It has been years since I last stepped my foot inside the Podium. I don’t even remember the restaurants that I have tried there. I think there was just one and I don’t even remember the name. It was only until a few days ago when I came back to have dinner with blogger friends that I realized how many establishments were there already, and how much I have been missing, particularly a little Italian cuisine heaven called Pagliacci.
Pagliacci is Italian for Clown.Why this is the name of the restaurant? I have no idea. The facade of the restaurant and the logo had a tinge of circus theme. But as soon as you get inside, the interiors are very Italian.
The place was very spacious, and the servers were accommodating. I was a few minutes away to trying their specialties and imagining I was dining in a romantic restaurant in Italy. (This is a good post to play and pretend like I speak Italian)
Antipasti!
We started with the Pane diCasa (P130). Antipasti is Italian for starters (naks!). It;s their homemade bread that comes with two dips. Some sort of salsa and and eggplant dip. It was actually good. Bread was soft, and the dips were flavorful The dips are only refillable one time but doesn't matter to me because the serving size of the dips are just right. Unless you’re the type of person who eats dip smothered with a little bit of bread?
Ancora un po' di pane,per favore! (More bread, please!)
Pizze!
Obviously that’s Italian for Pizza. We had the Ai 4 Formaggi (Four Cheese) P400. It consists of mozzarella, gorgonzola, scamorza, and parmigiano. It has that strong stinky cheese smell that we all either love or hate. In my case, I could bare it because the excellent taste overpowered the smell. The pizza was served with chili flakes and chili oil. Without thinking, I sprinkled a bit of chili flakes on my Pizza. I was so glad I put only a little because apparently my tolerance for heat wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. I ended up beating and shaking my pizza to remove the chili flakes, like you would beat and shake dust off a rug. Hehehe. Nonetheless, it was good!
Pizza molto buona! (Very good pizza!)
They served us Lemon Sorbet after towash out the heat. I guess they saw smoke coming out of my ears.
Pasta Asciutta!
Asciutta is “dry” in Italian. I guess they meant “not so saucy”pastas because what we had, the Spaghetti alla Lorenzo P330 was pasta in olive oil with shrimps, broccoli, garlic, and chili. It’s simply delicious.What I love about oil-based pastas is that hint of flavor you get from the shrimp and garlic in each bite. I imagine sharing this with Richie. But he would just give me all the shrimp and broccoli, and he would eat the pasta. He loves oil-based pasta too. Me personally I love creamy pastas more. Al Dente! (firm pasta to the bite!)
Home Made Pasta
(Awww the title of the section in the menu wasn’t in Italian. Kaya “Home Made pasta” lang haha) This will be the dish that I will be going back for in Pagliacci! Like I just mentioned, I love creamy pastas! This Tagliatelle Tartufate (Truffle Noodles) P400 would be a great example. It’s simply a homemade pasta with super creamy truffle cream and mushrooms. I could have this all to myself. If I could only pause the moment, have everyone including my friends freeze in time for a few minutes so I can devour the whole plate! Bwahaha! Era squisito! (That was exquisite!)
Risotto!
I love risottos! Anything creamy,actually. I think I’ve established that enough earlier. Anyway, this is the perfect meal for me because of the rice + creaminess combination. Those are the two must-haves for me in a good meal. We ordered the Risotto al Funghi (means with Mushroom) P420. It was good but personally I thought the “funghi” flavor was a tad too strong for me. I could be wrong. Something might be wrong with my taste buds because everyone else seemed to really love it. *Shrug*
Carni E Pesci!
Meat and Fish! The main course! We all wanted “carni” (meat) and so we shared an Osso Buco alla Milanese P550. It was served with mashed potatoes. The shank was really soft and cooked perfectly,not to mention the harmony of the tomato sauce, herbs, and red wine. It was so good that I was thisclose to ordering rice and eat it even with just the sauce.
Dolce!
Dessert!What is an Italian dinner without some creamy gelato to end the meal on a sweet note? I had the coffee hazelnut flavor and I was good (but honestly I have had better). But it wasn't bad. After all I’m not a gelato expert. If you notice in the picture I was so excited to eat mine that I already taken a scoop before taking a group gelato photo haha!
Did I mention that aside from American cuisine, Italian is my favorite That’s why needless to say, I enjoyed our dinner at Pagliacci. Mi sono divertito! (I had a good time!)
Fine (The End)
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Honestly, I thought it was already closed. Good thing it wasn't. :) Must try the gelato. :)
ReplyDeleteButi pa si rina na try niya.. sniff..
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