Viva Italia!

To celebrate my birthday, I had three (count 'em, three!) birthday dinners. Every morning, I'd wake up still feeling full from the night before, but still, I'd eat my way through the day. That's what the holidays are for, eh? Thankfully, my clothes still pretty much fit (a bit of a surprise actually), but I know that I can't keep this up. Starting today, I'm saying bye-bye to eating with reckless abandon, so I'm left to savor the memory of my holiday meals.

The first birthday dinner I had was the night before my actual birthday. My barkada decided to have our post-Christmas get-together on my birthday itself, so H and I had to celebrate beforehand. We finally visited Bellini's, a resto I've been dying to try for ages. Located within Marikina Shoe Expo in my 'hood, good ol' Cubao, the Italian resto is run by Roberto Bellini--a true-blue Italian who was once a paparazzo (for real!)--and his wife, Ma. Luisa. Roberto was present at the resto that evening, and I found it quite charming that 1) he made sure that our orders were already taken, and 2) he went up to the in-house musician, fondly patted his shoulder, and suddenly joined him in song (Put Your Head on My Shoulder).

There was something comforting about Bellini's. There were murals on the walls and on the ceiling, and faux vegetables hanging from the wooden pillars--it was cozy, kitschy, and unpretentious, and I loved it!

Since we were newbies, we asked the waiter what he would recommend, and I thank him no end for suggesting the Ravioli (spinach ham) truffle cream. It. Was. Divine. I'd go back to this place over and over again just for this, and for P250, I know that I can!

H ordered the Filetto al pepe, which was grilled tenderloin steak in pepper sauce (P350), served with a siding of potatoes. It was a bit raw, according to H, but he says this added to the flavor and made it more tender. (For the record, I liked it!) His final word: "Sarap!"

Gluttons that we are, we also split a pizza, opting for the Bellini's Special (P250 for the small one, which is about 12 inches in diameter). It had cucumbers, eggplants, and even hotdogs on a very thin, crisp crust. Instead of hot sauce, we were given some olive oil mixed with chili, and it did make the pizza more flavorful.

For dessert, I had wanted the Tartufo negro. According to the menu, it mimics the look of the truffle, made of chocolate gelato with crunchy chips and red cherry at the core. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), it wasn't available, so I had me the panna cotta. (Not a big coffee fan, so tiramisu wasn't that enticing--although the best damn tiramisu I ever tried was a Sara Lee type from a supermarket in Milan!) Sitting innocently on a plate with no trimmings, it didn't look impressive, but once I took a bite, I was in heaven! I actually said, "Kinikilig ako sa sarap!" because really, I felt chills up and down my spine, something that rarely happens when I eat. There were no strawberries or mangoes or anything--just this rich, creamy concoction lying in a pool of sweet syrup. It's not often that I fall this hard for something that doesn't have any chocolate in it!

I really did enjoy that evening. The music was good (H tried to copy the singer since they had similar raspy voices), the conversation was great, and the food was delightful. It must be what the Italians mean when they sing "That's amore!"

Bellini's is located at the Marikina Shoe Expo (at the Araneta Center area), Cubao, Quezon City. It's open daily from 10 am to 10 pm. Call (02) 913-2550 for reservations.