Tipo Pasta Bar is located along North Bridge Road and is eyecatching with its pastel blue and pastel pink exterior. It is not rare to see a long queue outside the restaurant as well, and speaking of long queues - you really have to make a reservation if you want to eat at Tipo. 10/10 times I came without a reservation, I was turned away. Tipo is also often fully booked on weekends and for my case, I had to book up to a month in advance to eat there on a Saturday afternoon.

Tipo is known for its affordable and fresh handmade pasta. Usually, they would display their pasta at the window so hungry and curious customers can take a look and decide which kind of pasta they want to try. In case you don't know yet, Tipo is also halal-certified!

While we came on time for our reservation, Tipo was so packed that we had to wait a bit longer for our seats. During this time, we looked through the menu to see what we were craving.

The inside of the restaurant is dimly-lit and cosy, and due to the small size of the place, you may be seated quite close to other customers. This time, I was quite lucky to get one of the seats near the wall with no one beside us, so my boyfriend and I could enjoy having our own space.

The staff handed us this tray of their pasta for the day, so we could choose the type of pasta we wanted. Personally, I prefer the mafalde because it is the most filling pasta. Ones like penne tend to be less filling, and I've experienced Tipo pasta being a bit smaller in portion. If you choose the mafalde, you will be guaranteed to fill your stomach.

I got myself the Crazy Carbonara (S$16.90) with alfredo, smoked duck, and sous vide egg. Tipo's carbonara is on the localised side so don't expect a super authentic taste like what you'd get at Italian restaurants like Pasta Bar. However, since I've grown up eating creamier, strong-tasting, localised carbonara, I tend to prefer it as such. I love Tipo's carbonara because it is super thick and creamy, and you can't help but dirty your mouth while eating it.

My boyfriend got the Creamy Chicken Mushroom (S$15.90) with alfredo, chicken breast, and white button mushroom. While we had mostly creamy pasta this time around, I'd also like to point out the other dishes I've tried before which I felt was really delicious, such as the Royal Ragu (S$15.90) and Salmon Pesto (S$17.90). And of course, you can build your own pasta too!

A pasta each is usually not enough to fill us big eaters, up, so we ordered the Mighty Meatballs (S$13.50) to share. It was basically meatballs in a pink sauce with crostini and mozzarella. The pink sauce was very sweet and delicious, and the meatballs were very hearty. I did find the sauce to be a little bit diluted at the bottom, but I also liked how the top layer was coated with a generous amount of cheese.

Tipo Pasta Bar is often compared to Pasta Bar at Keong Saik, so I just have to say this. I personally believe it is not really fair to compare both of them since their approach to pasta is very different, Tipo being more localised while Pasta Bar thrives on being authentic. Also, there's the price point. Pasta Bar is on the pricier side whereas Tipo appeals more to the younger crowd, given its location at Bugis. It really is unfair to compare the two as it really comes down to preference!

I have to say that the pasta at Tipo is very affordable given that they are fresh and handmade. Coupled with the fact that their food is so delicious, I can totally understand the hype around it.

That's all for today's post, thanks for reading and see you next post.