Scarpetta

This Italian restaurant which took over Tambi’s spot along Amoy Street has customers willing to wait in line for over two hours to dine here. The main draw? Handmade pasta at reasonable prices. The snug 30-seater is fitted with a sweeping chef’s table that seats 16 guests, and here’s where all the action happens. Watch the chefs whip up divinely charred plates of All’Assassina ($18) or spicy alla vodka with baked rigatoni ($21). Its cacio e pepe ($20) is not the most traditional – it swaps out the usual tonnarelli or spaghetti for thicker, chewy pici and includes crunchy Guanciale bits – but we appreciate the added textures. Before leaving, do yourself a favour and order the gelato con olio ($6). The fior di latte-inspired creation sees a scoop of velvety, elastic milk gelato, drizzled with Umbrian extra virgin olive oil and topped with crunchy salt flakes.