Va Bene Pasta Deli by Chef Massimo and Carolyn Veronesi is Manila's best kept Italian restaurant, I swear. It's first branch is located in Makati in Petron Edsa. Due to its success, it has opened a second branch in BGC and its newest branch in Circuit Lane Makati.
To be honest, being one of the best kept secrets. Not everyone knows about how GOOD this restaurant is so I have absolutely zero expectation. I thought it was a typical Italian restaurant. Oh boy, was I completely and utterly wrong.
I was bombarded with surprises.
First of all, I can't believe I felt so fancy from reading just their menu. With all those words that I've never seen before in my life. THIS IS WHY GOOGLE IS MY BEST FRIEND.
Second of all, if I could record the scent and give it to you guys. I'D LOVE TO. and you're gonna probably hate me because you're gonna get hungry even if you just ate.
DISCLAIMER:
Now, YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW.
I'm more of a munching and chewing kind of girl than the taste-buds-react-to-every-discovered-ingredient-and-know-exactly-what-it-is kind of person. So, I'll try my best to tell you all about these dishes because I enjoyed them so much that once it entered my mouth, I started inhaling the food.
Before we do get into the ordered dishes, each table gets this sliced French bread (and NO. I am not being racist here) and you eat it along with the dip of tomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese. If I'm not mistaken, its somewhat a DIY Bruschetta? it's a complimentary appetizer while you wait for your main course.
I love free food. I'm just cheap. and food hungry. Yep. That is my life.
MOVING ON!
Let's get to my 10-course meal. YES. 10. because who gives a crap about getting fat? I do.
Appetizer:
Mixed Lettuce, Roasted Onions, Crispy Tomatoes, Balsamic Dressing, Shaved Parmesan Cheese
It is typically a mix of Romaine, Oak Leaf lettuce and Arugula(I like Arugula). I'm really picky when it comes to salads. I'm not a fan of creamy and thick dressings which made this very perfect for me because the amount of balsamic vinaigrette matched with I'm not really sure what the white creamy stuff was, balanced the texture to fit the greens. I'm into its delicate balance between sweet and sour then top it off with crunchy greens sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and crispy deep fried *shockingly not greasy* tomatoes. Voila!
Creamy Gorgonzola Polenta, Sauteed Mixed Mushrooms, Lemon and Parsley
What exactly is Polenta? Google says..."Polenta is made from a corn variety that grows in Italy known as flint corn." PLUS "It is nutritious and low in calories, like other whole foods, it can be a good choice for people looking to lose or maintain weight". BOY. Gimme a big plate of this Polenta before you take me to the next 8 courses then.
I promise you, even if this isn't healthy, I'd finish this whole plate because it's super delicious! The runny egg was a perfect mix with the Gorgonzola and mushrooms. It was a cheesy yet subtle mixture of every ingredient.
BTW this is one of my two favorite dishes out of all 10. It's my first time eating Polenta. Didn't really know what it is. But I do now, thanks to Google and Chef Massimo. I just kept eating it because my brain was telling me I loved it!
Tomato soup, Mozzarella cheese, Basil Pesto, Black Ink Quadrucci
Quadrucci is tagliatelle cut into little squares. Yeah, I googled that too. In my own words, "squared pasta". The tomato soup, unlike Filipino dishes, is not just sweet but also sour. I remember going to Italy a couple of years before and having a taste of local Italian tomato based dishes and this completely reminds me of when I first fell in love with tomato base foods. It is not common for restaurants here in the Philippines to get that authenticity.
Main Course:
We got three NEWLY launched lunch meals
(NEW!) Tortellini Bolognese, Light Parmesan Cheese Fondue, Arugula, E.V.O.
This is a true Italian classic BUT the meat and chilli sauce (basically Bolognese *Not spicy despite the chili*) stuffed in a ring-shaped pasta. Throw some light cheese and olive oil along with it. We are starting off our series of main course nicely!
If you're into the classic pasta with a kick. This is probably something you'd want to try out.
(NEW!) Chicken Milanese, Fried Potatoes, Mixed Veggies
This is an Italian dish, a popular variety of cotoletta and it is one of Milan's signature dishes.
I recommend it to friends who want to try "safer" foods. It's a basic but delicious battered cutlet sided with fried potatoes *Potatoes are friends. Friends we eat lovingly*
(NEW!) Black Ink Linguine, Zucchini, Garlic, Olive Oil, Chili, Clams, Mussels
A meal is never complete without seafood! This black ink linguine may come off unique for some but its characteristics just adds to one of the things you need to try if you love SEAFOOD. Clams and Mussels made well with the flavor and don't worry about "less meat; less flavor" because the pasta itself mixed together with the ingredients boosted the aroma and flavors to the next level. We swallowed this like we inhaled it! I'm a fan of really good seafood and this was fresh seafood. WHAT. MORE. CAN. YOU. ASK.
*Again, it is not spicy despite the chili in the name*
(O.)Organic Eggs Tagliatelle
As mentioned before, I am in love with not just one dish but two dishes! I declared that this dish is on the list of my faves even before I got a taste! As soon as the plate hits the table, the truffle scent just charges to you. Truffle oil has been my lately discovered weakness so this made me drool! Of course, I had to take a bite. A very big bite, so thankfully, the pasta noodles are thick.
It was creamy and rich and I dont hella know how to describe it so you better try it for yourself!
The pasta was broad and thin and the creamy sauce is thick enough to stick to the noodle strands for you to get a good balance of everything on the plate.
Ravioli
Ravioli is type of dumpling composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough. It's stuffing is VEAL cheeks and spinach. Professionals like Chef Massimo knows how delicately veals are supposed to be cooked to get that soft texture. Along with that, it has a base of veal jus, along with mushroom sauce and, YES again, truffle oil. I'm currently still in love and addicted to truffle oil so a lot of my favorites goes around truffles.
I'm LITERALLY drooling writing this. It's like I can still smell it huhu.
Dessert:
They say "There's always room for Desserts"!
Profiteroles a la mia
It's similar to a puff cream but the filling is filled with chocolatey goodness. At the center of the plate is a vanilla ice cream topped with caramelized walnuts and some more chocolate syrup!
Lemon Tart
In the middle, coffee ice cream topped with chocolate syrup. The lemon tart is really good, I recommend it if you're not allergic to any citrus stuff because a bite of that and an explosion of lemony scent would dance across your tastebuds.
I would MOST definitely be visiting again because I already miss the Polenta and Tagliatelle. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THOSE DISHES.
For the lunch promo, I recommend the Polenta and Black Ink Linguine!
LUNCH PROMO for only 499+
available Monday to Friday 11:30am to 5:30pm
1 appetizer *listed above* + 1 main course *NEW dishes only*
*prices are inclusive of 12% vat but exclusive of 10%service charge
Va Bene Pasta Deli
2F Petron Gas Station EDSA Corner Pasay Road, Makati
3F Central Square, Bonifacio High Steet, Taguig City
Disclosure:
Courtesy of Chef Massimo. This article written according to my opinions and insights.