The girls at The Foodie Circle, haven't seen each other for quite some time so we made plans to meet-up at Bellini's at Cubao Expo.
Bellini's has been on our wish list for the longest time so it was an anonymous decision. It was actually also my first time to check out Cubao Expo so it was an awesome experience. They were a lot of antique and gift shops in that area.
Based on blog posts and the facade of the place, I thought it was a humble hole-in-the-wall type. But, upon stepping in, I was surprised with its area size and its amazing interiors!
It's as if I was transported to Europe . The walls had magnificent painting and 3 dimensional crafts.
Even the ceiling were not spared.
I promised my friend I'd share this with him so here's a short video tour of the venue.
On top of each white linen covered table is a bell which you can ring to call their servers. We were impressed that some of their servers can speak Italian.
Food
Complimentary Bread Sticks
They also served complimentary bread sticks.
The food took quite some time to serve but the serving size is really big.
Pasta (for fresh pasta add 40 php)
Pasta choices: Tagliatelle, Rigatoni, Spaghetti, Maccherroni, Penne, Fusilli, Farfalle, Ravioli, Tortellini, Gnocchi, Capellini (3 color pasta - add 25 php).
For the pasta, you can choose which type you want.
♥ Pomodoro Gnocchi(250 php)
We had the Pomodoro Gnocchi which we all loved.The tomato sauce is zesty and the gnocchi is so chewy.
Tartufo Funghi con ProscuittoFusilli(360 php)
We all loved the mild Tartufo Funghi con ProscuittoFusilli which is smoked ham with mushroom and cream. The cream is very light and not the usual thick cream that you'll encounter in other pasta. Somehow, it is just right as it complemented by the mushroom and smoked ham. However, the pasta was not cooked right as it was a bit tough to bite.
Risotto/Rice
♥ Risotto Frutti Di Mare (300 php)
I'm not a fan of Risotto Frutti Di Mare because I usually find it too flavorful for me to finish but this one, I enjoyed to the last bit.
Pesce/Fish
Pesce al Forno (1,100 php)
The Pesce al Forno is claimed to be baked local sea bass. We only ordered this because a famous food blogger we all looked up to recommended this on her post. This was good but it wasn't the quality of sea bass we expected for the price. We really regretted ordering this. =( I felt robbed lol.
Pizza
♥ Napoli and Quattro Formaggi Small (300 php)
They allowed two flavors for the small so we chose: Napoli with anchovies, capers and oregano and Quattro Formaggi topped with 4 kinds of cheese. Both flavors were really good! We loved the crunchy thin crust of their pizza as well.
♥ Napoletana and Parmesan Arugula (350 php)
We also tried the Napoletana with tomato, basil, olive oil and oregano andParmesan Arugula with smoked ham and arugula. Just as the other pizza, this was also good. I guess you can't go wrong with their pizzas.
Dolce/Dessert
We were really excited by their menu selections. They even had gelato
ice creams on the menu. But, when we asked what was available, we were
only left with two choices so we got both of them.
Torta di Arancio (150 php)
The Torta di Arancio is an orange cake topped with marmalade and orange peel. I liked the top layer but the texture of the chiffon is a big failure for me.
Torta di Obama (200 php)
The Torta di Obama is a sweet chocolate caramel cake. This failed in terms of taste and texture too.
Complimentary Sweet Wine
The Complimentary Sweet Wine tasted like cough syrup.
Tsinoy Foodies Verdict Bellini's is a must try huge Italian hidden gem in Cubao Expo. I highly recommend it. We enjoyed the ambiance so much that we stay here for around 3 hours! The food superb especially the pizza and pasta. Everything was swipe clean as usual. You can opt to skip the expensive fishes and dessert.
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