Italian cheese, made in Singapore: This restaurant makes mozzarella on-site
Can you expect mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella with... local flavours? The newly opened The Mast’ Of Mozzarella & Co. says you just might.
Tris Di Bufala. (Photo: The Mast' Of Mozzarella & Co.)
Originating from Rome and having replicated its first Southeast Asian outpost in Singapore in November, The Mast’ Of Mozzarella & Co is a new concept that combines a cheese production laboratory with a delicatessen, osteria and bar all under one roof.
The name “The Mast’” means cheese master in a certain South Italian dialect.
And according to owners Antonio Petrosino, Davide Tiralongo and Mirko Petrosino, who have also just opened an outlet in Hong Kong, the osteria is the first restaurant in Singapore to have a facility that produces mozzarella, burrata, and stracciatella daily on its premises.
Mozzarella, by Italy’s definition, doesn’t qualify as such if it is not made with the milk from Italian buffalo or cows. To meet the country’s food-governing criteria and earn the Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP) certification, The Mast’ imports its buffalo milk from a dedicated farm in Valle dei Templi in Paestum.
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Fresh buffalo milk has a short shelf life, so it is quickly processed into curd and quick-frozen before shipping to The Mast’ in Rome, Singapore and Hong Kong.
At the Cecil Street outlet, the curd is defrosted, then poured into a machine, where technology takes over the stretching to impart the coveted stringy consistency that mozzarella is known for. Each day, The Mast’ makes 6kg of mozzarella, which the machine pops out into 35 balls.
If you happen to pass by The Mast’ in the morning, you might catch the cheese chef in the window tearing the mozzarella by hand to make stracciatella, or filling the mozzarella balls with cream and stracciatella to make burrata.
To experience the various flavours and textures of The Mast’s buffalo milk cheeses, there's the Tris Di Bufala, a selection of mozzarella, the original burrata and a special burrata with a different filling and topping served on schiacciata bread.
The Mast’s menu also has an Italian breakfast of sweet and savoury pastries. Grab a Sfogliatella, a frolla pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese, along with a strong Italian coffee.
If you have the time, the Crostone – Altamura bread laden with burrata, rucola and extra virgin olive oil – may hit the note for a more substantial breakfast and a taste of the freshly made burrata.
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While the stars are undoubtedly the buffalo milk cheeses, the menu is also a showcase of Italian wines, draft beer, antipasti, salads, pastas and artisanal Roman breads. One such example is the pinse, a flat bread eaten with a variety of toppings. The Mast' has eight pinse choices, including the Salmone Scozzese E Zucchine topped with mozzarella, smoked salmon and zucchini.
The Le Schiacciate, a traditional Roman stuffed bread, is another scrumptious offering. One of the stuffing options is the Mortadella, which is filled with Italian sausage mortadella, stracciatella and truffle.
Seeing as the cheeses are made on-site in Singapore, can we expect mozzarella or burrata with local flavours the likes of salted egg yolk or chilli crab? Country director Celine Tan told CNA Lifestyle that The Mast' is "open to these possibilities" and "will experiment to see what works".
Just don't tell Italy.
The Mast’ Of Mozzarella & Co. is located at 182 Cecil Street, Frasers Tower, #01-05/08.
