Piadini Italian Streats: A Singaporean’s love letter to the Italian piadina

Have you ever tried something overseas that makes such an indelible mark on you, that you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find it again, back home?

For Angel Ang, 39, that was none other than the humble piadina, which she had for the first time in 2006, during a layover in Rome, Italy.

At the time, she was flying as a member of Singapore Airlines’ cabin crew, and as she was exploring the city, this simple folded flatbread stood out — among the pizzas and pastas the city was more famous for — precisely because it wasn’t heavy or complicated. 

She added: “It wasn’t glamorous, but it caught my attention.”

Biting into it, she could feel the soulful and rustic quality of this everyday Italian food.

It was a fleeting memory, but one that would stay quietly embedded in her mind, until almost two decades later, when she set up Singapore’s first and only piadina speciality joint.

What is a piadina?

Despite its appearance, it is not a wrap, a pizza or a focaccia. A piadina is a flatbread that has its origins in Romagna, Italy. 

Angel says that the piadina is eaten and can be purchased everywhere in Italy — from kiosks or a trattoria — and each region has their own different twists on what goes into the delicacy. 

She muses: “Piadina is a comfort food that the Italians have at home… It’s not something that they promote very aggressively, compared to pizza and pasta.”

And that’s not where the differences end.

Unlike pizza, a piadina is unleavened, so there is no yeast used to raise the dough. And unlike the more widely known focaccia, which is typically thick, fluffy, and topped with oil, a piadina is typically of thin-to-medium thickness, with oil mixed into the dough. 

The classic piadina romagnola also carries the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, a EU certification that protects a food’s cultural identity and tradition. 

This is similar to the commonly known Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), which recognises specific products and the regions they are made in.

For example, under PDO, only sparkling wine that’s entirely made in the region of Champagne in France can be called champagne, and likewise with parmigiano reggiano cheese and prosciutto di parma ham in its respective regions in Italy.

PGI, on the other hand, is more relaxed — at least one stage of process must take place in the region.

Piadina’s PGI status makes sense, given that the item was historically seen as a “peasant” food item, as it only uses four ingredients — flour, water, salt, and lard or oil. 

While the PGI protects piadina’s regional origins, Angel focuses on making it as faithfully as possible, using traditional techniques, and selected PDO-labelled Italian ingredients.

From curiosity to crafting piadine

Though she was quietly impressed by the piadina back then, Angel didn’t dive into the world of food right away.

After she clipped her wings in 2012, the multi-hyphenate went on to pursue several endeavours: She trained as a hypnotherapist, set up a home massage service platform to help older masseuses connect with potential customers in a safe and dignified manner, and subsequently also founded a digital marketing agency. 

An unconventional, non-linear path, she acknowledges, but from what we can see, it was one that was driven by the desire to want to bring comfort and help to others.

She also adds: “I seem to enjoy doing things that people overlook.”

It wasn’t till 2022, when “certain conditions came about, and with some support from friends”, that it all clicked for her. 

The Covid-19 pandemic also had her thinking about introducing a takeaway product that locals could enjoy. Her mind drifted back to the piadina, which she would go on to have every time she returned to Italy, as it was easy on the palate.

At that point, she realised no one in Singapore had done it yet — that is, set up a piadina speciality shop (though there are places here that do have it on their menus) — even after all these years. This motivated her to take the endeavour on herself.

As a Singaporean with no F&B background, Angel knew she had to learn the craft straight from the source, if she wanted to be taken seriously by the local diners and Italians here, too. In 2022, she took up classes at Casa Artusi, a culinary school in Bologna, Italy. 

A perfect snack for the on-the-go Singapore crowd 

In 2023, armed with newfound culinary knowledge, and the lessons she had garnered from her variety of stints, she started Piadini Italian Streats at Somerset, spotlighting the piadina for the first time on our shores.

Her shop bears the name “piadini”, in reference to the plural form of the word, or “piadine” in Italian. As she puts it: “One is never enough.”

The word “streats” is simply a portmanteau of the word “streets” and “eats”, a nod to the food’s street-side origins, and also to signify that it is something that can be eaten on-the-go. 

Angel’s small, but brightly lit, kiosk, is decked out with neon signage and located conveniently at 111 Somerset mall, behind Somerset MRT. 

It’s a bit of a detour for the typical CBD crowd, given its location in town, but Angel says she gets a good mix of locals, as well as expats — including Italians — some of whom are staying in the nearby residences. 

There are no seats, just a grab-and-go format, just as it is designed to be enjoyed. 

You can also order online conveniently via Piadini’s website, or through the usual delivery channels such as Grab, and pick it up in-store.

Trying our very first piadinas 

At first glance, the menu is overwhelming — even for me as a food writer — with a smattering of ingredients listed under each menu item.

But if Angel is there during your visit, she’d probably rattle off a few favourites you can try. After all, she’s the mastermind behind almost all the flavours, having crafted most of them — with the exception of the classico romagnola (S$13).

The classico has the profile of a typical piadina, with Squacquerone cheese, arugula, prosciutto, and tomatoes. 

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more authentic, Angel imports the Squacquerone and the prosciutto di parma from Italy. (And yes, both items are PDO-labelled products.) 

Among the Italians, the Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day (S$13) tends to be a popular pick, while the Singaporean crowd tends to favour the Napoli Black Pearls (S$13) and the Sicilian Savoury Trio (S$15). 

With that, we have to agree. For a first-timer, we think Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, with mortadella ham, pistachio, mozzarella, Squacquerone cheese, fresh greens, and tomatoes, is a good choice.

On first look, you might think it resembles — and tastes like — a Mexican quesadilla, but the piadina wrap, which Angel makes from scratch fresh everyday, is a touch richer in its flavour profile, and a tad thicker. 

Though the dough is enriched with olive oil, it still tastes light overall, with a good mix of cheeses, proteins, and a dash of nuttiness from the pistachio, perhaps owing to the freshness of the ingredients. 

While lard is traditionally used in piadina dough, Angel employs the often-used substitute of olive oil instead. 

The change does affect the texture somewhat — the resulting piadina is crispier — but she tells us that many piadina shops in Italy have also done the same, swapping out lard in favour of healthier oil or fat options. 

For the Napoli Black Pearls, we can see how it gets its name — from the bits of black truffle in the Champignons black truffles sauce she uses — and how it is a firm favourite.

Despite having a drizzle of black truffle oil on top of the cream, the Napoli Black Pearls, with Squacquerone cheese, aged sliced prosciutto ham, parmigiano reggiano, and arugula, doesn’t taste cloying at all. 

It’s a more flavourful cousin of Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, and a must try for any truffle-lover. 

The other item her local audiences gravitate to, Sicilian Savoury Trio, comes with a trio of cheeses — not a trio of meats as you would see in a Subway’s Cold Cut Trio.

It’s so special that Angel has even officially trademarked this signature trio of dolce gorgonzola blue, stracciatella, and mozzarella cheeses), calling it a TrioMelt. 

Besides the power-packed cheese combi, the wrap is amped up with a seared, spiced beef pastrami, balsamic truffle cream, caramelised onions, greens, buffalo tomatoes, and parmigiano reggiano.  

It sounds heavy, and while it is definitely heftier, it’s still something you could eat for your workday lunch and not get a post-meal food coma. 

When we visited in late-2025, Angel also served a Pidan-tella (S$15), a zany combination of century egg-stracciatella aioli, prosciutto, tomatoes, chargrilled eggplant, and greens, inspired by a trip to China. 

As a century-egg fan, my interest was piqued, though I was worried about the potential funkiness it would bring. But perhaps Angel’s idea of incorporating the century eggs into an aioli helped, as the funkiness was rounded out by the garlic. 

The result is rich and creamy, with a mild pungency, something that naturally works well with the creamy stracciatella (after all, isn’t century egg also often likened to blue cheese?) 

While she has yet to introduce any other wacky east-meets-west flavours yet, we’d be game to try any other combinations she comes up with next, given this promising recipe!

Angel tells us wistfully as our interview draws to a close: “Sometimes I wonder why pizza, pasta, and focaccia have dominated the food scene around the world, but piadina has never gotten its chance to shine.” 

As small as Angel’s kiosk may be, she seems well on her way to bringing this often-overlooked Italian food to greater prominence, having received encouraging comments from native Italians themselves who have told her that her piadinas “really taste like home”. 

She also plans to set up a second, or even a third outlet, around Tanjong Pagar or around the city-fringe in due course, to reach a wider crowd. 

“I don’t think it should stay a secret any longer — I guess now’s the time to give the piadina its voice,” she declares. 

For more places to explore around Somerset and Orchard, visit LaPasta, Singapore’s newest viral pasta spot, and 5:59+ Cafe & Bistro, a cute panda-themed spot.