Authentic Italian cooking comes to Cebu

The recent opening of La Gondola at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel was certainly one of the most eagerly anticipated in the ongoing restaurant explosion in this city.

After the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremonies by guests of honor Waterfront Hotel chain group executive vice president Rexlon Gatchalian, Spanish honorary consul Jaime Picornell and this writer, hotel executives Marco Protacio, Waterfront’s indefatigable food and beverage director, together with the accomplished sales director Shella Laxa, warmly welcomed the invitees.

The visitors were ushered to the buffet that was cleverly laid out in the verandah overlooking the man-made lagoon. We started with the antipasti – a selection of Italian cold cuts and cheese, pickled vegetables and bruschetta. But the star of the starters was the stomach-warming crema di asparagi con salmon, a fresh asparagus cream soup with salmon quenelles, a sensational combination and a masterpiece of texture.

The main pasta courses brought new life to old favorites, such as Lasagna alla Romana, pasta sheets with Italian sausages, mushrooms, bell peppers and tomato sauce, Fettuccini ala Peppino, ribbon-shaped pasta in fresh cream sauce with smoked duck breast, and Risotto Ducale, Italian arbores rice with chicken cubes, sun-dried tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, green asparagus, all flavored with white wine and parmesan cheese.

Such rich dishes, hearty as they were, would not completely satisfy a true appetite, if one could not indulge a well-developed sweet tooth with one of Italy’s greatest contribution to gastronomy – the many variations of gelato – ice cream brought to perfection.

The wine list was impressive, as well. A wide range of red, white and sparkling wines from different Italian vineyards were readily made available, compli-menting the delicious meal.

The gentleman responsible for such an experience that will not soon be forgotten was Dietmar Dietrich, the renowned chef with impeccable pedigree from the best of gourmet masters and one who never runs out of innovative ideas.

And who could ask for more when the evening included performances by soprano Ma. Rachelle Gerodias and tenor Lemuel dela Cruz. They rendered beautiful arias, like "Libiamo…" from Verdi’s La Traviata, "Quando m’en vo…" from Puccini’s La Bohème, the favorite O Sole Mio by Capua and "Maria" and "Tonight" from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Providing them instrumental support was pianist Najib Ismail.