Serving handmade pasta in dingy Orchard Towers, LaPasta is Singapore’s newest pasta sensation

LaPasta is proof that you don’t have to open your restaurant in the glitzy CBD to draw in hordes of customers.

In fact, it’s the antithesis of that — a humbly decorated 14-seater pasta restaurant located in Orchard Towers.

Yes, that Orchard Towers, a notorious location that was synonymous with dinginess and seedy activities for many Singaporeans growing up in the 1990s.

Not everyone might be aware, but it’s markedly different nowadays, as the mall has cleaned up in the last few years. Many of its “shadier” tenants have vacated after their leases were not renewed.

In fact, Orchard Towers has received a new lease of life with many F&B spots gaining popularity — LaPasta is probably the most viral of those.

If you missed out on the social media buzz, the popular Orchard Towers restaurant has received many plaudits for its handmade pasta, which are priced more affordably than many of the CBD’s hotspots.

And with how much Singapore loves pasta, and a curious recent trend where crowds are gravitating towards off-the-beaten path malls such as Fortune Centre, it’s not surprising that La Pasta has gotten so much attention.

Come for handmade pasta, stay for fried chicken

We might have said that it’s risen to popularity over its handmade pasta, but the one item that is a must-order in our books isn’t a pasta dish.

Instead, it’s the Secret chicken (S$15.90), an assortment of chunky, karaage-like fried chicken served with a tartare dip that’s sweet and tangy — sort of like a coleslaw.

The fried chicken is sublime — the batter is blissfully airy, but crunchy, but underneath the crackle, you also get some immensely juicy flesh.

But enough about the fried chicken. What pasta dishes should you be trying, while you’re at LaPasta?

If you’d like to follow the crowd, one of the top-sellers is the rigatoni al granchio (S$32), a saucy affair that involves slivers of crab meat and a creamy pink sauce (a mix between red and white sauce).

It’s rich and slightly piquant, with the al dente tubes of rigatoni making sure each bite is loaded with sauce and crab meat — we can see why this dish is so popular.

Our favourite on this visit, however, is not technically a regular menu item.

We really enjoyed the guanciale carbonara (S$28), one of LaPasta’s seasonal items, which uses both bacon and guanciale.

This one is more akin to the authentic Italian carbonara that uses only egg and cheese, and no cream. Technically, authentic carbonara shouldn’t utilise bacon, too, but it’s close enough.

It’s got everything you want from a good carbonara, with each strand of mafalde sexily enrobed in the velvety sauce, and oozing with umami and fragrance.

Not everything was a hit, though, with LaPasta’s pesto e basilico burratina (S$30.90) not quite winning over our tastebuds.

Basil lovers will enjoy the heady whiffs of basil herbaceousness, but it can get a bit monotonous — though the burratina adds a nice clean touch to balance the flavour.

That said, LaPasta’s rendition is probably closer to the authentic Italian version, which is much saltier and potent than what is usually found in Singapore.

Honestly, that’s mostly an issue of preference. 

We don’t have many complaints for our visit, and the pasta is hearty, well-cooked, and sports a homelier, more rustic profile. 

For wine lovers, LaPasta even has a buy-one-get-one-free bottle corkage policy — just buy a bottle off its shelves and you can bring one of your own!

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on all the hottest new openings in Singapore and Tiong Bahru Bakery’s sleek new rebrand.