Ristorante Bologna

Someone piqued our interest in Ristorante Bologna. This is another restaurant that has fallen through the cracks and off our radar.

I remember the restaurant in its older (before renovation) and more dingy days. I was so young then. I had lots of dates who brought me there for meals. The bestie and I also had a very unmemorable meal there.

I casually mentioned Ristorante Bologna to the friends and got an avalanche of comments. In short, we're all separately going to Bologna this week (some have gone and more are going tomorrow and over the weekend) for nostalgia's sake.

Importantly, we trust Chef Carlo Marengoni. Many of us attended his masterclass in homemade pasta during the last World Gourmet Summit and went away with extremely favorable impressions.

Tonight, I thoroughly enjoyed my asparagus risotto with asiago cheese. That cheese was a little strong and wonderful for cheese lovers. I totally dig it! The pappardelle pasta with crab and spinach served in lobster sauce was light and delicious.

We also had the grilled fish of the day which was seabass. It was ever so lightly grilled and served with a splash of olive oil and vegetables. That oven-baked rack of lamb with rosemary and red wine sauce served with spinach cake was beautifully done too. The clincher was its red wine sauce. That sauce was not tart and lacked the usual sour sharpness. It was well rounded with honey tones. It went beautifully with our Glenlivet 12 y.o. We eventually found out that the grape used was Barbera.

Obviously, that left us with no space whatsoever for dessert. Zilch.

This restaurant has a very extensive menu that we like. Move over, Pontini and Zambuca. Bologna is our new favorite seat in hotels. Many Italian restaurants have got individuality and flair of their own. I can't just put them in any one league. Sure, Bologna doesn't have some of the quiet elegance of DOMVS' basil spaghetti, the pizazz of Oso or the warm comfort of Bontá. But Bologna is charming. Importantly, if you're a pasta person, you'll like Bologna's extensive selections.

Next week, Chef Carlo is cooking up a feast of fresh homemade pastas. Think spaghetti chitarra-style with spring onions, boston lobster and cherry tomato, homemade strangozzi pasta with minced sausage, black truffles and pecorino cheese, rigatoni pasta sautéed with sweet capsicum, mussels, basil leaf and olives. By the time we finished reading that list, we were drooling and wanted to go to the kitchen to ask for all these tonight. And yes, if you desire just a simple pasta aglio e olio, Chef Carlo will do it just for you.

I'm very very interested in its 'Summer In Italy' menu from 15 - 20 June 2009. Chef Carlo has created a full menu of Italy's summer seasonal vegetables! A couple of us are really excited about it. We can't wait to taste the sautéed beet stalks stuffed with fish and seafood, grilled vegetables with goat cheese and leaves tossed with fontina cheese, croutons and white truffle-balsamic vinaigrette.

It helped tremendously that service was good, understated and considerate. It ended the evening on a nice mellow note.