Pasta B Restaurant: Singaporean Cuisine in Milan, Italy

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 4/04/2017

Pasta B Restaurant: Singaporean Cuisine in Milan, Italy

Entering its third decade, Pasta B has a success story to tell. In 1989, the Han family opened Jing Hua Xiao Chi in the Chinatown area of Singapore, a place specializing in making dumplings. Over a short period of time, it attracted throngs of people queuing for their fresh noodles and dumplings. They opened other branches in Singapore and eventually in Japan to cater to the big demand for their high quality dumplings and noodles. After an unabating success, the second generation of the Han family continues to serve the freshly-made noodles and dumplings alongside some specialized dishes still using the exact recipes. Today, I am taking you to their restaurant in Milan, their first branch that crossed continents that is well received by the Italians and Europeans.

Photo from Aromi Creativi

Dining at Pasta B in Via Ulrico Hoepli is a different experience. It is very centrally-located being just a few meters from the Duomo (Milan Cathedral). It's not your usual Asian restaurant because apart from being Singaporean which is a first in Italy, Pasta B boasts of freshly-made noodles and dumplings daily that are made right in front of the diners and an open kitchen that is also completely viewable. Through a wide glass window in front of the restaurant, you can watch their noodle and dumpling makers create the products from scratch continuously with methodical precision.

Bottom photo from Aromi Creativi

The open kitchen concept of Pasta B gives a welcome atmosphere to the ones who are curious about the Singaporean cuisine. It's the first Asian restaurant in Italy that gives a peek at what's going behind the walls of the kitchen. It's actually educational to stay behind the glass and watch the women work on the dumplings while the men behind them prepare the noodles that are then passed to the kitchen beside them. I like seeing how my food is prepared, don't you?

Singapore's geographical position is between various Asian countries thus making their cuisine rich in diversity and culture. You can find influences of Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China. Being Chinese in origin, the Han Family gave the restaurant's menu a little bit more inclination to the Chinese gastronomy.

Four lower photos from Aromi Creativi

Lunch at Pasta B is very busy while dinners take on a calmer note. If you want to enjoy your Singaporean meal in a more tranquil moment, then dinner is a better choice. My advice is, come hungry because with all the interesting entries in the menu, it's hard not to order everything.

Photos from Aromi Creativi

The dumplings come with different fillings like pork and shrimp which is traditionally Singaporean then there are also beef, chicken and vegetables only. The dumplings are cooked in different ways - steamed, grilled or boiled. Their most popular version is the Jing Hua, the Singaporean Syorompo which is filled with minced pork meat and flavor-rich soup, held together inside a thin layer of dumpling. The chef recommends it to be eaten together with some ginger and rice vinegar. Bite big to get all the flavors of the dumpling.

Photos from Aromi Creativi

Aside from the dumplings, of course you can't miss the noodles. Freshly-made then mixed in flavorful soups with pork, chicken or vegetables or enjoy them sautèed with equally delicious combinations of bonito flakes (karsuobushi), dried Pollock roe flakes (mentaiko), or sisho, an Asian herb that belongs to the mint family or sometimes referred to as Chinese basil.

Photos from Aromi Creativi

At Pasta B, the service is very attentive and efficient. The professionally-trained staff is composed of Chinese, Japanese and Italian members working together to give its diners the best experience in Singaporean cuisine.