Dinner at Bella Italia

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 .

Famous Famiglia - 8th Avenue

 Had my first stromboli in this outlet and this is how it is served .

The tomato paste is placed in a small receptacle for you to dip the pizza in .

Little Italy Pizza - near the Empire State Tower

Other than burgers and more burgers , I also attempted 3 New York style pizza places . 

One in the middle of Nevada called Villa , a franchise outlet from NYC ( a huge , awful , obviously deep frozen crusted , horribly salty pizza )  , 

Famous Famiglia for Strombolli ( show you later , meh only but you ought to see the famous clients they've catered to ) and 

last of all Little Italy Pizza .

It's rather easy to find this pizza place .

Just look for the Empire State Tower .

Kono Pizza - Pizza Cone

We practically spent all our time at this mall. Eating.

Thus we also tried Kono Pizza .

Because of the novel idea you see down below.

Il Bacaro - the menu you cannot possibly miss

We were here because frankly , I think I understand why Italians scoff at American pizza. Nah. Truth is , I just wanna have a bite of a pizza as unforgettable as the one we ordered for room service at Casa Del Rio. 

Ever since that , my life , my pit-za life has been one empty plate

Pasticceria & Gelateria dei Gracchi - mini zabione

Had no inkling that this was a branch of what was reputed to be the best old school gelateria's in Rome. What brought me in was a Tripadvisor sticker on the shop window

Ginger with lemon gelato - Punto Gelato

Punto Gelato serves gelato as good as those found at Cremeria Monteforte just outside The Pantheon.

At least to me that is, however a quick Google reveals that the owner is a Gelato Master who's a stickler for using only the finest natural ingredients that enhance the robust or creamy flavours to such an extent, you might even wonder why you bothered eating French sorbets before this.

L' Arena del Gelato - most fruits ever in a gelato

Ranked no.19 on Tripadvisor in the whole of Rome for gelato, it is located at a corner where Borgo Pio meets Via di Porta Castello

Cheap pizza place at Borgo Pio

Borgo Pio is yet another lovely pedestrian road , filled with numerous fancy cafes. 

When we stumbled across this pizza place, the inside was crammed with people . I approached a group of Indian tourists who were clutching a box of pizza , on how they found it.

" Delicious " said the 2 ladies

" it's just ok " was the man's reply 

Ah, divided opinions , well let's go inside and find out for ourselves what the fuss is all about.

Pizza Florida aka Pizzeria Florida

Pizzeria Florida is a family run restaurant that's been operating for generations. People trickle in from the moment the doors are open, for its mind boggling varieties of pizza al taglio , which is basically pizza sold by the weight and cut to order. We ate here every single day and I'll try to show you the varieties we had below. You may ask for a small order which is half the size of the regular portion.

As the dining area is really small, if you wanna eat in, you can either stand around or find a standing space outside the shop. Perfectly acceptable. 

Gelateria Corona Artigianale

After visiting 3 piazzas in one night, we started hunting for food. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon one of the best places for famous Italian gelato in one of the most unassuming areas in town.

After you eat here, everything else you've been having back home becomes one big farce. This is the real deal.

See the man in there, he's a little reserved but he's ok, just not a man of many words 

Italiannies - Gurney Paragon

Our feast resembled the last supper. 
While I wouldn't say that this restaurant is one of the cosiest places I've been to , what I can vouch for is that the food is indeed so hearty , you'd never guess that this was part of a chain outlet.

 

Everyone who's been here have been raving about their pastas and I'm afraid I have to agree with them.

No hype, the carbonara is really, really good with generous portions of bacon bits and enough cheesy goodness to burst that zipper .

( NH ) Cold cuts,pickles & cheese - Mediteca

 

 

It's been a long time since I've seen someone pour so much love,dedication and pride into his craft. That's part of the reason why people are raving over Mediteca. Chef Riccardo is the secret ingredient.

Entirely approachable, he's downright serious when it comes to getting the art of making delicious food, just right, for each and every customer that walks through the door. 

The machine you see here is what he uses to personally slice cold cuts as the customers come... one platter at a time.

No precuts left out in the open to dry.

 

 

 

 

Fact is, most Malaysians ( me included )  have never actually been that fond of cold cuts and hard cheeses . Last items to be finished at the buffet table if you ever noticed . But ah,wait, this is where he works his magic.

Viva Italia & 3 Mexicans

Came to Chenang beach to get in the thick of its bustling nightlife. Since the two restaurants are under the same management, patrons sitting in one, have the choice of ordering from both sides.

Aglio Olio Gamberoni . Um, spaghetti was um, well, don't need to elaborate, you can guess where I'm heading. However, the prawns were flavourful, meaty and really exceptional because, if any chef can screw up Langkawi prawns, they'd better go jump off a cliff.

Lunch for 2 at Spasso Milano,Straits Quay ( PF )

I'm just so glad that more and more restaurants such as this,where the day to day running of the kitchen is helmed by foreign chefs, are opening up here on the island,in Langkawi and KL.

It's such a great thing to be able to enjoy quality cuisines without having to fork out a bomb for airfare and lodging alone.

Got a little carried away,toying with my camera settings and by the time I started on my Cappucino ($12.80)it had gone a bit cold.
Though not incredibly thick like what one would get on Italian soil, nevertheless it is better than a whole lot of other places.

Maybe next time I should order straight from the wine list instead.

Heard so much about their wood fired pizzas.

Some rave about it,others say it is so so.

Think it all boils down to a matter of personal preference.