PocoLoco – Authentic Yet Affordable Italian Food in Ang Mo Kio!

PocoLoco’s location might surprise you — this authentic Italian restaurant sits right in the heart of a residential estate in Ang Mo Kio. You might be amazed to learn that they offer pretty fine Italian food without pesky fine dining prices! With affordable dishes that are created with premium ingredients such as foie gras and truffle, PocoLoco will delight even the finest of palates.

PocoLoco serves a variety of mouth-watering appetisers. The Capesante ($13.50) is a baked scallop dish that is served with a capsicum purée and flavoured butter. The flavoured butter imparted a richness, and a strong fragrance of garlic to the scallops. The scallops were tender, while the robust flavours of the capsicum purée added depth to the dish.

The Portobello ($12.90), which is an oven-baked Portobello mushroom dish topped with burrata cheese and truffle essence, is not to be missed. The mushrooms are plump and juicy, and the burrata cheese added a touch of saltiness and a captivating creaminess.

PocoLoco also has a plethora of pasta dishes on offer! We first tried one of their daily specials — Tagliolini Pasta served with Fresh Sea Urchin ($20). This dish features a few pieces of fresh sea urchin that are blowtorched just before serving. The creamy and sweet sea urchin went very well with the slightly spicy pasta, which was thoroughly coated with a thick pepperoncino sauce (Italian chilli pepper).

If you’ll like a wider variety of seafood in your pasta, go for the Pescatora ($13.50). This pasta is mixed with a light tomato sauce and is topped with prawns, mussels and clams. The pasta is also flambéed with a touch of white wine to add a hint of acidity. The tomato sauce was slightly sweet and tangy, and did not overpower the natural sweetness of the fresh seafood.

For a more luxurious option, you can give their Hokkaido Scallop and Truffle Pasta a try! This pasta dish sees cold angel hair pasta crowned with sweet and soft Hokkaido scallops. The dish is even topped with a bit of caviar! The pasta carries a strong aroma of truffle oil, so this dish is definitely made for those who love anything with truffle oil.

If you’re craving for a rich and meaty dish, PocoLoco’s Filleto di Manzo ($27.90) is the dish for you. A fatty piece of foie gras is perched on a slab of pan-seared beef tenderloin which lies in a rossini (red wine) sauce. The medium-rare beef holds quite a strong scent of rosemary which went hand in hand with the sweet and tart rossini sauce. The decadent foie gras added a lovely buttery richness to the dish. The dish comes complete with potatoes, carrots, broccoli and baby corn.

If you’ll like to have pork instead, go for the PocoLoco’s Pork Collar ($19.90). A roasted Canadian pork collar is joined by a garlic and shallot confit, which we’re sure that you’ll enjoy. The fatty pork collar wasn’t dry at all, and we loved that the acidity of the tasty confit cut through the fattiness of the pork easily. The dish was made more enjoyable but the lightly crunchy shallots.

If you have a sweet tooth, you just can’t skip dessert! PocoLoco offers traditional Italian options, and more novel creations such as the Matcha Lava Cake! When cut open, the molten matcha core flows out beautifully. The cake comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which pairs flawlessly with the warm lava cake.

However, if you need a pick-me-up after all a heavy and satisfying meal, you might want to consider the Tiramisu (Italian Coffee Cheese Cake). PocoLoco employs the more authentic and traditional preparation method — soaking ladyfingers in coffee and a bit of marsala wine. A generous amount of whipped cream is sprayed on top, before cocoa powder is lightly sprinkled on.

PocoLoco might just be the best place to visit if you’ll like to have authentic Italian food without breaking the bank. Don’t worry about missing out if you live in the west of Singapore as PocoLoco has another outlet in Jurong!

This post was brought to you by PocoLoco.

Do check out our article on PocoLoco Pizzeria too!