Long , long time ago , there was this Italian who asked me if I had any favourite Italian dishes .
Naive as I was , I mentioned Pizza Hut . He roared so loud with laughter and then proceeded to admonish and correct me very gently that Pizza Hut was Americano then in the next breath , insisted that I when I had the means , I had to go visit Italy one day ( which I did eventually ) , as they had the best food in the world .
Sardinia was mentioned but I never got round to doing that as I am and always will prefer the megacity loop.
One day maybe I will get round to doing just that .
Anyway , it took the last trip for me to finally "get it" .
That real Italian cooking is indeed delicious , not plain or odd .
After learning how to appreciate their cuisine , that in itself presents another problem . I am no gazillionaire so thank gawd there are expats who can whip up something close to that, near my tramping ground .
In that retrospect , I find myself growing more and more fond of what is dished out at Bella Italia down in Bellisa Row , the reason for this post .
Tonight is the first time we're enjoying dinner here and I notice that there is at least one diner who took pains to dress up .
We ask for the customary pizza . Not the usual Quatro but a Pepperoni pizza this time . The base is so scrumptious I find myself slowly turning my nose up at American pizzas nowadays .
Because he was more in the mood for something different , we did exactly that and ordered an Antipasto .
Buttery button mushrooms , lightly smoked generous slices of salmon wrapped around lettuce with a wedge of lemon dangling on top , two very fresh and juicy mussels baked in cheese and mouthwatering tomato paste , ham , baked eggplant layers , more vegies and chicken ....I tell you what , if you love their Quatro Pizza as much as I do , this is like having part of it on a plate .
Delightful sample pieces yet won't burn a big hole in your pocket .
