A pasta place, as well

CEBU, Philippines - When Dennis Legaspi, manager of Philippine Pizza, Inc., said that they will be ositioning Pizza Hut as “the pasta place,” I was not surprised. Pasta always goes with pizza. These two fares are the quintessential Italian dishes known throughout the world. In fact, a restaurant would not be an Italian restaurant if it doesn’t have both pizza and pasta.

Pizza Hut, however, is not purely Italian but an American take on Italian casual dinning. Since it landed on Philippine soil in 1984, it revolutionized how Filipinos enjoy their pizza. Lately, they have introduced the Pizza Hut Bistro, which brought casual dining an extra notch up, giving a place for the more distinct class of diners.

Dennis professed that their restaurant is known for their innovative approach to this delicious and complete meal – the pizza, thus the introduction of new pizza flavors every quarter. Now, they also want to be known as the premier pasta place in the country.

Last November 9, I was able to take a peek at and taste the new pasta offerings of Pizza Hut under their new menu called Pasta Perfetto, and it was perfect, indeed.

The menu recognized the diverse taste buds of Filipinos, including the various seasonal qualms of younger diners who would try every new fad in dieting. The ingredients, I was told, were carefully picked to cook up the different sauces perfect for the different pasta used – penne, ravioli, fettuccine, lasagna, macaroni, and spaghetti.

“We have taken the bold step to proclaim that we are now as passionate as the way we do our pizzas,” Elaine Guzman, vice president for marketing of Pizza Hut, said in a press release.

Pasta Perfetto carries 12 new pasta dishes freshly prepared upon order.

The cheapest in the lot, at P99, is my personal favorite and it has no pretensions. Aglio Olio is spaghetti cooked al dente (I was wondering when they’d start offering organic wheat pasta), and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil with garlic, anchovies (I still couldn’t figure out what this is for, except perhaps to add saltiness to the dish, but they could do without this), and fresh basil. Should you decide, you can add chicken strips or shrimps to the dish at an extra cost, of course.

The Pesto Chicken Penne was also heavenly. Although, not the pesto that I was expecting, the creaminess of the sauce was just perfect. The dish uses penne for pasta and is graciously coated with basil, pesto and cream sautéed with tender chicken strips.

My friend and our corporate and community editor, Divine Ngujo’s favorite, the Spaghetti Shrimp Garlic and Mushrooms is an old offering of Pizza Hut, but Dennis revealed that this time the fare is cooked using authentic Italian pasta imported straight from Italy, and the oil used is extra virgin olive oil. So, this would make the dish even more worth to dive in.

The magnum opus is the Seafood Supremo, fettuccine pasta bathed in tomato cream sauce, topped with squid, shrimp, scallops, basil and capers, and wrapped in parchment paper and then baked to utmost seafood goodness. The moment you tear the paper, the flavors would burst out of it, and you would know you will be enjoying a dish that is totally out of this world.

Dennis said that the parchment paper seals in the flavor of the toppings, allowing for it to seep into the pasta and eventually to bombarding your taste buds with seafood glory. The dish, however, would take time to make, so, patience would be needed here.

Other dishes initially featured in the Pasta Perfetto menu are Baked Mac and Cheese (a hit among the kids), Fettuccine a la King, Puttanesca, Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs, Baked Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna Classico, and the 3-Cheese Ravioli.

All these are available in all Pizza Hut restaurants, including the Pizza Hut Bistro at The Northwing of SM City Cebu.