A colleague of mine had been raving on about an amazingly tasty new pizza joint in Newtown so when we needed to get takeaway in the area, we made a beeline for pizza. We didn't know how long it would take for them to make our pizzas so we decided to call ahead. My darling hubby called without even consulting their menu and ordered based on faith "just give me 3 of the most popular pizzas". What really shocked me was when they said that the order would be ready in 5 mins. We were not 5 mins away - floored on the accelerator!
On our way there, we rationalised that there was no way our pizzas could be done in 5 mins... maybe we just misheard 50 mins? But nope - lo and behold, pizza was waiting patiently for us as we pulled into the store 15 mins later. The pizzas that our kind waitress ordered for us was the Tartufo, the Napoli and the Prosciutto.
You could smell the Tartufo pizza before even opening the box - rich truffle smells just wafted out. This was an amazing pizza with italian sausage, porcini, fior di latte (cheese) and truffle paste. These toppings were a heavenly match, all sitting atop an amazing thin yet chewy base. YUM! Definitely dreaming of this pizza!
The Napoli was slightly less interesting. Loads of san marzano tomato paste with olives, anchovy, garlic and oregano. Quite tasty still... but I would have loved double the cheese! I guess this pizza is showcasing the tomato.
The last is my usual favourite (only this time, it is outdone by the truffle). The Prosciutto pizza had rocket, Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and of course - prosciutto. Loads of topping. Definitely appreciated the abundance of rocket. Very tasty indeed.
So the pizza were delicious even though they were sitting for some time on the counter. Imagine how tasty they would be if we ate in store! Definitely need to go back for some more truffle pizza! :)
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - ...?
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 22.5 + ? / 40
Rosso Antico Pizza Bar
Shop 2, 52-60 Enmore Road
Newtown
Tel: (02) 8065 4224
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Besser - Surry Hills
Besser is a casual Italian joint settled among the old collection of Besser blocks. It gives off a relaxed vibe and an old-school style. The waiters are heavily accented but quite friendly. Given the concreteness of the restaurant, it gets super noisy as human voices bounce around the room.
As a party of four, we decided to just order dishes to share. We opted for two entree dishes - the meatballs and the pork fingers. The meatballs were reasonably bite sized and packed full of cheesy flavour. There was also quite a delicious tomatoey sauce that covered the meatballs. The pork fingers were lightly crumbed and eaten with an oniony-yoghurt sauce. There was also an intense mustard flavour to the soft pulled-pork innards.
We chose three pastas. Two of the pastas were part of their specials for the day. Due to the noise and the waiter's accent, I don't quite remember exactly what they were, just that one was a creamy risotto with scampi, and the other was a pappardelle with sausage and mushrooms. The risotto was quite tasty - scampi give or take, but the cheesy creaminess and the al-dente rice created pretty awesome rich flavours all round. The pappardelle was not bad either. Slightly creamy, slightly tomatoey and again, perfectly cooked pasta. Whilst both pastas were delicious, what surprised me most was the gnocchi with turkey that we ordered. Not that it was better than the other pastas. Just that I've never liked gnocchi (like EVER) but this gnocchi is beginning to change my mind. The gnocchi was really fluffy and pillowy - not dense or carby like the normal ones, and the turkey meat added the right amount of saltiness to it all.
Other than the pastas, we also ordered the grilled scotch mushroom (sorry about the photo.... I didn't take it...). Having no expectations of what a scotch mushroom was like, it ended up as a plate of thin grilled scotch fillet steaks with juicy mushrooms and wilted greens. The steak was cooked well - tender enough. But I think I would have been happy enough with just tons of the mushrooms (which was really flavourful as it soaked in all the meat juices) and the wilted greens.
Dessert-wise, nothing really appealed. And, Messina was just next door (even the waiter agreed). So... Messina we went.
Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28/40
Besser
3/355 Crown Street
Surry Hills
Tel: (02) 9331 1611
As a party of four, we decided to just order dishes to share. We opted for two entree dishes - the meatballs and the pork fingers. The meatballs were reasonably bite sized and packed full of cheesy flavour. There was also quite a delicious tomatoey sauce that covered the meatballs. The pork fingers were lightly crumbed and eaten with an oniony-yoghurt sauce. There was also an intense mustard flavour to the soft pulled-pork innards.
We chose three pastas. Two of the pastas were part of their specials for the day. Due to the noise and the waiter's accent, I don't quite remember exactly what they were, just that one was a creamy risotto with scampi, and the other was a pappardelle with sausage and mushrooms. The risotto was quite tasty - scampi give or take, but the cheesy creaminess and the al-dente rice created pretty awesome rich flavours all round. The pappardelle was not bad either. Slightly creamy, slightly tomatoey and again, perfectly cooked pasta. Whilst both pastas were delicious, what surprised me most was the gnocchi with turkey that we ordered. Not that it was better than the other pastas. Just that I've never liked gnocchi (like EVER) but this gnocchi is beginning to change my mind. The gnocchi was really fluffy and pillowy - not dense or carby like the normal ones, and the turkey meat added the right amount of saltiness to it all.
Other than the pastas, we also ordered the grilled scotch mushroom (sorry about the photo.... I didn't take it...). Having no expectations of what a scotch mushroom was like, it ended up as a plate of thin grilled scotch fillet steaks with juicy mushrooms and wilted greens. The steak was cooked well - tender enough. But I think I would have been happy enough with just tons of the mushrooms (which was really flavourful as it soaked in all the meat juices) and the wilted greens.
Dessert-wise, nothing really appealed. And, Messina was just next door (even the waiter agreed). So... Messina we went.
Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28/40
Besser
3/355 Crown Street
Surry Hills
Tel: (02) 9331 1611
Labels:
Italian,
pasta,
seafood,
Steak,
Surry Hills
Monday, May 18, 2015
Pilu at Freshwater
For our anniversary dinner this year, we decided to go to a restaurant that we'd thought about going to for years and years - ever since we saw Giovanni at a Taste of Sydney festival almost a decade ago. We braved the torrential rains that night and headed to Freshwater to dine at Pilu and was greeted by really nice and friendly waitstaff. Needless to say, the beautiful ocean view was denied for the night.
Because of our indecisive natures, the degustation was the ideal choice for the night. We were initially served with a welcome gift of savoury cookies. These cookies were pretty tasty, slightly cheesy in flavour and definitely served to whet our appetite.
The bread we got for the night was freshly baked, warm, crunchy outsides and soft innards. The butter was nicely whipped and quite tasty.
The first course we got was the Hiramasa kingfish. Thinly sliced really sweet kingfish was accentuated with the mild spice of friggitelli and pine nut pesto, and a really delicious side salad of corn (and singular caper).
The next course smelt delicious but was rather confusing. Mr Giovanni came out and served the milky, cheesy pecorino consomme himself and poured it atop the tiny hand-rolled fregola, sweet pumpkin cubes and cavolo nero (ie the green stuff). It was so fragrant... but a bit of a let down. But then again, I've never been a fan of soupy rice, whatever flavour it may be.
I found the next pasta dish was much more appetising, even if it initially did look like little green worms on a plate. The parsley flavour in the pasta mixed really well with the orange chilli paint in the bowl. Bits of mussels and chickpeas were mixed in, but the pasta and sauce itself was tasty enough.
Next up was the fish. A perfectly cooked piece of Mulloway sat atop the most sweet and deliciously charred cabbage. Yummy buttery shrooms were good but not necessary on the plate. The black paint was delicious squid ink. The orange mustard sauce was slightly less so.
Next up was Pilu's famous suckling pig. You definitely don't get much of this signature dish but the bits that you do get are wonderfully deliciousness. The skin is crispy and the meat is really nice and tender and flavoursome. You get sides of pickled raddish, cabbage and roast potatoes. All really tasty really.
Dessert-wise was a bit of let down for me. But that's probably cos non-chocolate desserts are not my preference. The more refreshing of the two desserts was the textures of pear. A soft-poached pear with pear sorbet. I think if you like pear, you would like this.
The other dessert, and the finale of the night was a Sardinian fried pastry filled with ricotta and sultanas and drizzled with honey. The pastry was nice and crispy and there was a decent dollop of ricotta in it. The pastry wasn't too sweet and I guess it was OK... still would have preferred something more chocolately :P
All up, a decent meal at Pilu. Not the best 2 Hat restaurant we've been to, but it was decent - the food was a bit more traditional than other restaurants. I'm sure that if it was a good clear day, it would be a meal with an amazing food.
Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 28/40
Pilu at Freshwater
Moore Road
Freshwater
NSW 2096
Tel: (02) 9938 3331
Because of our indecisive natures, the degustation was the ideal choice for the night. We were initially served with a welcome gift of savoury cookies. These cookies were pretty tasty, slightly cheesy in flavour and definitely served to whet our appetite.
The bread we got for the night was freshly baked, warm, crunchy outsides and soft innards. The butter was nicely whipped and quite tasty.
The first course we got was the Hiramasa kingfish. Thinly sliced really sweet kingfish was accentuated with the mild spice of friggitelli and pine nut pesto, and a really delicious side salad of corn (and singular caper).
The next course smelt delicious but was rather confusing. Mr Giovanni came out and served the milky, cheesy pecorino consomme himself and poured it atop the tiny hand-rolled fregola, sweet pumpkin cubes and cavolo nero (ie the green stuff). It was so fragrant... but a bit of a let down. But then again, I've never been a fan of soupy rice, whatever flavour it may be.
I found the next pasta dish was much more appetising, even if it initially did look like little green worms on a plate. The parsley flavour in the pasta mixed really well with the orange chilli paint in the bowl. Bits of mussels and chickpeas were mixed in, but the pasta and sauce itself was tasty enough.
Next up was the fish. A perfectly cooked piece of Mulloway sat atop the most sweet and deliciously charred cabbage. Yummy buttery shrooms were good but not necessary on the plate. The black paint was delicious squid ink. The orange mustard sauce was slightly less so.
Next up was Pilu's famous suckling pig. You definitely don't get much of this signature dish but the bits that you do get are wonderfully deliciousness. The skin is crispy and the meat is really nice and tender and flavoursome. You get sides of pickled raddish, cabbage and roast potatoes. All really tasty really.
Dessert-wise was a bit of let down for me. But that's probably cos non-chocolate desserts are not my preference. The more refreshing of the two desserts was the textures of pear. A soft-poached pear with pear sorbet. I think if you like pear, you would like this.
The other dessert, and the finale of the night was a Sardinian fried pastry filled with ricotta and sultanas and drizzled with honey. The pastry was nice and crispy and there was a decent dollop of ricotta in it. The pastry wasn't too sweet and I guess it was OK... still would have preferred something more chocolately :P
All up, a decent meal at Pilu. Not the best 2 Hat restaurant we've been to, but it was decent - the food was a bit more traditional than other restaurants. I'm sure that if it was a good clear day, it would be a meal with an amazing food.
Ratings:
Food - 7/10
Service - 7.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 28/40
Pilu at Freshwater
Moore Road
Freshwater
NSW 2096
Tel: (02) 9938 3331
Labels:
2-hat,
beach-side,
degustation,
dessert,
Freshwater,
Italian,
pasta,
seafood,
waterfront
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
400 Gradi - Brunswick (Melbourne)
World's best pizza and I don't have to fly half way around the world for it? That's right! The amazing pizza maker at 400 Gradi recently won the title of 'world's best pizza' for their Margherita pizza. As we were in Melbourne for the F1, we thought that we'd take the opportunity to check out just how good this pizza is. Situated on Lygon Street (and also another branch at the Crown), I was a little worried about the potential for it being a tourist trap type place. Luckily, the restaurant was far far away from the tourist bit of Lygon.
We had to order the Margherita - but we added anchovies to it. The pizza base was pretty amazing. It was thin and soft on the middle of the pizza, doughy and chewy on the edges and just that tiny bit of crispiness. The tomato base was rich and the cheese was really tasty and stretchy. When you eat it the traditional way (ie. you roll it all up), it was the perfect bite every time. The anchovies gave the whole pizza an extra dimension.
We also got a pasta - the tagliatelle con prosciutto crudo croccante. In English, it means pasta with crispy prosciutto, rocket and shaved parmesan. What's not to love about it? The pasta was cooked al-dente. There was a ton of salty prosciutto to it, and we got extra cheese to add to it if we wanted. It was pretty tasty. I wish we got a bit more rocket though~
We couldn't look past dessert. We ordered the tiramisu and the chocolate fondant. The tiramisu was really smooth and creamy. Good amount of coffee flavour in it. Quite liked it. The chocolate fondant came with vanilla bean ice-cream and a sprinkle of white chocolate shavings. The fondant was oozy on the inside... but not oozy enough for my liking. It was nice and chocolately and dense, and the ice-cream was yum. I was expecting a bit more from this dish but I guess it was OK.
So all up, pretty delicious pizza. Tasty pasta. Good desserts. Be sure to book if you are planning to come here - just in case!
Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
400 Gradi
99 Lygon Street
Brunswick
VIC, 3055
Tel: (03) 9380 2320
We had to order the Margherita - but we added anchovies to it. The pizza base was pretty amazing. It was thin and soft on the middle of the pizza, doughy and chewy on the edges and just that tiny bit of crispiness. The tomato base was rich and the cheese was really tasty and stretchy. When you eat it the traditional way (ie. you roll it all up), it was the perfect bite every time. The anchovies gave the whole pizza an extra dimension.
We also got a pasta - the tagliatelle con prosciutto crudo croccante. In English, it means pasta with crispy prosciutto, rocket and shaved parmesan. What's not to love about it? The pasta was cooked al-dente. There was a ton of salty prosciutto to it, and we got extra cheese to add to it if we wanted. It was pretty tasty. I wish we got a bit more rocket though~
We couldn't look past dessert. We ordered the tiramisu and the chocolate fondant. The tiramisu was really smooth and creamy. Good amount of coffee flavour in it. Quite liked it. The chocolate fondant came with vanilla bean ice-cream and a sprinkle of white chocolate shavings. The fondant was oozy on the inside... but not oozy enough for my liking. It was nice and chocolately and dense, and the ice-cream was yum. I was expecting a bit more from this dish but I guess it was OK.
So all up, pretty delicious pizza. Tasty pasta. Good desserts. Be sure to book if you are planning to come here - just in case!
Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
400 Gradi
99 Lygon Street
Brunswick
VIC, 3055
Tel: (03) 9380 2320
Friday, February 6, 2015
Balla - Pyrmont
I'm so behind on my blogging this year. Things have just been so hectic - just with the day to day stuff, and before you know it, it's Februrary! Hubby and I visited Balla at the Star for my birthday this year. I was looking for simple, delicious Italian food and was hoping to find it here. Being from a whole month ago, my memory of this place is quite hazy... so it probably wasn't as memorable as I wished, but I do think it was an enjoyable enough experience.
The restaurant on the night was busy busy busy. And extremely noisy. The packed environment stressed me a bit but I guess rowdiness is part of the Italian experience? Their wine list comes on an i-pad and the connoisseur basically told us to just flick through as he rushed from table to table.
Food-wise, we decided on an antipasto and an entree to share. We got 50g of Proscuitto San Daniele and 50g of the Finochietta Balla. The proscuitto was really delicious, as expected. Shaved really thin and full of flavour. The finochietta require more chewing action but rather tasty nonetheless. They were a bit stingy on the bread sticks and if there wasn't the bread (which comes normally) we would be asking for way more bread sticks.
The duck ravioli we ordered to share was reasonably tasty. Pasta cooked al-dente, but the filling was slightly uneventful. It came with crispy sage and a creamy potato and garlic sauce. I'm not used to having potato sauces... cos really, it's just a creamy creamy mash. Mash with pasta? Mmm.... a bit thick and gluggy, but atleast it was tasty mash :)
For the mains, hubby had the line caught snapper. Now this I remember as the fish was cooked perfectly. The fish was falling off the bone, still really juicy and came with delicious pesto. I think I liked the walnut pesto a tad better than the salsa verde - but really, both were good. So if you don't mind eating a whole fish - head and bones and all (which, being asian, we have no problems with), this is a good dish to order.
I had their pork special. I don't remember much about it. I think it was roasted well, with a good glaze. A good mix of fat and meat that made it just the right tenderness and juiciness. And it came with onion and a mustard??? sauce.... maybe? Hahaha! Other than - 'the meat was good' , the dish escapes my mind.
We also had a side of asparagus with reggiano which came really late. But the asparagus was good, especially with the slightly melted cheese. Can't fault it really.
By then, we were both really full. Nothing on their dessert menu excited me so we decided to skip that.
All up - not a bad evening of food. Didn't like the hustle and bustle within the restaurant very much... so, don't think I'll be in a hurry to return any time soon~
Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 5.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 27/40
Balla
Level G, Harbourside
The Star
80 Pyrmont St
Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Tel: (02) 9657 9129
Friday, November 14, 2014
Oliveto Ristorante & Bar - Rhodes
We live quite close to many yummy looking restaurants but it had taken us a few years to try out Oliveto - an Italian restaurant with a view of the bay. I was thinking that being kind of in the middle of nowhere, the restaurant would be quieter but it was the complete opposite. The restaurant was bustling and super super busy (and really quite loud) at 8pm on a Friday night.
Many items on the menu sounded delicious so it took us ages to decide what to order but at the end, we decided on the antipasto plate to share, a prosciutto rocket pizza with anchovies, and a mixed mushroom pappardelle.
The bread came with olive oil and balsamic. The bread was pretty dense - not my type. But hubby managed to polish it off with the antipasto. The platter came with prosciutto, beef carpaccio, chilli salami, cheese, artichoke, eggplant, capsicum, egg frittata, and olives (both green and black). All the meats were really really good. I especially liked the beef carpaccio - heaps tasty!
After the antipasto, we were both already quite full. There was no way hubby was to finish his pizza. However, it was really tasty somehow - I don't know if it was the cheese or the prosciutto or the anchovies but something in this pizza made it delectable.
My pappardelle smelt absolutely wonderous. Fresh herbs with mixed mushies and home-made pasta. YUM! It was mouth-wateringly delicious. The pasta was perfectly al-dente and mixed with just the right amount of flavoured olive oil.
Neither hubby nor I had enough stomach space to do dessert but looking around the restaurant, dessert looks amazing. As does their grilled seafood (def food envy there). We felt that Oliveto was a heaps tasty Italian restaurant which is well worth a re-visit.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
Oliveto Ristorante & Bar
443 Concord Road
Rhodes, NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 8765 0006
Many items on the menu sounded delicious so it took us ages to decide what to order but at the end, we decided on the antipasto plate to share, a prosciutto rocket pizza with anchovies, and a mixed mushroom pappardelle.
The bread came with olive oil and balsamic. The bread was pretty dense - not my type. But hubby managed to polish it off with the antipasto. The platter came with prosciutto, beef carpaccio, chilli salami, cheese, artichoke, eggplant, capsicum, egg frittata, and olives (both green and black). All the meats were really really good. I especially liked the beef carpaccio - heaps tasty!
After the antipasto, we were both already quite full. There was no way hubby was to finish his pizza. However, it was really tasty somehow - I don't know if it was the cheese or the prosciutto or the anchovies but something in this pizza made it delectable.
My pappardelle smelt absolutely wonderous. Fresh herbs with mixed mushies and home-made pasta. YUM! It was mouth-wateringly delicious. The pasta was perfectly al-dente and mixed with just the right amount of flavoured olive oil.
Neither hubby nor I had enough stomach space to do dessert but looking around the restaurant, dessert looks amazing. As does their grilled seafood (def food envy there). We felt that Oliveto was a heaps tasty Italian restaurant which is well worth a re-visit.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
Oliveto Ristorante & Bar
443 Concord Road
Rhodes, NSW 2138
Tel: (02) 8765 0006
Labels:
Italian,
pasta,
pizza,
rhodes,
waterfront
Friday, December 20, 2013
Da Mario - Rosebery
I was catching up with a colleague after work today and she took me to a relatively new pizza joint in Rosebery. The brother to Pizza Mario, 'da Mario' is a open bistro-type restaurant serving pizzas and pastas, opened near Kitchen by Mike. We rocked up around 6.30pm and there were just a few table left in their no bookings dinner policy place.
We ordered a pizza each. My friend ordered a margherita pizza with prosciutto and rocket whereas I got the capricciosa (pizza with tomato, mozzarella, mushroom, artichoke, olives and ham). I wanted to add anchovies to my pizza but this was disallowed. They only do truely traditional pizzas - nothing extra, nothing subtracted. Even without my anchovies, both pizzas were really tasty and flavoursome. The base, however, probably wasn't my preferred. It was thin where the topping was - but slightly too soggy. The outer crust ring was a bit too doughy for my preference, but it was soft and bread-like, which my friend seemed to love. I guess that in general, it was a pretty tasty pizza ;)
Although we were both stuffed already, we couldn't pass the dessert which my friend recommended - the panna cotta with crushed pineapple and biscotti. The panna cotta was really smooth and creamy. It had the right amount of sweetness and matched with the pineapple really really well. On top of that, the biscotti bits added the right amount of crunch and almond flavour.
All up, it was a pretty good meal. We both left clutching our stomachs, quite satisfied.
Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
Da Mario
36 Morley Avenue
Rosebery, NSW 2018
Tel: (02) 9669 2242
We ordered a pizza each. My friend ordered a margherita pizza with prosciutto and rocket whereas I got the capricciosa (pizza with tomato, mozzarella, mushroom, artichoke, olives and ham). I wanted to add anchovies to my pizza but this was disallowed. They only do truely traditional pizzas - nothing extra, nothing subtracted. Even without my anchovies, both pizzas were really tasty and flavoursome. The base, however, probably wasn't my preferred. It was thin where the topping was - but slightly too soggy. The outer crust ring was a bit too doughy for my preference, but it was soft and bread-like, which my friend seemed to love. I guess that in general, it was a pretty tasty pizza ;)
| margherita con ruchetta e crudo |
| capricciosa |
| Panna Cotta |
Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 29/40
Da Mario
36 Morley Avenue
Rosebery, NSW 2018
Tel: (02) 9669 2242
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Via Napoli - Lane Cove
We have heard tons about a supposedly awesome pizzeria in Lane Cove. We had to give it a go and we persevered despite the MASSIVE crowds waiting at 8.30pm. I have to say, the waiters walked so fast, they had to be on speed or a dozen Red Bulls. Attentiveness, however, was slightly lacking.
Our expectations were high as some of our friends had said that it's more awesome than Lucio's - and ZOMG Lucio was so crazily awesome that we'd even forgotten to take photos there! We had to resist ordering entree as we wanted to try two different pizza. One was the Via Napoli (which, according to our waiter was a "surprise!"). I was intrigued by the description - 'luigi's fantasy pizza' - had to order it! :P . The other was a Vesuvio which had tomato, buffalo mozarella, ricotta, ham, salami, pepper, basil on it.
The pizzas here are really quite different to Lucio's. The crust is really chewy and had this super thick outside crust ring which neither of us were a huge fan of. There was a ton of toppings on it which did make it quite tasty and unfortunately, quite soggy. After eating the pizzas I have to say that I regretted not getting an antipasto entree - I think I would have preferred a ton of cured meats, cheese and bread sticks to the pizzas.
Ratings:
Food - 6.5/10
Service -5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 25/40
Via Napoli
141 Longueville Road
Lane Cove
NSW 2066
Tel: (02) 9428 3724
Our expectations were high as some of our friends had said that it's more awesome than Lucio's - and ZOMG Lucio was so crazily awesome that we'd even forgotten to take photos there! We had to resist ordering entree as we wanted to try two different pizza. One was the Via Napoli (which, according to our waiter was a "surprise!"). I was intrigued by the description - 'luigi's fantasy pizza' - had to order it! :P . The other was a Vesuvio which had tomato, buffalo mozarella, ricotta, ham, salami, pepper, basil on it.
| Via Napoli - Luigi's fantasy pizza |
| Vesuvio |
Ratings:
Food - 6.5/10
Service -5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 6.5/10
Overall - 25/40
Via Napoli
141 Longueville Road
Lane Cove
NSW 2066
Tel: (02) 9428 3724
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Spago - Beverly Hills
Ever expected a dinner to be sub-par then get something a bit more spectacular? Doesn't happen too often but Love it when it does :) And, it happened at Spago at Beverly Hills.
We booked at the last minute and ashamedly, were also late for our booking. The restaurant was rather accommodating though, despite their surprisingly pretty full restaurant. You see someone making fresh pasta at the front all night long, as though to emphasise the fact that you are eating freshly made pasta.
For starters, we had some garlic bread. This smelt amazing. The bread has a crispy crust and a soft center. Butterly but not dripping in it, and garlicy but not overly so. Not bad.
Hubby ordered the Pappardelle Cheek's Ragu ($24).This was al dente handcut thick ish pasta served with a 16 hours cooked ox cheek ragu with porcini and truffle oil. The pasta was tomatoey and meaty. A reasonably tasty pasta.
I had the king prawns fettuccine ($24). There was a reasonably large amount of prawns with some mushrooms and capsicum. But the star of the dish was the creamy lobster bisque. ZOMG this lobster bisque was mindblowingly good - urges you to go back for more and more and more!
So I have to say, I loved my pasta here. And I would come back for some more. The whole meal was made cheaper by our entertainment book, so if you have one, come check out this small ish yet busy Italian restaurant.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 29/40
Spago
524B King Georges Road
Beverly Hills,
NSW 2209
Tel: (02) 9585 0282
We booked at the last minute and ashamedly, were also late for our booking. The restaurant was rather accommodating though, despite their surprisingly pretty full restaurant. You see someone making fresh pasta at the front all night long, as though to emphasise the fact that you are eating freshly made pasta.
For starters, we had some garlic bread. This smelt amazing. The bread has a crispy crust and a soft center. Butterly but not dripping in it, and garlicy but not overly so. Not bad.
| garlic bread |
| beef cheek ragu papadelle - $24 |
| King prawn fettuccine - $24 |
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 29/40
Spago
524B King Georges Road
Beverly Hills,
NSW 2209
Tel: (02) 9585 0282
Labels:
Beverly Hills,
Italian,
pasta
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Bondi Pizza - Parramatta
Every time hubby and I drive past Bondi Pizza in Parramatta, it is packed out! So when my friend and I waltzed in on a weekday to find it much less busy, I was a bit surprised. The menu had plenty of choices for entree, wraps, pizzas and pastas. There was also a small sign for the lunch special - an 8" pizza with drink for $9.95. So two lunch specials were ordered!
We opted for the Grilled Chicken Pancetta and the Mexican Nacho. The chicken pizza had plenty of chicken pieces and pancetta slices and also a heap of rocket, all on a tasty BBQ sauce. The Mexican Nacho was even tastier (in my opinion). It had a heap of ground beef and beans, diced tomatoes throughout and a good drizzle of guacamole. Sour cream and sweet chilli sauce was also on top. Pizza and nacho feel all in one!
The pizzas weren't the best I've had recently but it was decent and tasty. Also, it was awesome value for a pizza and drink! ;)
Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 810
Overall - 29.5/40
Bondi Pizza
320 Church Street
Parramatta
NSW 2150
Tel: (02) 9891 9221
We opted for the Grilled Chicken Pancetta and the Mexican Nacho. The chicken pizza had plenty of chicken pieces and pancetta slices and also a heap of rocket, all on a tasty BBQ sauce. The Mexican Nacho was even tastier (in my opinion). It had a heap of ground beef and beans, diced tomatoes throughout and a good drizzle of guacamole. Sour cream and sweet chilli sauce was also on top. Pizza and nacho feel all in one!
| chicken and pancetta pizza |
| Mexican nacho pizza |
Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 810
Overall - 29.5/40
Bondi Pizza
320 Church Street
Parramatta
NSW 2150
Tel: (02) 9891 9221
Labels:
Italian,
Parramatta,
pizza
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Jamie's Italian - Sydney
We were there before 5.30pm and there was a line which stretched a mile away. AND this wasn't even the line to get into the restaurant - it was just the line to put your name on the list for a table in 1-2 hrs time at the restaurant. ZOMG - it better be freaking good and worth the wait! We left... but then we returned to this famous Jamie Oliver joint because we were too curious. What is the hype all about?
After the long wait, the housemade bread was deliciousness! Different types were there... all olive-oily goodness. Loved all the different types :)
We ordered two 'planks' for starters. The cured meat plank ($13.50) came with a good selections of
San Daniele prosciutto, Wagyu bresaola, finocchio & capocollo. All really tasty and delicious! It also came with a really yummy buffalo mozzarella and perconio with chilli jam. Pickles (with curly green chillies, green & Gaeta olives & caper berries) and a crunchy salad (with shaved root veg with chilli, lemon & mint) was also there. All up, a tasty and well balanced plank.
The vege plank ($10) had essentially the same sides except that instead of meats, there was the seasonal sliced and chargrilled veges. The veges were good. Sweet and doused in olive oil. But I think I preferred the meats.
In our minds, we had a million things we wanted to order. However, when we told our waiter our thoughts, he banned us and made us cut down our order to just one main each - and rightfully so (as it was more than enough food!). Hubby ended up getting the truffled turkey milanese ($29.50). This was pretty good! Crumbed and thinly sliced turkey with a hidden surprise of fontina and prosciutto in between the bread crumb and the turkey. This massive slab of turkey schnitzel was topped with a soft fried egg, truffle and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Really really tasty!
I opted for a pasta. Lots of flavoursome looking pastas were on the menu, but at the end of the day, I opted for the black angel spaghetti ($22). This was squid ink pasta served with perfectly cooked scallops, garlic, anchovies, a hint of chilli and capers. Deliciousness! So so so yum!!!
We had just enough stomach space for dessert. The tiramisu ($9.50) was good, but I think I've had better. A little too soggy for hubby's liking but it was coffee tasting enough.
Hubby also had a coffee. Not bad - just your normal coffee.
So was Jamie's worth it? Sure - delicious food, tasty and flavoursome, and was value for money... but a 1-2 hour wait? hmm.... I think I'd much prefer to round up a few friends and book a table instead (can book when you have 6+ people). Not convinced it's a good place for conversation though as the bustling amount of activity and the noise level is a bit crazy.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 32/40
Jamie's Italian
107 Pitt Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 8240 9000
After the long wait, the housemade bread was deliciousness! Different types were there... all olive-oily goodness. Loved all the different types :)
| housemade bread |
San Daniele prosciutto, Wagyu bresaola, finocchio & capocollo. All really tasty and delicious! It also came with a really yummy buffalo mozzarella and perconio with chilli jam. Pickles (with curly green chillies, green & Gaeta olives & caper berries) and a crunchy salad (with shaved root veg with chilli, lemon & mint) was also there. All up, a tasty and well balanced plank.
| cured meat plank - $13.50 |
| vege plank - $10 |
In our minds, we had a million things we wanted to order. However, when we told our waiter our thoughts, he banned us and made us cut down our order to just one main each - and rightfully so (as it was more than enough food!). Hubby ended up getting the truffled turkey milanese ($29.50). This was pretty good! Crumbed and thinly sliced turkey with a hidden surprise of fontina and prosciutto in between the bread crumb and the turkey. This massive slab of turkey schnitzel was topped with a soft fried egg, truffle and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Really really tasty!
| truffled turkey milanese - $29.50 |
| black angel spaghetti - $22 |
| tiramisu - $9.50 |
So was Jamie's worth it? Sure - delicious food, tasty and flavoursome, and was value for money... but a 1-2 hour wait? hmm.... I think I'd much prefer to round up a few friends and book a table instead (can book when you have 6+ people). Not convinced it's a good place for conversation though as the bustling amount of activity and the noise level is a bit crazy.
Ratings:
Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 32/40
Jamie's Italian
107 Pitt Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 8240 9000
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Mozza Osteria - Singapore
We were looking for a place for a late night dinner in Singapore and though hawker centers seem like the likely option, hubby wanted something more special. We were way too late to book anything awesome in but being 11pm, we decided to rock up to Mozza Osteria at Marina Bay Sands without a reservation anyway. And as predicted, we were seated promptly.
Mozza Osteria is a restaurants by the the famous Mario Batali and is ranked No. 35 on the S.Pellagrino Asia list. Like all the other awesome ambiance restaurants, it means that photos turn out dodgy (due to my somewhat poor photography skills and hungry stomach).
The waiter had recommended the degustation menu but at 11pm, I preferred a-la-carte. We were served housemade warm bread - sour dough and wheat. Both were absolutely delicious! Crunchy crust, soft innards, and actually really tasty. The waiter did forget our olive oil and balsamic though but was apologetic the moment we asked for it.
The amuse bouche was a fresh ricotta lump on crackers, straight from their mozzarella bar. The ricotta was fluffy and light and just subtle in taste. Really creamy and perfect match for the crispy cracker.
For starters, we ordered the pane pomodoro ($28). This was fresh burrata cheese with thinly sliced cured ham/prosciutto and pickled ramps all served on just the right amount of bread. Loved it!
The other starter we opted for was the grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon ($25). The octopus was super tender and quite charred. The charred taste was very prominent but when combined with the other flavours, it was very yum.
Hubby and I both wanted pasta. He took the cappelletti di vitello ($62). This was chicken liver filled pasta blackened with black truffle sauce. ZOMG - it was heart-stoppingly good. The liver was really aromatic and smooth and creamy, and was encased with really really thin pasta. And the sauce? Unforgettable! Really really rich and strong in truffle flavour.
My pasta was just as (if not more) deliciousness. The Celery Root cappellacci ($62) was small creamy tasty pockets of gooey goodness encased in the super thin pasta. YUM YUM YUM!!! And the creamy blue food mushroom sauce? ZOMG YUMness!!! Absolutely amazing. But like with all deliciously creamy and tasty things, both pasta were super filling and seemed to simply expand in our stomachs.
Though we were both really really full, we couldn't resist the dessert - the Piccolo Budino Caldo di Cioccolato ($22). The warm self-saucing pudding was really light and super chocolatey - gooey on the inside and crunchy crusty on the outside. It normally comes with a bourbon gelato but I don't like the taste of bourbon so we changed it to vanilla - with this really crazy salted caramel topping. I think that this is the best chocolate fondant we have ever had.
We found the meal really delicious. Service somewhat lacking at times but it was late - the waiters were possibly all tired. It wasn't a cheap meal though, especially when you add in the ++ (service charge and tax). Definitely a good place for a splurge though.
Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 31/40
Mozza Osteria
B1, 42-46 Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 8522
Mozza Osteria is a restaurants by the the famous Mario Batali and is ranked No. 35 on the S.Pellagrino Asia list. Like all the other awesome ambiance restaurants, it means that photos turn out dodgy (due to my somewhat poor photography skills and hungry stomach).
The waiter had recommended the degustation menu but at 11pm, I preferred a-la-carte. We were served housemade warm bread - sour dough and wheat. Both were absolutely delicious! Crunchy crust, soft innards, and actually really tasty. The waiter did forget our olive oil and balsamic though but was apologetic the moment we asked for it.
The amuse bouche was a fresh ricotta lump on crackers, straight from their mozzarella bar. The ricotta was fluffy and light and just subtle in taste. Really creamy and perfect match for the crispy cracker.
For starters, we ordered the pane pomodoro ($28). This was fresh burrata cheese with thinly sliced cured ham/prosciutto and pickled ramps all served on just the right amount of bread. Loved it!
| pane pomodoro - $28 |
| grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon - $25 |
| cappelletti di vitello - $62 |
| Celery Root cappellacci - $62 |
| Piccolo Budino Caldo di Cioccolato - $22 |
Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 31/40
Mozza Osteria
B1, 42-46 Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 8522
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