I was born upside down and then I grew up loving the Italian food, especially pizza and pasta. But I thought that I’m an expert already because I haven’t eaten yet almost all the delicious Italian dishes that is available here in Manila. I know some good restaurants but I always order the same pasta and the same pizza, there are no other Italian dishes to try because I’m not familiar with the taste and also its appearance, so I consider myself as a newbie when it comes to Italian dishes, I’m so embarrassed that as a foodie, I already forgotten the real taste of an Italian flavor.
Thanks to La Piadina’s invitation for their food tasting session and also to meet their head chef who was here to offer and handcrafted it himself the new dishes for La Piadina.
I know that there’s one La Piadina branch in Glorietta, I already dined once but I never got a chance to go back, but then at the event, I learned that there’s another branch located in Makati, this 2nd branch is at One Solaris bldg, in Dela Rosa st. and infront of Esteban st.
Its an exciting night for me because I will try to rediscover the taste of a real Italian food, prepared by Italian Chef Giorgio Matera.
I learned via research that Chef Giorgio was the owner of the restaurant and then he sold the resto concept to the Go Tian family, but still he is the head chef that introduces the new dishes and also trains the chefs of La Piadina. I arrived late that night to hear Chef Giorgio’s story but I learned the he loves to help the less fortunate people and he revealed to us that he build already a school in Payatas. Chef Giorgio is now based in Japan but still keeps on coming back here in the Philippines to do his advocacy in helping the poor and also manage the kitchen at La Piadina.
related story:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/379054/lifestyle/food/giorgio-matera-creates-new-dishes-for-la-piadina
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2009/12/19/general/restaurateurs-passion-is-aiding-others/
Here’s some info about Chef Girogio Matera
”The man behind La Piadina is Mr. Giorgio Matera, who has been in the food industry since he was 15 years old; to hone his skills, he studied in a Hotel and Restaurant Management School in Castellana Grotte in the province of Bari, Italy. He worked summers in places like Porto Rotondo in Sardinia, one of the most famous island getaways in Italy for the rich and the famous. He went to work full time with El Toula-Rome, part of the Relais Chateau Chain of luxury hotels and restaurants and count the late Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, Sophia Loren, Monica Belucci, Marcello Mastroiani and Bernardo Bertolucci as some of his clients.
In his desire to see the world and further hone his skills, he worked in El Toula-Munich, Monte Carlo and Cecconi at London, where Mick Jagger, Paul and Linda McCartney used to be frequent diners; it was also the favorite Italian restaurant of the late Princess Diana.” – via http://www.gtlapiadina.com/page/about.html
Its an interesting to talk with Chef Giorgio, his words are very colorful and it hits my heart. I also learned from him that God gave us a gift to cook delicious food, a food that we really need for nourishment and nutrition, but sometimes we used that gift to make food that is not healthy to us.
Then we told him that Filipinos love to over indulge our selves with oily and fatty food…which we know that is bad to our health, but still we love it and we enjoy it.
According to Chef Giorgio, “exactly!” …but what happens next is still bad for your health.
Wow!! tinamaan ako dun ah
anyway.....
Below are the list of food that was introduced to us during the food tasting. I’m not sure when will these be added to their new menu. They gave us a score sheet to rate 1-5…. 5 is the highest score, to determine which is the food is best to be included in the menu.
For me, all of it are good…especially the Pasta and Capellini
THE FOOD
Creamy mushroom and spinach lasagna
Sardines Pasta
Tartar Di Carne
Sardines Cordon Bleu
Straccietti Di Manzo Al Balsamico
Peperoni Piemontese
Pasta Broccoli con Salsciccia
Spiedino Di Pollo
Tortino Alla Banana
Capellini In Brodo
-- It’s the Italian version for the Japanese Ramen, they used chicken broth and a capellini noodles and topped with ground pork and beef meat. The taste is closely similar to a batchoy but more chicken soup flavor.
Chicken Cream Soup con Fungi
Salmon Gratin
from Left to Right
1. Insalata di Patate
2. straccietti di manzo al balsamico
3. Spiedo di pollo
Missing photos --- Spaghetti Bottarga / The Italian gold of the sea
- its a spaghetti in dry tuna egg sauce
Here’s our score sheet
The Bottarga
it’s a dried tuna egg, they used this to add more seafood flavor to any Italian dishes.
Btw, this whole piece is priced at PHP10k
whoaaa!
Im a wine lover… I super enjoyed the pairing of a nice wine and La Piadina’s food.
We also met Australian blogger Sarah of www.saltybug.com at the La Piadina evening with Chef Giorgio Matera. We’re going to hang out next time and enjoy the Quatro Formaggi pizza in La Piadina Glorietta…ano tara lets guys!
LA PIADINA
Branches: 2nd flr Glorietta 2 and in Solaris One bldg, GF, 130 Dela Rosa Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City
Website: http://www.gtlapiadina.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapiadinaitaliana
