Passport To Italy : Taste of Emilia-Romagna @ Italiannies

I bet some of you had "traveled" to the south of Rome for the taste of Campania through the Passport of Italy campaign at Italiannies last July! Guess what? Italiannies is going to bring all of you to continue the culinary journey deep into the different regions of Italy! Where? A place for food lovers like you to the region of Emilia-Romagna which also well known as the "motherland of homemade pasta"! 

Italiannies @ Paradigm Mall
Emilia-Romagna, located at the northern heartland of Italy and also renowned as the gastronomic capital of the country. In Italy, people consider the homemaker in Emilia-Romagna (called "Azdora" in dialect"), to be the master at making fresh pasta. Almost half of all pasta shapes are reputed to have originated from the region and hence it explained why is it known as the motherland of homemade pasta. The Taste of Emilia-Romagna will be featuring a promotional menu that features the best authentic Italian northern region cuisines that includes a variety of specialty pasta based creations that will be heavily on cheese and meats such as beef and lamb cooked together with herbs, mushrooms and various vegetables. Shall we check out what are they? =D

Passport to Italy
Oh! Do make sure you have renewed your passport before going on board kay? Alright am just joking here! :p What is interesting part here is each guest will be given a passport book that will be stamped "immigration style" when they purchased any dish from the "Passport to Italy" menu which also can be redeemed for rewards! How fun is that aye?


Iced Lemon Tea
Complimentary bread with vinegar and olive oil dipping
Complimentary bread with vinegar and olive oil dipping
Fluffy bread
Oh well, while you're on board waiting to reach the destination, you will get to enjoy their complimentary bread that can be dipped into mixture of vinegar and olive oil. There are two types of bread will be served and they're so fluffy and tasted so good! 

Funghi al Forno 
Cut it into half! 
Once you touched down from the plane, you'll be welcomed with the Funghi al Forno! Look at that stuffed oven roasted portabello mushroom caps served with asparagus and pomodoro sauce. If you're wondering,  it is stuffed with the perfectly seasoned Italian chicken sausage, spinach, fresh herbs and three types of Italian cheese. Cut it into half and you could see how beautiful this simple dish can be even before entering your mouth! The portion is just nice that you could even share it with your partner and dip it with the special made pomodoro sauce, delicious I must say! 

Baked Ziti
Cheesy!
Just so you know that, "ziti" pasta is slightly different that "penne" pasta. Ziti is a thick, smooth and short tube while penne is cut on the diagonal and is longer and thinner than ziti. The name ziti actually means "groom" and zite means "bride" in Sicilian and baked ziti has been served at weddings as part of their traditions in parts of Italy. You could now enjoy the Baked Ziti with traditional Italian beef ragout baked with mozzarella and grana padano formaggio with your Passport to Italy at Italiannies! I was in love with the whole new eating pasta experience with this cheesy baked ziti. It will be served in piping hot and be sure you eat it while it still hot, experience the melting mixture of both mozzarella cheese and and grainy texture cheese of grana padano while enjoying the smooth ziti pasta with minced beef meat in it. 

Stinco di Agnello Brasato
The other side of  Stinco di Agnello Brasato
What came next to us? It was the Stinco di Agnello Brasato! What a beautiful name that fit well for this braised lamb shank with medley of herbs and vegetables lied on the polenta and surrounded with the special gravy. The lamb shank braised perfectly till the meat is tender and falling off the bone easily! That's the part I love the most! At here, they served it with polenta instead of mashed potatoes. Needless to mention how the gravy complimented the whole dish that made it taste even better. 

Tortellini con Funghi di Bosca
A rather unique in name, Tortellini con Funghi di Bosca, yet another type of pasta that allows you to enjoy the best of it! It is the spinach and ricotta filled tortellini pasta sauteed with wild mushrooms in Alfredo sauce. It was my first time to try such dish and it does feels great get to try something new! Perhaps, it would be better if they add a lil bit more gravy in it to make it creamier as most of us felt it was slightly dry to our liking. 

Spezzatino di Manzo con Papardelle
After ziti and tortellini, we also get to try the papardelle pasta! Spezzatino di Manzo con Papardelle, seared beef brisket stewed with medley of herbs and vegetables served on top of bed of papardelle pasta. As much as I love to have this, I felt that the gravy was barely sufficient for the portion of pasta, slightly dry that I thought it could be improved by pouring more gravy onto it for better experience of eating it. And oh! Fret not, the chef has mentioned to us that they would add more gravy onto it for the next time. =D

Italian Trifle
Italian Trifle
To complete your journey, you will be served with the Italian Trifle! A truly Italian classic made with mascarpone cheese, chocolate chips, chocolate espresso syrup and raspberry compote to complete your wonderful journey! The interesting art of eating it - take the frozen grape and eat it together with the Italian Trifle. Ooh-la-la~~ 

**NOTE: Passport to Italy : Taste of Emilia-Romagna will run for 2 months starting from 1st September until 31st October. 
Participating outlets:-
  • The Curve, Mutiara Damansara
  • The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City
  • Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway
  • Empire Shopping Centre, Subang Jaya
  • Paradigm Mall, Petaling Jaya
  • Paragon Mall, Gurney Drive, Penang 

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Website : www.italiannies.com.my