Pasta Fans Queue From 6am For 2nd Last Day Of Hawker Pop-Up By Italian Ex-Braci Chef
Italian chef Mirko Febbrile will be opening his own casual restaurant next year selling “handmade pasta and maybe pizza.”
Photo: Yip Jieying
It’s a super hip collaboration between Italian chef Mirko Febbrile, 31, formerly the chef de cuisine at one-Michelin-starred restaurant Braci, and pasta-centric hawker stall Nudedles, which was opened by young chef Clarence Chooi, 28.Clarence also used to work at Michelin-starred establishments, including Jaan by Kirk Westaway and the defunct Joël Robuchon Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa.
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Photo: Yip Jieying
Homemade Italian pasta in a hawker centre
The affable Mirko (pictured above) left Braci and joined The Lo & Behold Group last September. The homegrown company owns eateries such as the three-Michelin-starred Odette, The Coconut Club and Tanjong Beach Club. Mirko is also partnering with TLBG to open two restaurants, which are slated to launch next year.
“One is a fine-dining restaurant, and the other one is a casual restaurant at East Coast Park which will open next April. We will have Mediterranean food; handmade pasta and maybe pizza,” he tells 8days.sg.
Photo: Instagram/ @cclarence
Which explains why in the meantime, he is partnering Clarence (pictured with Mirko above) to do a pasta pop-up at Nudedles. Mirzo had gotten to know about the stall as he frequents the Chinatown hawker centre for breakfast.
The pasta menu
According to Mirzo, the hawker centre is where “everyone comes together to enjoy great-tasting food at affordable prices”, and likewise he offers wallet-friendly handmade pasta at his pop-up. The ingredients used are flown in from Puglia, Italy.
Photo: The Lo & Behold Group
There are four pasta dishes on the menu: Linguine al Pesto ($7), Ricotta and Tomato Cavatelli ($8), Rigatoni alla Carbonara ($9) and Pappardelle Oxtail Ragu ($10). The stall serves a limited quantity of 80 portions of pasta a day. There is also a house-made Soft Serve Burrata Ice Cream ($5) with strawberry compote for dessert.
Photo: Yip Jieying
The queue
Since its launch on Aug 17, Mirko & Nudedles has been selling out almost immediately after opening at 11am. When 8days.sg dropped by on the pop-up’s second last day today (Sept 16), a long snaking queue had already formed even before the stall opened for business.
Photo: Yip Jieying
Customers showed up at 6am
An elderly man at the start of the queue told us that he had been waiting “since 6am”. At 11am, those in the line who didn’t make the cut for the 80 plates of pasta had to disperse. The early birds definitely get the worm here; we also saw people holding laptops and working while standing in line. But if you don’t fancy queuing, stay tuned for chef Mirko’s restaurant that is opening next year.
Photo: Yip Jieying
Address and opening hours
Mirko & Nudedles runs till Sept 17, 2022 at #02-34 Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith St, S050335. Open 11am till sold out. Updates via Instagram here and here.
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