Indulgence @ Tanglin Halt (Tanglin Halt Market)

TRIGGER WARNING: Italians, look away now.⠀
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Okay, now that the Italians have left for their own sanity, it’s time to introduce Indulge @ Tanglin Halt’s carbonara. I strongly suspect that it’s made with cream as many other ‘carbonaras’ are, but did you really expect to get the traditional blend of egg yolks, parmigiano reggiano, and guanciale for eight bucks?⠀
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What I do know is that this is a sufficiently satiating plate of pasta. Unlike the alfredo, there’s a complexity to this from the bacon, extra egg yolk, and of course, the cream sauce. Bacon makes everything better, and that applies here as well. The saltiness from the bacon has bled into the sauce, giving it a meaty, slightly smoky saltiness. The extra egg yolk adds an extra silky smoothness to the pasta, plus an additional richness that’s a little unnecessary but I ain’t complaining.⠀
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Y’all already know about the excellence of the grilled dory fish fillet, and you can add one of these palatable pretties to your carbonara for an extra custom of four dollars. For twelve bucks, this is most definitely a very inauthentic taste of Italia, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t gratifying.

I promised y’all a pasta review today so y’all getting a pasta post today. This isn’t my first visit to Indulge, which was formerly @ Tanglin Halt but is now @ Commonwealth. The funniest part about all this is that they relocated from Tanglin Halt Market to...Tanglin Halt Food Centre. Yeah. Don’t ask, I don’t know either.⠀
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Besides the name & location change, then intervening years seem to have mellowed out the chef/owner as well. Long gone is that notorious ‘don’t you dare order until we acknowledge your existence’ warning sign, and the owner was amiable enough to chat with us as we devoured his pastas. ⠀
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So, about those pastas. I ordered the grilled dory with alfredo pasta for a grand total of $8.50. That’s it, that’s the ingredient list. I agree, it’s a little too simple and would benefit from an extra ingredient or two. However, the pasta is amazingly al dente, and even though the alfredo was lacking in salt, the pasta was delicious enough to demolish in short order.⠀
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The real winner here is the grilled dory. In contrast to the alfredo sauce, it was seasoned splendidly, and is pan grilled with expert precision. The exterior sports a scintillating sear, while the inside is criminally flaky & moist. That’s really all you need for a fabulous fish, but the mayonnaise on the side augments the delicious dory by adding a rich, tantalising creaminess to the fish.⠀
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I don’t know how I managed to wax lyrical about a simple dish of fish & spaghetti, but I suspect the four pints of beer I just pounded down might’ve turned me into prime Oscar Wilde. What I do know, however, is that I need to get back there to have myself more affordable, piquant pastas. Stat.

SO excited to have discovered Indulgence @ Tanglin Halt which serves local styled western food. Having to fork out more than $10 for a meat + pasta combo is justifiable with the humongous portion. Delicious. Just don't mind the owners and their warning signages at the storefront.

Dead broke at the end of the month but in need of some proper pasta pampering? Indulgence@Tanglin Halt has you covered. Their monster portions are more than enough to sate even the greediest of gluttons, and their decadent al dente carbonara pasta (top, $8; carbonara with chicken chop, bottom right, $12) is creamy and is LOADED with thick, generous strips of bacon and they even crack a raw egg atop the glorious mountain of pasta. The Alfredo pasta with pork chop (bottom left, $8) is supremely creamy without being too rich, and their pork chop is bursting with savory flavor and is delightfully tender. However, the owners are rather ornery, and they will snap at you if you fail to read the 'warning' sign in the front of the stall. So if you want to enjoy good pastas at great prices, heed the warning and you shall be rewarded.