Vegetarian Choices at Da Paolo Gastronomia?

I went to Da Palo Gastronomia as I wanted to eat a hot plate of delicious pasta.

So I went to Raffles City shopping mall Da Palolo Gastronomia for dinner. 

As usual the pasta portion is big. However, I was not so happy that the pasta came with parmesan since the menu indicated vegetarian option. I told the staff that parmesan is not considered vegetarian as it include animal (calf) rennet. The staff said that she checked the packaging and didn't see animal rennet. I was quite disappointed with her response. I did not pursue the matter further. Although I'm not a strict vegetarian, I dislike calf rennet and don't like to waste food. Also due to religion, I don't eat beef ( except for once in New York city for the famous Reuben pastrami at Katz' Delicatessen in 2011). 

Then I realised there are many F&B staff might also be lacking product knowledge like her. So in this post, I would like to use this opportunity to educate others. 

Pesto Al Basilico is considered vegetarian only if it doesn't include parmesan cheese. In this case, pesto al basilica is not considered vegetarian. Problem can be easily resolved if the staff ask customer first. Maybe they can replace parmesan cheese with vegetarian cheese like paneer, ricotta, and cottage cheese.

Frankly speaking I love their pasta. Next time I will ask them not to add parmesan cheese. But it will be best if they replace parmesan cheese with vegetarian or vegan cheese. 
I have feedback to them on their Facebook page and hope they educate their staff that parmesan cheese is not vegetarian. 

From Vegetarian Society

• There are a few cheeses that do not use rennet in the cheese-making process, so are always vegetarian. These include paneer, ricotta, and cottage cheese.
• Parmesan and other non-vegetarian cheese. There are some cheeses which are always made using animal rennet, for example, Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano). In order to be called 'Parmesan' this has to be produced according to traditional methods which use calf rennet.

Pesto Al Basilico  ($17.90) came in big portion. I told the staff that parmesan is not considered vegetarian as it has animal rennet but she said the packaging didn't indicate. Maybe the staff need to be educated on product knowledge. I hope restaurant do not put vegetarian label if the dish includes parmesan. They should ask customer first. Maybe they can replace parmesan cheese with vegetarian cheese like paneer, ricotta, and cottage cheese.

Crunchy hazelnut ($9.50) is quite ok.

Marzipan is quite tasty with sweet ground almond but expensive for one small piece. It costs $2 each.