Saturday, 25 May 2013

Italiannies' Festa della Pasta Promotion Till 30 June 2013

We were delighted to be invited by Italiannies, a popular Italian themed restaurant chain, for a taste of their latest Festa della Pasta promotion which is available from now till 30 June 2013. The media launch was held at Italiannies, The Gardens Mall but the promotion is available at Italiannies outlets at The Curve, The Gardens Mall, Empire Shopping Centre, and Paradigm Mall in Klang Valley; and Gurney Paragon in Penang.

promo

For the Lunch promotion (11.00am till 3.00pm), just add RM6 to your choice of pasta from the Festa della Pasta menu to enjoy a choice of either a salad (Insalata Verde), a dessert (chocolate brownie) or a glass of Pepsi.

As for Dinner promotion (6.00pm till closing), pay an extra RM16 on top of your pasta (from the Festa della Pasta menu) for a choice of an entrĂ©e (Gamberi con Aglio), a salad (Insalata Mediterranea) or a dessert (Italian Trifle). Sounds like a really good deal to me.

Setting & wine

During the media launch, we were introduced to Mr Andrea Rossi, the Regional Manager of Italiannies and were served the four wines to go with the 8 pasta dishes for this promotion. There's the white wine of Alois Lageder Riff Pinot Grigio Venezie and Adesso Inzolla IGT Sicilia and the reds Alois Lageder Riff Rosso Vigneti Dolomiti and Adesso Nero D'Avola IGT Sicilia (RM17.00 each glass).

Wine collage

Handsome wine server

There was a demonstration on how to make fresh pasta. The chefs showed us how to whip up a plain dough and a spinach dough. Mr Andrea Rossi explained that the plain one is known as straw due to its colour whilst the spinach dough is known as hay.

Pasta demo collage

Do note that for the dishes served, I've decided to use the photos provided by Italiannies as they were shot in individual portions where else we were served the sharing portion also known as "abbondanza" to emulate Italiannies' "A'more di Merrier" shared presentation menu concept. I've uploaded the shared portion photos on my Flickr album if you wish to do a comparison but of course mine didn't turn out as pretty due to the low lighting condition - read candlelight dinner :p

We started off with the 2 appetisers of Insalata Mediterranea, a Mediterranean salad of black olives slices, cream cheese, tomatoes, onions, rocket and romaine lettuce topped with grilled chicken breast; and Gamberi con Aglio, shrimps sauteed with black olives, tomatoes and red dried chillies which made this dish a tad too hot. If you like it hot, do mop up the gravy with the bread!

Mediterranean Salad


Gamberi con Aglio

Next on we were serve a total of 8 pasta dishes from the Festa della Pasta menu. The first, Mussels & Clams Lombardi con Pappardelle (RM26.90), pappardelle pasta tossed with fresh clams and mussels cooked with white wine. Garnished with fresh herbs and chilli flakes. Paired with Alois Lageder Riff Pinot Grigio Venezie.

Mussels & Clams Lombardi con Pappardelle

Tagliatelle con Salvia, Funghi e Popettine (RM22.90), handmade tagliatelle pasta sauteed with lemon and shiitake mushrooms served with homemade beef meatballs. Paired with Alois Lageder Riff Rosso Vigneti Dolomiti.

Tagliatelle con Salvia, Funghi e Polpettine

The other handmade pasta dish in the menu is Tagliatelle con Pesto al Pomodoro (RM22.90), handmade plain and spinach (straw & hay) tagliatelle pasta served with green pesto and tomatoes with grated Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Paired with Adesso Nero D'Avola IGT Sicilia.

Tagliatelle con Pesto al Pomodoro

The next type of pasta shape is new to me, a fileja which is a longish and loose fusili pasta. Fileja con Pomodoro e Basilico (RM18.90), fileja pasta tossed with fresh tomato puree and cherry tomato, sprinkled with Parmesan and fresh basil. Paired with Adesso Inzolia IGT Sicilia or Adesso Nero D'Avola IGT Sicilia.

Fileja con Pomodoro e Basilico

Cannelloni (RM26.90), cannelloni stuffed with spinach and artichokes served with homemade marinara sauce, rich bechamel sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese. Paired with Alois Lageder Riff Rosso Vigneti Dolomiti.

Cannelloni

Paccheri con Ragu (RM18.90), traditional Italian beef sauce cooked with paccheri pasta topped with Parmesan cheese. Paired with Alois Lageder Riff Rosso Vigneti Dolomiti.

Paccheri con Ragu

Tortellini con Salmone ed Aneto (RM26.90), spinach and ricotta filled tortellini pasta tossed in alfredo sauce with sauteed salmon and fresh dill. Top with rosettes of smoked salmon slices. Paired with Alois Lageder Riff Pinot Grigio Venezie.

Tortellini con Salmone ed Aneto

Fusilli con Spinaci ed Alfredo sauce (RM22.90), fusilli pasta sauteed with chicken breast and spinach tossed in alfredo sauce. Chilli flakes and crispy spinach to garnish. Paired with Adesso Inzolia IGT Sicilia.

Fusilli con Spinaci ed Alfredo Sauce

Out of the 8, my personal favourites are the Mussels & Clams Lombardi con Pappardelle as the pappardelle was cooked perfectly and went very well with the white wine sauce and shellfish; and the baked Cannelloni. I did a similar version recently but using Paccheri instead as I have plenty of Paccheri left over from a photo shoot. BoiBoi loved that a lot and asking me to make it again! It's really simple to make as I stuff the Paccheri with a beef ragu, layered with a white sauce and top them up with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese before baking.

Lastly, we got on to a dessert of Italian trifle, made with layers of Mascarpone, ladyfinger biscuits and topped with dark chocolate powder and chocolate chips.

Italian Trifle

Do check out this Festa della Pasta promotion at Italiannies before it ends on 30 June 2013!

Capt'n Hook and I would like to thank the management and staff of Italiannies for such a wonderful Italian experience complete with live music by violinists, and Jaslyn of RAPR for the coordination and invitation.

Buon appetito!!!



Lot G75 & G76, Ground Floor, The Curve
Tel: +603 7728 1715

Lot S209, Second Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Tel: +603 2283 3675

G16, Empire Shopping Gallery
Tel: +603 5637 7259

Lot CF15 & 23, Level CF, Paradigm Mall
Tel: +603 7887 4677

Lot 1-31, Ground Floor, Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang
Tel: +604 228 9761


Friday, 24 May 2013

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Review: Farm Fresh Yogurt Drink

Farm Fresh Yogurt Drink

We have been great fans of Farm Fresh dairy products ever since we discovered the fresh natural milk back in 2010. Since then we have been consuming their yoghurt as well, so much easier than making my own even though I have to admit homemade yoghurt taste so much better :p

We chanced upon Farm Fresh's latest product when we were at the supermarket last month. They have a sampling booth and we were delighted that it's a Farm Fresh Yogurt Drink. We did the taste test which I've asked for the Natural one which is surprisingly good with just a slight hint of sweetness, not too sour to my taste bud. Then I tried a flavoured one which came looking the same as the Natural flavour. Taste wise, very importantly not super sweet, light and as for the flavour, well I guess it's hard to get 100% natural flavourings, I would say I can taste just a slight hint of artificialness when compared with other brands. Pass my taste bud.

What attracted me were tag lines like "No colouring" and "No preservatives"!!! Pass my own conscience too hehe. So you'll see each bottle looking the same under the translucent bottle and I really like the simple and clean design of the packaging even though not as colourful as others. Gave me the impression of an "organic" product.

Naturally, BoiBoi asked us to buy them. They were running a special price for 3 bottles promo which regretfully I've forgotten the price. If not mistaken each 1 Litre bottle is between RM4 - RM5.

So far, I've not seen Farm Fresh Yogurt Drink available at many supermarkets but Jusco should have them. Perhaps I should have shut my mouth up and not blog about this as getting the fresh milk can also be a problem cos they run out very very quickly heh :p


Disclaimer: This is not a paid post and we do not know the owners of Farm Fresh Dairy :D

Blog Revamping

Hello... I'm in the midst of revamping my blog to make my life a little easier. So do not be alarmed as work is still under construction.

Cheers,
Babe_KL
16 Oct 2012