MORE than ever, this week proves that the food scene in Metro Manila is ever vibrant. Two days after the much anticipated opening of a Taiwanese restaurant concept in SM Megamall took place, a Singaporean restaurant brand that specializes in authentic Italian cuisine opens its doors to the dining public at Forbestown Road, Burgos Park, in Bonifacio Global City.
“When you want good pizza, you go to a pizzeria. If you’re looking for authentic Italian cuisine, you go to an Italian restaurant. When you want gelato, you go to the gelateria. Our challenge was to have just one restaurant that provides all these good Italian comfort food. But then again, good Italian food is not enough. We wanted to give diners in the Philippines an authentic Italian experience. We found Casa Italia, which is the fastest growing Italian restaurant in Singapore,” says Casa Italia Philippines president Jay Tan during the media launch that immediately preceded the official opening of the store to the public yesterday, December 10, 2015.
Casa Italia, which means ‘Italian house’ in English, combines all these Italian components under one roof. Casa Italia founder Fox Hardegger, who graced the opening of the Philippine store, opened the very first outlet of Casa Italia in Singapore five years ago. A modern interpretation of the traditional Italian bar, it serves micro-roasted Coffee Otto, premium gelato made fresh daily, and freshly cooked Italian dishes, such as pizza, pasta, salads and paninis, plus Italian wines and beers.
Casa Italia calls its coffee Coffee Otto because ‘otto’ means ‘eight, and Casa Italia never uses roasted coffee beyond eight weeks. It roasts its own blend of single origin, 100% Arabica coffee in small batches. This is the blend that the barista uses to create Casa Italia’s perfect hot coffee and cold brew offerings, including Cappuccino, Latte, Espresso and, yes, Affogato, too (which is vanilla flavored gelato splashed with a shot of hot espresso coffee). To retain the freshness and aromatic qualities of its coffee, the roasted coffee is consumed within eight weeks of roasting. Anything left over will no longer be used.
As for the food, everything is according to authentic Italian taste, prepared using traditional Italian cooking methods. Noteworthy is Casa Italia’s pizza, whose crust is specially created by Chef Donato Mazzola, who was also in Manila for the launch of the Philippine store. The crust is crisp, thin and artisanal. The dough is never hurriedly made. It is prepared two days prior to use to let it develop naturally. Portioned and then placed in the refrigerator, the dough is perfectly ready when it is taken out of the refrigerator and worked. Unlike other pizzerias where tossing of the dough into the air to stretch it is a standard, at Casa Italia, Chef Donato works his dough slowly on the table, making it stretch down the sides of the work surface as he works it. During the media lunch, which was hours before the official opening, he gamely made three gourmet pizzas that are not on the Casa Italia menu. Gourmet cheeses, including burrata, shrimps, sausages, truffle oil, caviar, arugula… He put all these into what he called ‘passion pizzas,’ which he makes when he’s around but are not on the menu at the moment.
During the media lunch, we got to taste not just the pizza but also two delicious pasta offerings, Beef Lasagna and Chicken Cannelloni, and two main entrées, Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Fish with Siciliana Sauce. I particularly recommend the Roast Chicken with Potatoes, which is marinated with fresh rosemary, among others, and roasted in the oven to the perfect golden doneness on the skin and tender and juicy meat inside.
Gelato is a must-try at Casa Italia. Fresh batches are made daily, with some 32 to 40 flavors in the display cabinet available any time. These all-natural gelato flavors, made using top-quality natural ingredients mostly imported from Italy, include exquisite Dark Truffle (made using high-quality Swiss chocolate) and Pistachio (from Sicily), and, well, Durian, for lovers of the exotic fruit that’s bountiful in Davao. My gauge in determining whether a gelato is good or bad is the Pistachio that the brand offers. Casa Italia’s Pistachio Gelato is one of the best I’ve tasted, and, believe me, I’ve tasted a lot. There are also fruity sherbet type flavor variants such as Raspberry that’s also a great treat for the palate. No additional artificial flavors, chemicals or preservatives go into the gelatos here.
Casa Italia officially opened its first Philippine store at 4:00 p.m. on December 11, 2015, and it was greeted by a queue of people who turned out to avail of its opening day promo–Coffee or Gelato, Piccolo size, for only Php8!
(Casa Italia can be found at Shop 5, Forbestown Road, Burgos Park, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. It shall open its second branch at SM City North EDSA soon and is looking forward to a fast and strong growth in the months to come.)
