I've been asked to work on a new current affairs show for the station, and it's due to premiere in March, so I've been busy meeting with different people from other departments to make sure that the show's launch goes smoothly. I had to meet with some promo people to make sure they truly got the concept of the show.
We agreed to meet over lunch at Bellissimo Restaurant along Tomas Morato. I know this place more as being owned by actor Cesar Montano. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the actor when we went there, but no such luck (Yes, I'm secretly a fan).
I ordered their Pasta Vongole e Gamberetti, although I asked them to use penne instead of spaghetti. The dish had clams, anchovies, tomatoes, red wine and cream parmesan cheese. The serving was generous, and I hardly had any space left to have a slice of my colleague's pizza after finishing my plate of pasta.
Pasta Vongole e Gamberetti
I rather regretted that it was a working lunch, because I wanted to concentrate more on the food. I couldn't savor it as much as I wanted to because we were busy discussing the show. I will have to go back to Bellissimo, because I want to sample more of their pizza, and I didn't even get to try their dessert. (It will also give me another chance to get a glimpse of Mr. Montano.)
Bellissimo Ristorante
105 Unit E & F Sct. Castor cor. Tomas Morato
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(632)376.5746
We agreed to meet over lunch at Bellissimo Restaurant along Tomas Morato. I know this place more as being owned by actor Cesar Montano. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the actor when we went there, but no such luck (Yes, I'm secretly a fan).
I ordered their Pasta Vongole e Gamberetti, although I asked them to use penne instead of spaghetti. The dish had clams, anchovies, tomatoes, red wine and cream parmesan cheese. The serving was generous, and I hardly had any space left to have a slice of my colleague's pizza after finishing my plate of pasta.
Pasta Vongole e GamberettiI rather regretted that it was a working lunch, because I wanted to concentrate more on the food. I couldn't savor it as much as I wanted to because we were busy discussing the show. I will have to go back to Bellissimo, because I want to sample more of their pizza, and I didn't even get to try their dessert. (It will also give me another chance to get a glimpse of Mr. Montano.)
Bellissimo Ristorante
105 Unit E & F Sct. Castor cor. Tomas Morato
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(632)376.5746
Comments
Bellissimo Ristorante pizza have crusts that are pugon-baked and that is the rationale why they are al dente (good chewy texture, but still crisp). The Sicily pizza of Bellissimo is my personal favorite. It is a superior pizza with plum tomatoes imported from Italy. The calorie value of Bellissimo Sicily pizza is only around 563 per serving. You can ask the chef to “smolder” the pizza a little bit , to attain the slight char and smoky flavor (as there are burning tannins in wood-fired oven). If you wish to know the molecular mechanism in the difference between pugon-baked pizza and electricity driven oven-baked pizza, try this simple experiment: with the use of an infrared thermometer, measure the temperature inside the pugon oven and compare it with the reading from an electric oven. The temperature of the pugon oven coagulates the proteins in the surface more rapidly, therefore retaining the moisture in the crust and in the cheese.
When it comes to pasta, the Aglio Olio is my first choice. The Bellissimo Aglio Olio has less sugar, less lipids, some salt/sodium in moderate amount and has thiamine and iodine (based on a proximate analysis of a taken-out sample last July 2009). A serving Bellissimo Aglio Olio is only between 110-160 calories depending on the amount of parmesan cheese you put; this is equivalent to only 1 two-stick Kit-Kat chocolate bar.
In terms of microbiological safety of food and drinks from Bellissimo, I myself have analyzed the coliform count of the pizza and the iced tea by means of a methyl umbelliferyl galactoside reaction. Pizza, pasta and iced tea from Bellissimo are free from harmful E coli. X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the iced tea proved that the iced tea contains beneficial minerals and does not contain unsafe elements. Liquid scintillation counting of the iced tea components revealed no synthetic or non-plant-derived ingredients.