Al Dente Revisted : Bridge of the Worlds

Contrary to the familiarity of the decor, the changes in Al Dente's menu actually ran deep in relation to our last visit. As much as we reminisced about the dishes of our first encounter, we wasted almost no time making acquaintances with the new menu, and readily picked our gastronomical highlights for the night.

Familiarity

Failing to find the pizza of the past, we went for the Al Dente instead; partially based on the written description, and partially based on the deduction that it had to be the best considering that it was the restaurant's namesake.

True enough, the pizza proved equal to, if not better than, our previous choice. The thin wood-fried crust reminded me of how a difference in the simple layer of pastry at the bottom can make or break a pizza, while the combination of fresh vegetables and salty sausages contributed to the pizza being a blend of fresh and savoury tastes at the same time. The only gripe I had with it was the huge chunks of avocado which littered every piece.

Al Dente - with the name spelt right

It's glorious partner in crime was the Ravioli. Soaked in White Wine sauce and stuffed with Cheese and Spinach, I went with this due to my childhood fondness of the dish in general. Thinking that the lady would probably enjoy it less than I would due to its heavy reliance on "essence taste" proved to be erroneous, as she gave it her (straight) thumbs up before I even had a chance to sample it.

Ravioli - My Childhood Best Friend

Cutting a small piece carefully - as there were only 5 pieces and I wanted to maximize my satisfaction and gratification - I placed the dumpling-like pasta into my mouth, only to feel its subtle cheese taste teasing my taste buds, before the intensity of the White Wine sauce soaked through. The outer-layer of the pasta was perfectly folded, being not too thick (a common sign in lesser Ravioli's), yet not thin enough to tear easily. It's a pity that there were only 5 pieces, as I was still craving for more long (and I mean long) after the meal was over.

Our dinner was made less lonely than the sparse Thursday night crowd with our memories filling up the spaces in between. "Oh, I know which table we sat at", "Do you remember which side you were sitting on?", "What about the table next to us?", littered much of the conversation over dinner.

Memories are always a tricky thing, being constructionist in nature allows us to pander them to the emotions that we want to invoke while recollecting them. Personally, I feel that memories are the walls that define the world that we form in our minds. Some times, these are walls enclose a prison; other times, they fortify a fortress. Yet, there are times when these memories play the role of a bridge, where two people's mental worlds intersect, share and communicate.

Despite the transience and vulnerability of said memories, there is still a form of unexplainable joy when you validate them and their meaning with someone else's, where more than one can share the emotions that are tagged on with them memories.

To be able to share memories with someone is always a beautiful thing; but to be able to build and shape and sculpt memories with someone is oftentimes an art form in itself.

Re-creation

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------