North Beach Italian Restaurants

The North Beach neighborhood is San Francisco's version of Little Italy and is home to many Italian restaurants in the city.

One excellent Italian restaurant in North Beach is the aptly named North Beach Restaurant. It's an institution in the Bay area having opened its doors in 1970. 

North Beach Restaurant specializes in Tuscan cuisine. Food we had was authentic and  very traditional.

Complimentary Bread

Caesar Salad

Pasta Puttanesca

Spaghetti Carbonara

Sotto Mare, a few blocks down North Beach Restaurant, on the other hand, is the go to place for seafood.

Eating at Sotto Mare feels like going home to your nonna's cooking. Staff is warm and friendly and they serve good old comfort food.

Crab Cocktail Salad

Boston Clam Chowder

Linguine with Seafood

Fettucine with Smoked Salmon

Between the two, I prefer Sotto Mare more but I'm not saying that North Beach Restaurant is not as good. North Beach Restaurant is a good place to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions while Sotto Mare suits my preference of a laid back dining experience.

North Beach Restaurant is located at 1512 Stockton St. San Francisco California. For more information, click here.

Sotto Mare Oysteria & Seafood is located at 552 Green St. San Francisco California. For more information, click here.

Classic Italian at La Nuova Pastelleria

San Antonio Plaza in Forbes Park may have undergone a facelift with new dining options, but one restaurant that has stood the test of time is La Nuova Pastelleria. 

Open since 1978, La Nuova Pastelleria has been serving Italian food to its loyal clientele for over 35 years. 

It's a no frills restaurant with limited space and uncomfortable chairs but what makes diners keep coming back is its good food.

Flat Bread with Pate and Tomato 

The liver pate is reason enough for a return visit.

Ravioli Verdi (495php)

House Specialty of stuffed pasta with spinach, ricotta cheese in tomato cream

Profumo Di Tartufo (525php)

Tagliatelle with white truffle cream, porcini mushroom topped with parma ham

Pizza Margherita

Pizza with olive oil, fresh basil, and tomatoes

La Nuova Pastelleria is certainly not the most exciting restaurant out there but for classic Italian food done right, it's the place to be.

La Nuova Pastelleria is located at San Antonio Plaza, McKinley Road., Forbes Park Forbes Park - North, Makati. For more information, call 867-2370.

The Old Breakfast at Antonio's

I'm such a bad blogger! 

Breakfast at Antonio's has already moved back to its original home along Tagaytay Ridge and here I am sharing my experience eating at its old location.

Facade of Breakfast at Antonio's

We went to Breakfast at Antonio's when it was still located inside the estate of fine dining restaurant Antonio's and it looked very much like Antonio's with its black and white tiles, pretty chandeliers, and al fresco dining area. 

The similarity ends there though as service was a big letdown the day we had lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's. We had to wait for quite some time before our orders arrived. 

Mesclun Salad w/ Boiled Chicken Salad w/Cider Yogurt Dressing & Shaved Parmesan (450php)

Fresh and light. Good appetizer to start the meal. 

Seafood w/Pesto Sauce (480php)

Loved the texture of the crust. Pizza needed fresher ingredients though.

Foie Gras Raclette (700php)

The pizza had a funky smell and taste that didn't seem right. Poor quality foie gras perhaps?

Antonio's House Burger (385php)

My kind of burger! One bite and I knew that high quality beef was used to make the patty. 

Spaghetti Bolognaise (495php)

Flavors were a bit subdued. Our least favorite pasta.

Spaghetti Carbonarra (495php)

My carbonara loving brother had to have another serving! It obviously had his seal of approval.

Portobello Targliatelle w/ Truffle Cream Sauce (495php)

Creamy with strong truffle flavors.  A good vegetarian dish.

After the meal we also had to follow-up our bill several times. At least Breakfast at Antonio's was aware that their service sucked and they gave us complimentary dessert while we waited.

Homemade Yogurt Topped with Lemon Curd

Here's hoping that the experience at Breakfast at Antonio's has become more pleasurable with the the move.

Breakfast at Antonio's is now located along Tagaytay Ridge, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay.  For more information, call (046)4130738 or click here.

Stella and the Rocket Room

Stella is one of the more popular restaurants at Bonifacio High Street Central. Reservations are not welcome and it's almost impossible to secure a table during peak hours.

We, however, preferred to dine next door at Rocket Room to experience the best of both worlds: food from Stella and drinks plus music from the Rocket Room. The two restaurants are owned by the Raintree group so cross-ordering is allowed.

Bar at Rocket Room

Lamb Cochifrito (295php)

The only hot dish we ordered from the Rocket Room menu, this fried lamb is perfect bar chow. A bit too oily though.

Quinoa Tabbouleh (195php)

A unique grainy alternative at Stella that I didn't care for.

The Stella Salad (295php)

Vegetables with bacon. Not exactly healthy but it's at least tasty.

Wood Fired Garlic Mushroom Cream Fettuccine (425php)

Creamy with light truffle flavors. 

Roasted Seafood Piza (350php)

Thick and burnt dough. Dry to boot. My least favorite of our orders.

Stella's Porchetta (395php)

Soft and succulent pork with crispy skin. The rosemary sauce worked in enhancing the flavors of the meat. 

A little before 10 p.m., the lights dimmed at Rocket Room and we took it as our cue to order cakes and drinks:

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

I love anything with a salty and sweet combination and this was no exception.

Red Velvet Cake

A decent version of a very popular cake.

Rocket Fuel (195php)

An intriguing drink with a hint of spice.

A Girl with Violet Eyes (195php)

Mojito with mixed berries and lots of mint.

I commend the Raintree Group for coming up with another hit concept but I have to say that among the Raintree restaurants (M Cafe, Chelsea, Mr. Jones, and Momo), Stella and Rocket Room are at the bottom of my list. 

Stella and Rocket Room are located at G/F Bonifacio High Street Central, East Superblock, 7th Ave cor 29th St Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. For more information click here.

A Fine Meal at Gunther's

Singapore Day 2

Gunther's Modern French Cuisine

12:53 p.m.

Singapore is truly a food lover's paradise. 

Aside from the cheap but delicious meals available in hawker centers, Singapore also boasts of several notable fine dining establishments.

The Miele Guide, a body that ranks the top restaurants in Asia, in fact, included 5 restaurants from Singapore for its annual Top 20 Restaurants in Asia list. 

Our party of four decided to dine at Gunther's Modern French Cuisine, the 13th best restaurant in Asia, if you happen to believe the 2010/2011 edition of the publication.

 Here's the write-up on Gunther's from The Miele Guide:

"Three years after its opening, Gunther’s Modern French Cuisine has steadily built and developed itself from just another food and beverage establishment along Singapore’s Purvis Street to an inductee into this year’s San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list, at 84th spot. The appeal of Gunther’s is in its steadfast commitment to simplicity, without forsaking taste or quality. Diners shell out top dollar for an experience that excites but doesn’t overwhelm. Chef-owner Gunther Hubrechsen’s food is always light, clean and refined, with little embellishment but plenty of flavour. To put it simply, his brand of food is stamped by his delicate, knowing touch, which invariably appeals to lighter, more sophisticated palates."

Gunther's Modern French Cuisine is situated along a quiet and charming street, a location perfect for a leisurely gastronomic experience. 

Given Gunther's compact but tastefully decorated space, it is also ideal for intimate gatherings or small celebrations.

Lunch started with the head waiter showing and describing the specials of the day. I wasn't paying too much attention though as I was too busy scanning the menu.

Service was also superb with our warm Filipino waiter making sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed. He was also very patient and helpful in answering our questions.

Complimentary Bread

Hot and soft because it was fresh from the oven. They were generous with this bread and I managed to eat two pieces of bread even before the actual meal started.

Complimentary Chicken Rice

Our waiter surprised us with a bowl of complimentary chicken rice when we asked him where to find the best chicken rice in Singapore. I have to say that I was impressed by the authenticity of the flavors though I'm not sure why they have this in their kitchen.

Cold angel hair pasta, Oscietra caviar

One of Gunther's signature dish is this cold pasta. I have to admit that it took a few bites before I started to enjoy the cold aspect of this dish but the exquisite flavors eventually won me over with the truffle oil and caviar combination simply too good and delicate to resist. Uniquely tasty!

Grilled Bamboo Clam, Provencale Style

One of the specials of the day. Perfectly cooked with a sweet, clean, and fresh taste. I wish we ordered more!

Sunny side up, Portbello mushroom

My favorite of the appetizers! This is saying something for I usually loathe mushrooms. The portbello mushroom was so juicy that I could have been fooled into thinking that I was actually eating meat.

Coquille of pasta, grilled Kurobuta pork shoulder,  Truffle Juice, Parmesan cheese

Another yummy dish! Wonderful play of textures with the tender beef and al dente pasta creating fireworks in my mouth. Creamy to boot.

Gunther's creation

We ordered a lunch set and the entree we chose is this piece of meat. Such value for money as the meat was not bad at all. Comparable with some of the better steaks I've had here in Manila.

Oven roasted "Cote de Boeuf", flambe

And finally, the star of the show.

Close-up look

The head waiter flambed the meat in front of us.

It was then returned to the kitchen to be plated. It was a beautiful piece of meat that didn't need the bearnaise sauce it was paired with. It was also perfectly cooked and I simply adored my portion of fat. It was the perfect way to cap the fine meal we had at Gunther's.

Loved that they served this as well.

Desserts are not my calories of choice but I remember enjoying the two desserts presented to us:

Raspberry Flan

Petit Four

Gunther's didn't disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a fine meal in Singapore without completely breaking the bank. 

Gunther's is located at 36 Purvis Street, #01-03, Singapore. For more information, click here.