Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta is an authentic Italian eating
establishment located at Abell Road in Kuching. The place is owned by
an Italian and it’s been in operation for quite a while, and with a
reputation for authentic Italian food to boot (no pun intended).
The interior of the place is nicely done, there is a lot of wood
based furniture and a large replica of the outline of Italy strung
together with cloth with the colors of the Italian flag on the ceiling.
Italiano’s has a set lunch promotion going on for RM 9.90, with a
choice of four different main dishes. I went there for lunch just now
with my co-workers Penny and Mancy. We each ordered a different main so
we could try the different variations.
The person in charge of our table was friendly and attentive – the
service at Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta is great, and the waitress was
kind enough to accommodate unusual requests like customers asking to
take photos of her. 😉
The meal started with the soup of the day – it’s a tomato based
creamy soup, with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower,
carrots and various other ingredients. It’s a hearty soup, nice and
filling.
This is one of the mains that we ordered. Pizza Margherita
is described as “pizza bread baked with tomato sauce and cheese”. It
has a thin base and is unlike the topping piled American style pizzas.
This is a more authentic Italian pizza with just tomato sauce, cheese
and herbs. It’s great – I give this two thumbs up!
The second main dish that we shared is Risotto Francheska
which the menu bills as “Italiano’s style tomato rice cooked with
tomato sauce and vegetables”. I liked this dish as well; the risotto is
rich and creamy, with a lingering aftertaste.
The last main that we ordered is Pene Arabiata,
which is “short tube pasta cooked with tomato, dry chilly, olives, and
garlic in tomato sauce”. This is a spicy dish, and that always scores
points with me. It tastes good and it’s always fun to stab penne rigate
with a fork. 😉
I wanted to order tiramisu, unfortunately Italiano’s were out, so
Mirela recommended another dessert. At least, that’s how I remember the
spelling as she enunciated it out for me. She’s not from Italy, as I
assumed, but is of Bosnian origin. She’s really friendly, and has this
fragile beauty about her…but I digress, we should be talking about
food.
This is the pudding type dessert that Mirela (pronounced MIER-la)
recommended. I don’t know what it’s made of, but it’s very creamy, with
a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a sweet aftertaste. It’s has cherry
sauce and chocolate drizzled over it, but it’s not cloyingly sweet, it
manages to allow the creamy taste to dominate the pudding. It’s
wonderful.
Italiano’s Pizza and Pasta comes highly recommended from me. The
food is good, the ambience is warm, and the service is great. You can’t
go wrong with Italiano’s if you’re looking for authentic Italian food
in Kuching.
