Ciao!
Bongiorno a tutti!
South people, hear ye! I have discovered a very posh, Italian restaurant with sumptuous food just right next to us --
Verace Ristorante Italiano! Last week, I was invited to experience a night in Italy together with my boyfriend Zoilo, lovely bloggers
Pauline,
Andrea and partners from
Zomato. We arrived quite early and took advantage in capturing the restaurant's very cozy place! We were welcomed by two gorgeous ladies, Rachel Allen and Ms. Monica.
Ms. Monica, owner of the restaurant
Rachel Allen, Ms. Monica and me :)
The restaurant's name is Verace, meaning authentic, genuine and real. Ms Monica's husband, Chef Giovan brought Ischia, Italy's true Italian taste in the resto. And when they say authentic, it really is pure from Italy - not Italian-Amerian or Spanish-Italian.
Very cozy place! According to them, they will still replace the furnitures and stuff. Yet, this 2-month old restaurant already has that Italian vibe! They also have free wifi, clean restrooms and bar area outside so you can drink all you want accompanied by good music in the patio! hehe!
Not to mention, a very reasonable price!
Some of their guests in the patio
JD, Vodka and Bacardi from the bar area.
Photo with the two lovely owners of Verace! Yay! :)
Chef Giovan and Ms. Monica
Tetris inspired wall stirred by their love of the Tetris game!
(very creative DIY)
the very pretty, Rachel Allen
She's professionally trained with a background in bartending! She worked before in Tgifriday's, Starbucks and Chili's - no wonder she has an exceptional service!
nice and approachable partners from Zomato Philippines
pretty bloggers Pauline and Andrea
At first, I thought we're just going to be served by few set of foods but to my delight, we're able to taste ALL of these!
Appetizers:
Melanzanie Ripiene (Rolled eggplant, cheese and fresh tomato sauce)
TBh, this one is my personal favorite! The eggplant + cheese + tomato sauce combo is just superb!
I can eat it with rice, actually! haha :)
Parmigiano Fritto (Deep Fried Italian Cheese)
This one is new to me. From the first look it looks like a chicharon but after I've tasted, I knew it's really authentically made. I forgot to ask what Italian cheese are these but it's very soft and tasty (not too salty)!
Calamari Fritti (Fried Calamari)
Ohhh! I love their version of fried Calamari! It's very crisp, flavorful and the dressing, just uhhhmmm so good!
Yummy appetizers!
And now, we're all ready for the... *insert drum roll*
PASTA!
Linguini Allo Scoglio
(Classic Napoli spaghetti with fresh seafood, in homemade tomato sauce)
I'm honestly not a fan of tomato based pastas but since this recipe has seafoods in it, this one is an exception. So forgive me if I ate too much of these! (guilty, haha) Definitely a must try since the basic flavors of tomato never overpowers the genuine flavor.
Spaghetti Alla Norcia
(Sausage, white cream, garlic and cheese)
The plating doubts me if I'll be the first one to try. It's so pretty delish to look at! And btw, white sauce pasta entices me! Okay, it's clear, I;m not on a diet that night.
I would definitely recommend this one if you want a light meal or maybe you can order a bread as well?
Risotto (Italian rice with parmigiano cheese, garlic and white
wine)
I just took a small portion, because it's rice people! But wait, I took another spoonful. I'm sorry, Chef Giovan really knows how to entice our taste buds!
I'm quite full already but Ms. Monica brought another set of food, Oh my, pizza!
From the moment I saw her, I did wonder how did she maintain her slim figure when surrounded with great foods!
Four Cheese (Mozarella cheese, parmigiano cheese, asiago
cheese, and pecorini cheese)
I actually looked for the menu + prices after I tasted Four
Cheese, honestly. And to my delight, 12-inch pizza costs 200 to 355php only!
Very affordable, eh? Try their thin crust pizzas, guys! Trust me, delicious is
understated!
Tartufata (Cream truffle, eggs and mozzarella cheese)
Sunny side-up egg in a pizza? Oh wait, I thought it would be
weird to eat it but okaaayyy, I ate my words. It’s yummy!
Pizza Insalata (Mixed greens, olives, and shredded meat
topped with feta cheese)
For those healthy eaters, I recommend this pizza! And
because I still have an egg hang-over, I immediately took the part of the pizza
where there’s hard boiled egg in it! Hihi!
We still had time for a short chatting while waiting for the main course. We learned that most of the ingredients are not just bought somewhere but is carefully and meticulously ordered and is acquired from a direct seller so it's 101% fresh! We also learned their backgrounds and it's amazing how these couple started putting up a food business with pure dedication and love of making good foods. I believe they will definitely get more recognitions in no time!
Master chef Giovan's feature at Inquirer.net
Pollo Alla Verace (Roasted chicken with herbs served with
bucket of potatoes)
We were already full but we finished everything in this plate. Why does this chicken tastes so good! The herbs and spices made it more flavorful.
Dessert
Panna Cotta
They served us the chocolate, caramel and strawberry Panna Cotta!
I've been to various Italian restaurants but this one is the BEST. okay, no sarcasm included. really the best. Come and see fo yourself!
So if you want to taste the authentic Italian foods I've been raving about, come visit
Verace Ristorante Italiano!
They're located at #43 Rose Ave, Pillar Village, Las Piñas
Yes, it's in the south! Go visit with your friends and family :)
I'll be making a good food review in Zomato's app soon!
You should download this app, guys! It's very helpful specially if you want to know more about the shops/foods near your current place. More about Zomato on my next blog :)
Bulging tummies, uhmm we don't care! So here's a photo op from us
minus the drool worthy foods :)
Can't wait to be back!
