Fine dining and hawker fare – things we don’t often see paired together. But Chef Mirko Febbrile is determined to provide otherwise, with an Italian hawker pop-up from August 17 to September 17. He was once the chef de cuisine of Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Braci and will soon be leading other restaurants under the Lo & Behold Group, but till then, he’s cooking up a storm at a humble Chinatown Complex hawker stall.
It’s done in collaboration with pasta hawker stall Nudedles.4, fronted by an ex-Joel Robuchon and Jaan by Kirk Westaway chef known for $8 lobster bisque pasta. The take-over menu is clearly Italian, with classics like a pesto linguine ($7) and oxtail ragu ($10). There’s even a carbonara rigatoni and a cavatelli ($8) – an unusual eggless shell-shaped pasta that’s loaded with ricotta and tomato.
As Chef Mirko says in his Instagram post, he’s “always admired the hard work of the orecchiette women that hand-roll fresh pasta daily”. Likening this to the early morning hustle and bustle of all hawker centres, where aunties will be chopping veggies, chilli and spring onions, he believes it to be “the chance to share the food of my country with the people in Singapore”.
Head down to Chef Mirko’s pop-up collaboration with Nudedles.4 from August 17 to September 17, Tuesdays to Sundays, from 11am until sold out. You can find it at #02-34 Chinatown Complex.