There has been a wave of rather interesting stalls serving up western cuisine that had been opening all around the various heartlands around the island recently — one of those that we have heard about would be that of The Pasta & Tortizza. These folks are rather new in the local F&B scene; the stall can be found within the FoodHub coffeeshop that is located at the foot of Blk 631 Hougang Avenue 8. These folks should be rather easy to spot, considering how they occupy a corner road-facing stall unit that would be pretty obvious for those walking past the coffeeshop. The stall features a white signboard; the brightly-lit signboard and menu board are particularly attention-grabbing; the signboard being one that features an illustration of a plate of pasta and pizza that is pretty cutesy — something that stands out from the more traditional signboards of the other stalls that are located in the same coffeeshop. As the namesake suggests, it’s pasta and Tortizza offerings are the highlight at The Pasta & Tortizza — the offering of Tortizza on the menu being something worthy to mention considering how they are pretty much unique to the menu here in the local F&B scene. Other than pastas and Tortizzas, the menu features sections such as The Classic — this section features dishes like the Char Grilled Pork / Chicken Chop, Grilled Barramundi Filler and Classic Fish & Chips, while the section named The Sides feature a number of side dishes where patrons can pair with their order of a main or to share around the table. Patrons also can choose to add-on items to their orders of their main dishes as well — the list of the add-ons available being in the The Add Ons section of the menu.

The Tortizza line-up was exactly the reason why we found ourselves visiting The Pasta & Tortizza — turns out, The Pasta & Tortizza describes their Tortizza items as a “10-inch pizza” featuring “extra thin” crust made with Tortizza Flour. To put things simply, Tortizza is something that is in between that of a Tortilla and a Pizza — a fusion of the two. There are several interesting flavours of the Tortizza that The Pasta & Tortizza has to offer; this would include some locally-infused flavours such as that of the Satay Chicken, while some classic pizza-inspired flavours will include that of the Hawaiian and Smoked Duck Tortizza. We found ourselves opting for the Pork Pepperoni Tortizza, which The Pasta & Tortizza has described to come with elements such as pork pepperoni and tomato base — it is also observed to come with cheese much like a regular pizza would. Whilst coming at a size of 10 inches, the Pork Pepperoni Tortizza is sized just about right for one pax to finish whilst not being overwhelming. Though not the first place to boast about serving thin crust pizzas, we quite liked how their rendition of the Tortizza comes with a thin crust that is soft towards the middle to hold up all the toppings, while the edges to come a little more biscuit-like for a crunch. The toppings that came atop the Tortizza were a classic combination — the pork pepperoni being pretty similar to that of thick-cut pork shoulder ham that comes with a meaty bite and a savoury note typical of cured meat; all of that whilst featuring a tangy tomato sauce base that has been spread onto the Tortizza crust, while the melted cheese comes all gooey and stretchy whilst being all savoury as well.

During our visit to The Pasta & Tortizza, we had also given their Truffle Mushroom Soup a try. The Truffle Mushroom Soup here comes with an aesthetic that seems to suggest a heavier proportion of mushrooms; the soup being largely smooth and aptly dense whilst comprising of very finely-diced bits of mushrooms that gives it the earthy note that the soup carried. The addition of truffle oil does seem to be pretty evident with the blobs of oil floating above the soup; it does add a slight tang to the soup but the notes of truffle aren’t exactly very evident for those whom prefer stronger hints of truffle — that being said, it is still quite a decent bowl of Truffle Mushroom Soup considering the $3.90 price point. Overall, we did feel that the offerings at The Pasta & Tortizza is of those that may be pretty basic, but also one that seems to showcase the effort placed into the design of the various dishes well. Despite its simple construct where the ingredients used wouldn’t be quite as elaborate as that of the same that is served at bistros, we felt that quite some attention in detail has been placed in what they have to offer such as the flavour profile and textures involved with the dishes. The various dishes from The Pasta, The Classic and The Tortizza sections of the menu are priced in the range of $6.90 to $16.90; the lowest-priced being the Pork Bolognese from the The Pasta section of the menu, while priciest would be the Grilled Barramundi listed in the The Classic section of the menu. Would like to return to The Pasta & Tortizza to give the items from their the The Classic section of the menu a go; namely the Char Grilled Chicken Chop — something that would be more indicative of their overall quality against other western stalls around, though we do believe that it would be worth trying especially for those staying within the vicinity.