Hankering for a Panizza at C'Italian

I woke up late this morning but I still got to squeeze in a few hours of work and somehow  managed to close a deal. Yay. :-)  If we hadn't bagged that event I would've been riddled with guilt for wasting half the morning away.  So all in all it was good day.  I'm feeling semi-accomplished.

On days like these, I'd usually ask my husband to take me out on a date.  But since he's feeling a bit under the weather, I guess an imaginary food trip would have to do.  

Let me take you to C' Italian Dining in Pampanga.  This restaurant is famously FAMOUS for their panizza.   Chef Chris is quite the celebrity too.   I'm telling you this place is well worth the trip.

I discovered this jewel through my brother and his girlfriend.  They heard from a friend about an amazing Italian restaurant in Pampanga.  We were coming down from Baguio at the time and driving back to Manila.  Since the traffic was so bad (Holy Week) we decided to take a detour and see for ourselves if the place lived up to the hype. 

It was an easy decision at that point since we'd been driving for almost 5 hours with all 6 of us crammed into one car together with all our bags, supplies, and what not.  The thought of getting out and stretching our already numb legs was heavennnn.

It was really tricky finding C' Italian since we only had a hazy recollection of a text message to go on for directions. After harassing quite a number of people on the street who only gave us a blank looks after mentioning "C'Italian", we were getting frustrated.

By some miracle we managed to land on Don Juico Ave. (which has been renamed to Fields? I think).   At this point my expectations were pretty low.  I've gotta say, the location is quite funny.  It's right outside Clark so I feel stupid now for being shocked the first time I went there.  Girly bars line the street with a generous scattering of scantily clad girls evenly interspersed with foreigners walking down the street.  I really thought we'd end up in some sleazy restaurant.  Thank God I was so wrong! The ambience is perfectly understated and elegant with dark stone walls and dim cozy lighting.  Turns out there are a few other restos in the area that are quite good (like Zapatas).  I've yet to try them out though.   

I digress.  Back to the Panizza.  Oh my gulay. The Panizza is SO GOOD.  It's a rectangular thin crust pizza sliced into long strips and served with a variety of toppings, and always with a bowl of alfalfa and arugula on the side.  My personal favorite is the Panizza Angelico.  This has chorizo, salami, bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella.

How to Eat a Panizza:
1.   Sprinkle your desired amount of alfalfa and arugula on your panizza strip.  Don't hoard everything.  Remember to leave some for your companions so that they too can enjoy the complete panizza experience.
2.  Roll the panizza, with your greens in between, until it's bite-size.
3.  Take a deep breath.
4.  Close your eyes.
5.  Bite into your panizza roll.
6.  Mm mmm mmmmmmm.

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  I know this is supposed to be a panizza entry but it would be sacreligious of me not to mention Roberto.  Oh Roberto.  Penne Roberto.  Creamy gorgonzola goodness.  I go weak in the knees for well made cream-based pasta sauces so this was memorable for me too.  Gorgonzola was melted into the cream sauce which coated the penne and chicken fillet strips.  Sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and an assortment of herbs was also in the mix.

I now leave you with these words:  Panizza and Roberto.

Try it. :-)


Buon Appetito!


~Mich :)




Here's the link to C' Italian Dining to help you out.  Make sure you call in advance to reserve a table because the place is packed and you could end up waiting in line for hours.  

Ramen and Rainy Days

Cold rainy days are the best kind of days to snuggle under a blanket with a good book in tow... or a Kindle (it's on my Christmas wishlist). Those are the kinds of days when a cup of steaming hot chocolate becomes extra tasty, sopas is at its' creamiest, and when ginataan becomes doubly hearty.  Well for me anyway.

Tonight I'm craving for something else.  It's been raining on and off all day and all I can think of is... ramen. :D A big steaming bowl of scrumptious ramen.  Yum-my.  One place I go to, to get my ramen fix is the Ramen Bar at Eastwood Mall.  This is the real deal.  Authentic Japanese Ramen.  They are serious about their ramen over there.  I've tried the R.B.S. (Ramen Bar Special) #1 and the Sapporo Miso Ramen as well.  They differ in the kind of toppings they use and in the degree of sweetness/saltiness of the broth.  The miso-infused broth of the Sapporo Miso Ramen is a tad sweeter.  They serve it up in a massive bowl that'll probably be enough for two.  But if your appetite is anything like mine, you wouldn't want to share. :)  I gotta tell you their ramen hits me in all the right places. 

As soon as the server places the bowl in front of you, the savory aroma of the broth hits you giving you a glimpse of what's to come.  You then notice the array of toppings and noodles that are barely visible under the milky broth.  You take your first sip of the broth and the flavors start to dance in your mouth.  The noodles bring it all together.  They make their own noodles from scratch and they are perfectly firm and chewy.  I can't help but appreciate the amount of work that was put into my bowl of ramen.  It's the broth that makes the dish.  I heard they boil it for 20 hours before they serve it.  You can't get any more authentic than that.  In an attempt to eat healthy [-ier] I usually request that they change my topping from chasyu (sliced pork) to karaage (fried chicken) which is silly since their broths use pork bones as their base anyway.   

A word of caution though.  Their ramens are a dream but their service left a bad taste in my mouth.  Also their rice toppings weren't really that good.  But really, who goes to the Ramen Bar for rice toppings anyway?  This is why I only go when I'm seized with a ramen craving-- a phenomenon that happens roughly every 3 months.

Hmmm great.  Now I really made myself hungry.  Since it's this late, a cup of instant noodles will have to suffice.  Boo. :(


~Mich :)