Italianni's goes gourmet

MANILA, Philippines - We love to eat — and eat out. Our taste buds have grown accustomed to fast food/ popular resto fare like pasta, pizza, burgers, etc. There’s also a growing legion of sandwich lovers who are happily slapping on all sorts of delights between two pieces of bread. Call them the well bread crowd. And then there are the gourmets who love food with a passion and wouldn’t settle for anything but the best that their money can buy. The delicious news is that now, there’s Italianni’s Gourmet Specials for the metro’s assorted foodies/gourmets. Italianni’s raises the bar by cooking up a gourmet selection of different exciting flavors as part of its quarter special. These can be enjoyed anytime of the day at all Italianni’s branches nationwide.

Dream team: RC Tiongson, VP for operations; Jonathan “Boom” Jota, corporate executive chef, and Donabel Fernandez, Italianni’s assistant brand manager Photo by MANNY MARCELO

And what’s the inspiration behind the Gourmet Specials created by chef Jonathan “Boom” Jota and his team? “It’s our humble way of showing our appreciation to our loyal patrons by giving them new and delectable dishes to remember. It’s like a new taste of culinary adventure,” says chef Boom with a cherubic smile.

If you’re a voracious beef eater, this gourmet entrée’s just for you: Beef Wellington, a chunky serving of beef tenderloin with morsels of fresh-asspring porcino mushrooms wrapped in flaky, paper-thin fi lo pastry and paired off with a most divine angel hair pasta.

What a fi lling!: Pane Panino Suprema is chicken and shrimp Sicilian salad on focaccia paired with a siding of truffl e fries.

If you want something lighter on the tummy but just as belly-good, there’s Chicken Prosciutto. I love chicken per se and the paper-thin, transparent prosciutto, perfectly trimmed of fat, per se. Together, it’s a double treat — make that a triple treat! Complementing this dazzling duo is a beautifully butterfl ied shrimp — a succulent, fl avorful side dish lightly coated with garlic, lemon, and parsley fl avors. Accompanying this medley is a big fat serving of mushroom arborio rice (Italian short-grain rice).

Again, chicken and shrimp make a perfect combination in Pane Panino Suprema — chicken and shrimp Sicilian salad (yes, now you can have your salad and eat your sandwich, too!). “We lessened the veggies and enhanced the dressing by adding shrimp blanched with lemon, salt, and peppercorn,” chef Boom shares.

This salad lusciously sits on homemade focaccia bread with truffl e fries on the side. Yes, your ordinary french fries are made extraordinary by tossing them in truffl e oil and Cajun batter mix.

Grilled thrill: Scallop Melt is an open-faced bruschetta topped with grilled scallops and shrimps and overfl owing with mozzarella cheese.

Another sure hit is the Scallop Melt, an open-faced bruschetta rubbed with salsa, fresh tomato, capers, herbs, and basil leaves. This culinary work of art is generously topped with grilled scallops, oozing with melted mozzarella cheese.

And here’s one memorable gourmet dessert that will make you forget your diet: Toblerone Strawberry Cheesecake, a beautiful cheesecake made of layers of Oreo, Toblerone, and fresh strawberries with mango pudding. Say cheesecake!

Why did Italianni’s, known for abundant Italian feasts, come up with its Gourmet Specials?

“The market is changing and our guests have become more discriminating diners,” notes Lisa Ronquillo, Bistro Group AVP for marketing.

“We are known for pizza and pasta and we wanted to widen our existing offerings,” says Dona Fernandez, Italianni’s assistant brand manager. “Our target market is our regular guests who are becoming more sophisticated and adventurous,” she adds.

Triple sweet treat: Toblerone Strawberry Cheesecake is a lovely cheesecake made of layers of Oreo, Toblerone, and fresh strawberries with mango pudding.

The launch of Italianni’s gourmet dishes couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. “School is out and with no tuition fees to worry about, people are going out and spending more,” Dona points out.

These are certainly not your ordinary ho-hum dishes. “We use a variety of quality ingredients, like a special kind of mushroom called porcino, king prawns we don’t ordinarily use, mangoes and grapes, which are not normally found in sandwiches,” Lisa points out.

For a gourmet experience like no other, Italianni’s has come up with its wine pairings. Fine gourmet food is best enjoyed with the fi nest wines from Italianni’s well-stocked bar. For instance, a robust serving of Beef Wellington with Ruffino Chianti, DOCG from sunny Tuscany is a match made in gourmet heaven. Chicken Prosciutto partners well with Zonin TP Pinot Grigio, Italy. A delightful Pane Panino Suprema goes best with a light and refreshing Hardys Riesling Gewurztraminer, Australia. Or chill out with this cool pair: Scallop Melt and Benchmark Shiraz, Australia.

Prawn queen: Chicken prosciutto with butterfl ied prawn comes with mushroom arborio rice.

Fact is, these glorious gourmet specials are healthful, fl avorful one-dish meals in themselves.

So, ready, set, go gourmet!