BY JOSEPH TANCHEE
You’ll miss it if you blink. Bellini’s, tucked away inside Cubao’s Marikina Shoe Expo, is a bit off the beaten path. Its location isn’t exactly the perfect spot for a culinary gem, seeing that Cubao, with its numerous shops and hawkers, can be an awfully rowdy place. However, persist, and you’ll discover that Bellini’s is well worth seeking out.
In its seven years, Bellini’s has always been a favorite. This charming family-run restaurant has its share of faithful followers, even luring celebrities, like Lucy Torres and Michael V., to visit and revisit their classic Italian fare.
 |
Wurstel, Roast Pork and Chicken
Diavola | | Though it doesn’t have the sheen of a first-class fine dine restaurant, Bellini’s can more than hold its ground. Their pasta is homemade, bread and pastries are baked fresh everyday, and there are over 365 sauces to choose from. But most importantly, Bellini’s is as close as you can get to authentic Italian cuisine, a credit effortlessly on the mark due to the discriminating tongue of owner and proprietor Roberto Bellini.
Roberto Bellini was a paparazzo in Italy for 30 years. Numerous photographs from his paparazzi days, including those of Luciano Pavarotti, Princess Diana, and Julio Iglesias, decorate the walls of Bellini’s. In 1986, he was assigned to cover the Edsa Revolution, where he met his wife, Ma. Louisa. They were married just a couple of months later.
They lived in Italy for over a decade. And Ma. Luisa learned Italian cuisine from studying and working at the Bellini family’s pizzeria ristorante right beside the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After tiring of traveling to and fro the Philippines and Italy, they decided to put up their own restaurant here and stayed.
Roberto fronts the restaurant as a host, personally welcoming and seatiing guests from the door to their tables. With his accented English and Tagalog, Roberto will regale you with his stories of fistfights with Madonna’s bodyguards during his days as a paparazzo. In addition, at times he’ll act as a sort of sommelier handing out shots of his homemade sweet Vino Santo wine.
In the kitchen, Ma. Luisa turns out dishes with that distinct Italian flair, just the way Roberto likes it. Start with an Antipasto Misto or a platter of mixed appetizers and nibble on some Cuore di Crostini (an assortment of topped crostini bread), particularly the salmon crostini and its citrus flavors.
For pasta choose from a heavily seafood flavored Spaghetti Pesto Mari, which is spaghetti pasta sautéed in olive oil, basil, mussels, and shrimps, or a Tagliatelle Bolognese with a light tomato meat sauce. Another good pasta choice is their Ravioli Truffle Cream.
For thin-crusted pizzas, begin with Bellini’s Quattro Formaggi or four-cheese pizza with beautifully melted Gorgonzola, Eden, mozzarella, and fontina cheeses. And follow it with a comforting slice of Maialona, topped with mozzarella, sausages, ham, and pepperoni. Lastly, satisfy your pizza cravings with a thin and flaky slice of Capricciosa, with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, ham, and mozzarella.
For heavier courses, they offer a peppery flavored Chicken Diavola, Roast Pork, and Wurstel sausages, which Bellini’s imports straight from Italy.
And to finish off a meal, Bellini’s has a variety of cakes from kiwi to strawberry. But particularly good are their creamy vanilla-hinted panna cotta, and buttery orange cake topped with candied orange rinds.
But it isn’t just the food; the resto’s small low-ceilinged dining room gives it a wonderful snugness. Its closely positioned tables are perfect for mingling. And match it with the Bellini kids loud chatter, Roberto’s warm reception, and Ma. Louisa’s home-cooked meals, then you’ve got that arduous family dinner mood. The one that’ll make you feel that going out to dinner at Bellini’s is like eating out at home.
|
