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2010-10-10
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Saw an advert in the papers on a 15% discount promotion at Osteria a couple of months back. But I just needed the reason to go there...and there came the time of having to pick a place for my folks' wedding anniversary celebration. I thought my parents wouldn't object to this too. I made a reservation for 7 o'clock in the evening, and by the time we got to the restaurant, there were only a couple of patrons. I took the opportunity tolook around and ask the captain for the choice of freshly made
I made a reservation for 7 o'clock in the evening, and by the time we got to the restaurant, there were only a couple of patrons. I took the opportunity tolook around and ask the captain for the choice of freshly made pasta of the day, after all this was what we came for.
As we settled down we found a glass filled with Grissini on the table. Well I wasn't so impressed with it as it was dry and cold. The other choices in the bread basket that followed were unremarkable, but the Pane carasau, a specialty bread from Sardinia where Osteria's head chef Michele Camolei was native to, was crisp and enjoyable.
One of the signature items of Osteria, which serves Northern Italian cuisine, is pizza. They actually have their in-house pizza oven. We found a big bargain with the restaurant's Pizza Promotion - Pizza, Beer & Dessert for just $239.
From over 10 kinds of pizza on the promotion menu we picked Tirolese (tomato, mascarpone, cooked ham, wurstel) which I thought was the most "normal" combination of fillings. (Well can you imagine having curry in the pizza? Here you can have pizza flavoured with curry... but pizza on the main menu seems to be more authentic.) The crust was crisp and wheaty, and the melted stringy mascarpone cheese (in contrast to the more commonly used mozzarella cheese) was a simply delightful indulgence! Added to the evil treasure were the meats...yum yum
There were 2 types of beer to choose from. We chose Menabrea beer, from the oldest brewery in Italy in the town of Biella at the foot of the Italian Alps, while the other choice was Ichnusa beer from Sardinia. The former was a lager beer, well I know nothing about beer but I think it was rather hoppy, and most of the golden liquid went down my brother's throat and he liked it quite well.
Dessert was 2 scoops of gelato, which were lemon sorbetto & chocolate gelato. I'll get back to this later.
We were spoilt for choice of Primi Piatti (First Courses - or pasta - in English).
Mezzemaniche o Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Guanciale, ovviamente senza panna ($150)
Short tube pasta or Spaghetti in Carbonara sauce with pork cheek and egg (definitely without cream)
The bits of pork cheek in fact looked and tasted like bacon. Using short tube pasta to make Carbonara was a bit unconventional, and even though this pasta was not freshly made it was still very al dente. The cheese sauce was evenly coated on the pasta but the texture was creamy (yet no cream was used!) and the tangy cheese taste was prominent. An outstanding treat.
Tagliolini verdi, aglio, ricci di mare, datterini, asparagi ($195)
Spinach tagliolini, garlic, sea urchin, datterini, asparagus
This was one of the freshly made pastas of the day recommended by the captain Peter. I presume that sea urchin isn't a common sight in Italian cuisine right? (Or was I just unknowledgeable?) Yet this combination was interesting - although the sea urchin wasn't the freshest and I'm not a big fan of asparagus, the pasta itself was excellent. The tagliolini (flat spaghetti) was softer than the Mezzemaniche pasta above, and in this setting the texture was just right, and the green pasta was refreshing to the eye and the palate.
Now there was one thing missing...antipasti! OK we'd finished the pizza and pasta, but no Italian meal would be complete without an antipasto, so nonetheless I insisted on having one. I quickly went through the reviews here on OR on my cell phone, and ordered the highly commended
Instalata di polpo alla Ligure, fagiolini, patate, basilico ($160)
Liguria-style octopus salad, green beans, potatoes, basil pesto
Well it didn't disappoint, the salad was beautifully presented, and even though I thought the octopus (tenacles?) was a little tough and preferred the greens instead, my parents liked it very much.
Finally it's dessert time!
Our gelati that came with the pizza set arrived. The scoops were close to tiny but I was impressed by the palate-tingling lemon sorbetto (I guess there was some limoncello as well?!). The chocolate gelato was made of bitter chocolate (I think( and was not sickly sweet.
It was bro who suggested having another dessert. We opted for a fruity one,
Instalata di frutta, tiepida, limoncello e sorbetto alla fragola ($70)
Warm fruit salad, limoncello, home made strawberry sorbet
If you want to impress your date, this is the dessert to order. It was great fun to watch as the dessert was prepared before our very eyes (while our mouths busily devouring the gelati), the climax being the limoncello going up in flames ! This dessert needs to be consumed quickly too as the sorbet would soon melt! This wasn't a problem for us as it tasted so good.
I brought along the newspaper advert for the 15% discount, but it turned out that I didn't need it as there was already 15% off with major credit cards (I don't know if it's still the case now, please check with the restaurant before you go). The bill came to $773 after the discount, and I would consider this a nice deal for a quality meal in a laid-back ambience.
As we left we were greeted by a gleaming Chef Michele. Applause to Chef Michele and his team for giving our family a memorable evening!
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