrived in the mouth. This is the reason why you would see people waiting outside of the restaurants in for long hours just to get a taste of it.
It’s not only food that makes the restaurant stand out amongst the rest of the Italian restaurants, but it is also the vibe they create with the place. People in go to these restaurants expecting a full Italian experience. Which means food and the authenticity of the place to Italian culture. Italian restaurants worldwide have acknowledged that, and they found the right balance between traditional take on a dish and modernizing it a little.
A multi-ethnic place such as Singapore has a wide variety of choices to appeal to your hunger for devouring Italian food. The taste of the dishes will differ from another, the same thing can also be said about the cost. It is up to you to decide where do you want to go for a good time. You can take your date to a 5 star Michelin star restaurant for the very best quality the restaurant has to offer, or some decent restaurant in the main street.
The experience SurprisingItaly recommends will differ from one place to another, but they all will have one thing in common which is the quality of the food they deliver. Every Italian dish recipe is passed down from generations, and Italian restaurants are known to maintain the quality of the dish above anything else. Otherwise, people can the difference between a classic taste of the dish to another unfamiliar palate.
So, if you are looking to have a fancy time with your loved one in Singapore or just celebrate an occasion, just step into the world of Italian dishes. Where each dish would be as memorable as the last dish, if not more. Because at SurprisingItaly we believe every food in an Italian restaurant is well crafted from a traditional recipe, and each of the dish get s paid the highest amount of detail observation to maximize the overall quality and the design of the dish. The dish will look appealing to the eyes of a keen observer or a newcomer and the would have the taste to match the outer appearance.
The important factor of any restaurant is the food they deliver. And for an Italian restaurant is no different. Especially, for an Italian restaurant, the expectation is high for the food people expect from a genuine Italian place. This means the quality of the food must be maintained to the highest level, on every dish that leaves the kitchen to the table of the customer.
The Memorable Taste Of The Dish
Here are some of the reasons why people tend to prefer to go to Italian restaurants over any other place.
The food is simple, no additional stuff added to make it more suitable to a general audience. The taste of the food comes from a traditional recipe. It helps the dish to stick to the authenticity more than wandering away to find a new meaning.
Italian cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in the Singapore. Although this is a recent change in the restaurant industry, Italian cuisine dates back to the 4th century BC where the roots are derived from potatoes, maize, bell pepper and tomato. Usually an Italian meal would be made up of three to four courses and are seen as a time to spend with family and friends which can be much longer than in other cultures, sometimes lasting for many hours. One very unique aspect of an Italian meal, is the primo or first course. This is usually the most filling dish which would consist of either risotto or pasta, both being rich in carbohydrates. However, modern Italian cuisine would include this as a single course.
It was at the beginning of the 18th century that the culinary books of Italy began to show the regionalism of Italian cuisine. So many of what we eat today comes from over two centuries of Italian history. Through various influences throughout the centuries, including neighbouring regions, conquerors, high-profile chefs, political upheavals as well as the discovery of the New World, a concrete cuisine has formed to what is known today as one of the premiere cuisines in the world. Popular Italian dishes include many pastas and risottos as well as espresso coffee that originally comes from Italy. Also, traditional pizzas are very popular, which many pizzeria restaurants becoming popular all over Britain.
The reasons for Italian cuisine being so popular are that it combines very simple ingredients with seasoning and herbs, creating tasty mouth watering meals to suit most taste buds. You are able to get many vegetarian dishes as well as meat dishes which allows Italian cuisine to be very versatile. Another reason why Italian restaurants are popular is that the food that is made is fresh and healthy.
For great Italian cuisine, the Italian kitchen is a great Italian restaurant in Glasgow. The Italian kitchen is based in the merchant city area of Glasgow and offers a menu full of authentic Italian cuisine.
Italian food is minimally processed, the ingredients in the food stay somewhere between 6-7 without cluttering the dish with random ingredients just for a diverse taste.
Finding the uniqueness in SurprisingItaly dishes is another reason why Italian dishes are considered as tastiest food a man can have. Every little ingredient used in the food is well studied, the chefs in the restaurant are great at managing the weakness and strength of the ingredient, and balancing them out each other.
Another reason why the food gives out a unique flavor that is not in any way common with other fast-food is because of the authenticity. An extreme amount of work goes into making one of the dishes in an Italian restaurant.
When it comes to the healthiness of food, no food treats your body system better than Italian food. Italian dish tends to use less amount of ingredients to make, careful attention is paid to all of these ingredients. Ingredients such as tomatoes, spinach, citrus fruit, seafood, onions, and garlic are some of the main ingredients used in making a perfect Italian dish.
Each of these ingredients delivers plentiful health benefits that range from Vitamin A to vitamin C. Some of the Italian food have omega-3 fatty acids. Which is extremely beneficial to health.
Decorating Your Italian Restaurant During Christmas
The benefits of Italian food don’t only stop there, it even has antioxidants, which can drive up the body’s metabolism to a healthy amount. Most of the Italian dishes features olive oil, this is a perfect solution for the people who have heart problems.
And all of the dishes are paired with a glass of vintage wine. This how an Italian dish ends, with a blast. Serving wine at the end of the meal is a long-running tradition in some Italian families. They even offer different types of wine to match different types of dishes on the table. Some Italian restaurants still follow this tradition in their place. Adding wine after a course elevates the overall taste of the next dish on the line, as the wine would clean up the sensation of the last dish, as your mouth would be open towards another course without feeling the taste of the last dish.
If you are saving a special occasion for yourself or your loved ones and you want the whole experience to be memorable as the occasion you are celebrating, then you just can’t go wrong with Italian restaurants.
When people step into an Italian restaurant in SGP, they expect a different level of food unlike another. Because having your food synonymous with the word Italy makes the food more demanding and open to more criticism, if not delivered to the standard way. So when you are craving for an Italian dish, expect the best to come out of the kitchen and best to remember the taste forever in your life.
What is the history of Scottish Italian heritage? There are an estimated 80,000 Scots of Italian descent living in Scotland. It is believed that almost 70% of Scots Italians can trace their roots back to just the two regions of Tuscany and Lazio. How did this come to be?
"Italians in Scotland are one of the best examples of successful integration. There are groups in every town, every city. This is because the Italians and the Scots have common traditions of hospitality, generosity and respect."
Dr. Andrea Macchioni, Consul General of Italy, Edinburgh. http://www.scotsitalian.com/
19th Century Italian migration
In the 19th Century lots of Italians came to the UK for trade reasons: as craftsmen, artists and performers. The Unification of Italy in the mid 19th Century saw a breakdown of the feudal land system which actually left many poor people without any land. Catholic Emancipation had freed many Italians. Craftsmen were allowed to build churches and many were hired to take on this type of specialist work in the UK. Some never left. Italians gained a reputation for craftsmanship in sculpture and design and also in the creative perfoming industry such as singing.
In the late1880s many Italians came to the UK to escape poverty in rural Italy as a temporary measure. Many brought with them a desire to set up modest businesses such as ice cream parlours, barber shops and fish 'n' chip shops. All were poor and had to work very hard to make a modest living. Many came to Scotland to find even more opportunities awaiting them.
There are many stories about poor Italians being encouraged to pay for a ship passage to New York, the land of opportunity. But, it seems, when they reached the UK they were left behind. Either the ship was never going to New York or they left the UK without them. Some had been led to believe they had arrived in New York but when they found out differently they had not much choice but to stay and try to make a living.
Unfortunately many Italians were recruited as cheap labour by unscrupulous agents in London and found themselves exploited, working long hard hours for little pay. Many were also sent to the North of the UK and in Scotland as ice cream vendors in the street. In 1901 the Commissariat of Emigration was created which outlawed and controlled the unscrupulous practices involving Italian immigration.
Ice cream in Scotland?
In 19th Century Britain, ice cream was a luxury only afforded to royalty and the fabulously wealthy. But for the Italians, homemade ice cream was easy to make using just milk and ice. Many Italians became expert ice cream makers.
This British notion that ice cream was a luxury product changed with the influx of Italian immigrants towards the end of the century. In the mid 19th Century, poor Italian immigrants would set themselves up on the streets of the UK with a simple ice cream churner. This allowed ice cream to be eaten on the streets and it was affordable. The not so rich customers felt they were being offered an exotic taste of luxury.
The tradition of ice cream sellers on the streets of the UK is still with us today and the popularity of ice cream in a country that does not often have hot weather means that ice cream is still considered a special treat for the British.
This may seem even slightly more odd for visitors to see the Scottish obsessed with a frozen product even when it may be rainy and cold summer outside. In the streets of large cities like London, Glasgow, Manchester, the men would churn the ice cream mix in the morning and take the cart out on the streets for the day, shouting in Italian 'Gelati, ecco un poco!' (ice cream, have a small piece).
It is for this reason that they earned the nickname of 'hokey pokey men' as people did not know what they were shouting and they could not speak English. Ice cream came to be known as hokey pokey in many areas.
Today, when the Scots ask for a 'poke' of chips at the fish and chip shop, it comes from this phrase. Most fish and chip shops or take away food was run by Italian families who would ask in Scotalian dialect if you wanted a small portion. 'Poco' is small and so if you wanted a small bag of chips, poco chips evolved into a 'poke o' chips' to the Scottish ear.
Later, in Scotland certainly, the raspberry sauce that was often poured on the top of the ice cream became known as 'tally sauce'.
Fish and chips, ice cream and cafés
As the Italians progressed onto owning shops, they would sell ice cream in the summer and peas with vinegar in the winter. This progressed to fish and chips. Enterprising Italians would also progress to owning a chain of shops. These chain owners trained and helped other Italians to set up business on their own.
The scale of this growth was unbelievable. In 1903 there were 89 shops in Glasgow. In 1904 there were 184 and by 1905 there were estimated to be 336 ice cream shops in the city. By this time there was an Italian population in Glasgow of around 5000. From the late1800s to 1920, many business grew in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and also in the larger towns across Scotland.
Italian shops and cafes were a breath of fresh air and exoticism for Scottish cities which were used to a more conservative approach to décor and a presbyterian culture which did not include luxury and frippery.
The Italian culture that was introduced to the cities of Scotland was slowly but surely embraced by the population yet feared by the conservative establishment. Their reputation for late opening hours and Sunday trading were railed against by religious groups and other city traders.
But the excitement and personality in these Italian shops and cafés were welcomed by the young looking for somewhere to hang out since they were not allowed to frequent pubs. Some objected to these practices and frowned upon youths being allowed to smoke cigarettes and dance at these establishments. It was once believed that young women who frequented these ice cream cafes went quickly from smoking to dancing to prostitution.
The ice cream shops at one point were to blame for everything from gambling to teenage pregnacy. But the cafés and shops somehow managed to persevere and survive these prejudices. The ice cream shops eventually became a convenient place to meet friends for supper or to have a refreshment late at night when you've been to the theatre or music hall. Who knew that ice cream could have caused so much trouble?
World War II: Italians in Scotland
Italian immigrants helped allies fight in World War I, however in World War II things were somewhat different. The threat of fascism caused much suspicion directed towards the Italian communities in Scotland. A large number of Italian males were rounded up at the start of World War II and interned in domestic prison camps in the UK. Others fought with the British Army throughout the war.
When the Second World War broke out, many Italian men were arrested under suspicion of fascist tendencies and expelled to Canada on the Arandora Star ship. This ship was hit by a German torpedo and sank killing hundreds of the deported Italians. As a result of the sinking the UK changed its policy on interring Italians as many were not even involved with fascism.
Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa were brought North to Orkney to work on the civilian project of creating protective barriers at a vulnerable point in Scapa Flow. Around 1300 Italians arrived on the islands after work began in May 1940.
Those who were interred in Orkney are reported to have had almost an enjoyable time, believe it or not. They were not treated badly and found comradeship with their fellow prisoners and friendly locals. On Lamb Holm Island, Orkney, the Italian POWs were allowed to use their artistic talents to creating flower beds and statues around the camp. They even built a theatre and recreation hut from waste materials.
In 1943, the prisoners of Lamb Holm Island were also allowed to build a chapel inside one of the huts in order to keep morale high. A team of Italian prisoners worked to build a beautiful chapel that still stands today and is one of Orkney's biggest tourist attractions. The chapel was not finished at the end of the war when the Italians were sent home. The organiser behind the project Domenico Chiocchetti stayed behind and proudly finished the chapel.
Scotalians thrive
After the war, Italian communities built up notably in the largest cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Fish and chip shops and Italian cafés became an integral part of Scottish culture and second generation Italian Scots were making their mark on the local communities.
Many have even gone back to Italy to the villages and towns of their ancestors. It seems to be common for both the Scots and the Italians to migrate. The town of Barga has deep-rooted connections with Scotland and has many Scots-Italian connections.
Many successful Italian family businesses still exist in Scotland, notably in the catering and food industries (restaurants, fish and chip shops delis). Long-running ice cream family businesses still thrive today.
