This low key restaurant with a peculiarly hard to remember name had us searching for a while before we spotted it just off the central courtyard of China Square Central. The alfresco area, decked with leather sofas, is a suitably welcoming sight for epicurean explorers. We stepped into the tasteful interior with a fashionable orange and white color scheme, and one wall racked with wines. We decided to start with a typical and tasty beef carpaccio served on a bed of rocket salad and garnished with grated dry Parmesan cheese. While working through the beef, our steaming mushroom soup of the day was served in a quaint pot. The soup was thick and rich, enhanced by herbs and mushroom chunks. This was followed by Focaccia Enotria, baked pizza bread topped with buffalo mozzarella cheese, prosciutto ham and rocket salad, which looked bewilderingly like a UFO. We peered at it to decide the best approach. To our delight, the crispy focaccia base, and the cool and subtle flavoring of fresh mozzarella cheese spiced with the salty tang of prosciutto, meant we had a winner. Our first main was black squid ink risotto with seafood. The risotto had a generous serving of squid, but lacked any other form of seafood. Our second main was maccheroni pasta with clams and zucchini, simmered in a light sauce of garlic, olive oil and chili. This dish of fresh clams, a simple but tasty sauce, and al dente pasta got our approval. Our desserts, chocolate-dripped profiterole and panna cotta were as rich as our main courses. Each profiterole, akin to a cream puff with a light, crisp crust, was almost bursting with a thick cream that had rum in it. We liked the panna cotta (literally “cooked cream” in Italian). It was smooth and had good consistency, contrasted by the raspberry sauce with which it was served. We had to wash everything down with a cafe latte—the coffee wasn’t burnt and, more importantly, the milk was just-right; lukewarm. When we left, we were beginning to feel like profiteroles ourselves. Throughout our meal, our plates were regularly cleared, and the maitre d’ checked in on us to make sure everything was alright. The genial service plus the very appetizing prices greatly enhanced our Italian dining experience.
