Donna Carmela: Family-owned Italian Eatery!

I had this opportunity to drive to Greenwood Ave last week, supposed to lunch at this italian restaurant which my mom's group frequent but unfortunately they were closed for renovations. But there was this just-opened italian eatery beside which we decided to give it a try anyway.



Donna Carmela was barely opened for a month and you can see the newly-renovated interior sparkling bright and comfortable. I supposed there's a kids party going on at night with all the ballons and party hats decorated at the next table.

The friendly waiter made some recommendations on the dishes and also chatted with us that the place is a family business, with different members working in the kitchen and front desk etc (can't remember who did what actually).


Compliementary Bread

I'm not sure if its meant to be served cold, but i preferred my bread to be warm and soft, so this didn't really cut out for me. It did however came with a interesting selection of spreads, but I only went for the tuna while the rest politely requested for the more familiar vinegar and virgin oil.


Seafood Risotto

It came in a aluminium bag which sealed in all the juices and flavour. You can see that the hot air fogged my lens as it was opened up! The risotto was delicious and moist, without that uncooked feeling of rice. It can be a tad salty for some but works out fine for me. The selection of fresh squid and large tiger prawns was great too.


Squid Ink Linguine

Yet another disappointing version of squid ink pasta. This was pan-fried in olive oil and tasted very little to none of squid ink, even a little spicy with its chilli bits. A far cry from Pontini.


Carbonara

Now this was much better. The fettucini was al dente while the sauce wasn't too creamy. Topped simply with bacon pieces, it was a pleasure to be eaten on its own!


Parma Ham Pizza

The pizza base was not exactly thin crust, but was slightly thicker for that chewy texture of the dough, and yet cripy burnt on the outside. Though the quality of parma ham wasn't as good as i expected, its generous amount and rocket salad toppings had sort of made up for it.


Quad-cheese Pizza

This was actually not on the menu, but requested by one of my friend. It has no other toppings but baked with 4 different types of cheese, which turned out very good indeed! Will be on my list for something vegetarian!

Total bill for 6 was a vague $100+ (didn't see the bill clearly), completed with sparkling water and another so-so pizza. We didn't had desserts as we were rather full with all the carbo stuffs. Worth a try if you have the convenience of a car!