Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle

Trying to avoid the usual tourist traps near the most popular sights in Rome, we decided to do a short walk from our hotel to a non-descript place called Il Cuore di Napoli Ribelle.  It was recommended by someone from Vancouver who is Italian.  Yep, once we got to the place, the outside was nothing special and the inside wasn't either.  However, looking over the menu, it featured some pretty good prices.  We ended up dining here for 63 Euros!  That already included a water charge and coperto.  Yes, we were aware that this is a Neapolitan restaurant in Rome.  But hey, why not try some other regions of Italian food?

We started with the Neapolitan Fried Specialties for 2 that featured Panzerotti, Palle di Riso, Potato Crocché, Montanare, Pasta Cresciuta and Mozzarella in Carrozza.  Yes, this was quite the cone of traditional Neapolitan street snacks and it was rather filling, even for 4 people!  I thought the best thing was the fried cheese as the breading was crunchy and there was enough cheese in the centre.  The same could be said about the potato croquettes as it had the same crunchy breading where the mashed potato filling was soft.  I do believe that the montanare could've used more sauce as it ate rather plain.

We wanted some meat with this meal, but not necessarily a steak since we already had one the night before.  We settled on the Grilled Pork Sausage with grilled veggies (zucchini, eggplant and marinated red peppers).  The sausage was meaty with chunks of meat and fat.  It was rather salty though and definitely was better eaten with bread.  As for the veggies, they were nicely charred but the eggplant was rather dry.  Loved the peppers as the tanginess was bright.

We also decided to share some pastas including the Linguine Gamberaccio that featured prawns, shrimp, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley.  I quite enjoyed this one as it was mild-flavoured but still had some shrimpiness accented by the garlic and olive oil.  The tomatoes helped bring acidity and some sweetness to the dish.  I found the shrimp to be firm but still had some rebound texture to them.  The prawns were a little overdone, but were still meaty.  Of course the pasta was done to al dente.

Our other pasta was the Orecchiette with sausage and Neapolitan broccoli.  We loved the firm texture of the orecchiette where there was some real bite to it.  There was plenty of crumbled sausage throughout.  It was the same from our grilled sausage dish and due to its saltiness, it provided plenty of flavour for the pasta.  Since Neapolitan broccoli wasn't in season, they probably used a jar/canned version and it was predictably softer in texture.  It did have the classic bitterness though.

Finally, we had one of their Neapolitan pizzas in the Capodimonte with tomatoes, mozzarella, smoked provolone, sausage, porcini mushrooms and rucola.  This featured a pretty decent crust with appealing chewiness and crispy edges.  The rest of the pizza was a bit soft but that could've been due to the amount of toppings.  After it was said and done, we were pretty full and we didn't spend a lot of Euros.  Was the food amazing?  Well no, but it was serviceable and we didn't mind it.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Serviceable eats

- Decent service

The Bad:

- You don't come here for the ambiance

Venchi Cioccolato e Gelato

Okay, here is the situation.  We've been walking for over 3 hours and although there was a lot to see, we were thirsty and tired.  Luckily we missed the heat wave in July, but that didn't mean the Summer ended in August.  We had just checked out the Pantheon and suddenly had a craving for gelato.  Naturally, anything located near touristy areas are hit and miss; mostly miss.  But we decided to give Venchi a shot since the gelato appeared to be good.  Famous last words right?  We waited in a short line and ended up with the following...

For myself, I had the Mango Sorbetto and the Crema Venchi.  With a small cup, we were able to pick 2 flavours.  I liked how the sorbetto was smooth and almost creamy (despite having not milk products).  It was purposefully sweet with a natural mango taste.  However, it was a touch bitter for some reason.  Despite this, I still enjoyed it.  The gelato had a creamy texture and it melted pretty easily (which is a good thing, no added stabilizers).  I thought the crema was pretty sweet with an aromatic finish.  Probably not my favourite flavour though.

Viv also went for 2 flavours including the Limone and Fruitti Bosco Sorbetto.  The limone was more melty than my mango sorbetto and it was very tart.  We love tart, so it worked for us but for others, it just might be too tangy.  Due to this, it wasn't very sweet because it hid behind the tang.  As for the mixed berries, it was on the sweeter side, but did taste good with a melody of fruitiness.  It was a rather refreshing combination with the limone.

My daughter went only for one flavour in the Strawberry Sorbetto and it was similar to the mixed berries except being less tangy.  It was predictably more one-note due to only having strawberries.  It was sweet but not overly so.  We found it to have a natural taste though.  With that being said, I thought the mango had more impact than the strawberry. Like all of the cups, it came with a Venchi's dark chocolate coin. 

My son had the 75% Chocolate Gelato and it was very dark.  However, he loves his dark chocolate and it was right up his alley.  This was not very sweet at all and in fact, was fairly bitter.  Perfect for dark chocolate lovers.  In terms of texture, this was a bit thicker and richer than my crema.  This was expected due to the addition of dark chocolate.  We also picked up some chocolates too as that is what Venchi is known for.  Pretty solid stuff.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto were solid too and this was a good first experience in Rome.

The Good:

- Flavours were impactful

- Textures were good

- Their chocolates are even better

The Bad:

- There is usually a lineup

- Good but not great

Mercato Centrale Roma

I initially booked out hotel close to Roma Termini for a couple of reasons.  First, I would be arriving into the station from the airport by train, so a quick walk to our hotel with luggage would be preferable.  Secondly, we would be leaving by train at the same station en route to Florence.  So that part of the plan worked out flawlessly and our hotel turned out to be pretty good as well.  However, a byproduct of staying so close to the termini would be access to Mercato Centrale with all of its selection of quick eats.  We ended up grabbing lunch here twice during our stay in Rome.

Upon entering the market, we spotted some pretty stacked pizzas at Il Forno di Raffaele D'Errico.  Yes, the display probably persuaded us to try their pizzas by the weight but really we shouldn't have.  This is not to say that there weren't enough toppings and also the crust wasn't heavy.  After a quick reheat in the oven, the crust was actually crunchy.  However, the pricing was rather pricey (32 Euros for 3 large slices of pizza), even though there was quite a bit of food.  We also found each slice to be too oily.

On the other hand at II Trapizzino, their sandwiches with ingredients stuffed in a triangular pizza-like shell were money.  Only 5 Euros each, they were filling and delicious.   My favourite was the Stracciatella with Anchovies.  They were not shy about cramming as much as they could in and it was overflowing with cheese.  The anchovies were briny and salty, which went well with the mild fresh cheese.  We also had the Polpette and it was a giant meatball that was tender but without much filler.  The sauce was tangy with lots of tomato flavour.  Surprisingly, the Pollo was probably the best tasting with fresh herbs.  The chicken itself was both plentiful and tender.  The bread itself was light and almost fluffy with a crispy exterior.

On another visit, I had to get some pasta at Las Pasta Fresca in the Linguine with Meat Sauce.  This was not a very good rendition of pasta, especially in Rome.  I found the linguine to be too al dente and hard.  As for the sauce, it was rather one-note being salty and not very tomatoey.  In fact, I didn't even get a good tanginess out of it.  No other distinguishing herbs or seasoning.

Viv and my son were craving burgers and went to Lo Smashburger.  She had the Single Smash Cheeseburger and he had the Double Smashburger.  Those came with pickles, onion, Joe's secret sauce and cheddar.  Believe it or not, these were actually quite decent.  The patties could've been thinner, but there was a good char and slight crispiness on the edges.  Good flavour with the meat too with natural taste accented by enough salt.  The bun was soft and conformed to the rest of the ingredients.

My daughter didn't go very complex and had the Caprese Sandwich from La Mozzarella e i Formaggi.  Pretty basic and nothing amazing but did the job nonetheless.  She found the bread a bit chewy but okay otherwise.  The ingredients were fresh and there was enough cheese, tomatoes and basil to make things interesting and not all bread.  As you can see, the food at the Mercato was not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination.  However, it isn't meant to be.  It served its purpose where we got some quick eats with II Trapizzino being my favourite and a must visit in my opinion.

The Good:

- A variety of eats for reasonable prices

- II Trapizzino is the star of the show

- Won't take long to get your food

The Bad:

- Not everything is good there.  Do your research

La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali

Boy it was quite the day of travelling to get to Rome.  First we made it to Schipol after 9 hours and then endured a flight delay and finally made it to Rome 15 hours after our day had started.  Then a taxi driver at the airport tried to scam us, so we got out of his taxi only to forget my camera in it.  Had to track him down to get it back.  Made it to our hotel after a train ride on the Leonardo Express and by the time we hit La Taverna dei Fior Imperiali, it was over 24 hours since we had slept.  Luckily we made a reso because the place was full for most of the night!

We started our late night meal (at least that is how it felt like to us) with the Fritto Misto Della Casa with 2 zucchini flowers with mozzarella & anchovies, cod, honey & mint ricotta cheese & hazelnuts and zucchini.  Loved this dish as the batter was super crispy and fairly light.  My favourite items was the ricotta as it was springy and fluffy.  The drizzle of honey really elevated the flavours.  That cod was also good being flaky and light with the crunch from the batter as the perfect foil to the soft texture of the fish.  

They had an Octopus special which was pretty delicious too.  It sat atop an eggplant caponata with crunchy breadcrumbs, olives, tomato, pinenuts and rosemary.  There was a generous amount of octopus that was tender while still retaining a bite.  Outside, it was gilled up with portions of crispiness.  Good textural contrast with the tender meat.  As for the caponata, the eggplant was perfect being soft while having a firm skin.  The flavours were on point with tang, sweetness, saltiness and some aromatics.

We picked the Vignarola di Fave with artichokes, peas and Roman guanciale as our side and it was tasty as well.  The fava beans were cooked down until they were soft as were the peas.  The intense meatiness from the rendered fat from the guanciale added body and saltiness to the dish.  I found the guanciale to be rather intense as it was salty on its own with a firm texture.  It burst with a cured saltiness that needed the mild beans and peas to act as a blank canvas.

Onto our pastas, we tried the Carbonara with the same guanciale and pecorino romano cheese.  The tube pasta was dead perfect with an al dente chewiness that had a great mouth feel while still being tender enough to eat.  Being large and thick, the pasta stood up to the heaviness of the carbonara. The intensity of the guanciale was evident with each bite.  This was further enhanced by the cheese as it added another layer of saltiness as well as nutiness.

We had their featured pasta of the night that was somewhat similar.  It featured guanciale again with fresh figs.  Employing the same Paccheri as the carbonara, the texture was firm and slightly dense, yet still completely chewable.  Since there was plenty of rendered guanciale, the dish had a deep saltiness as well as a luxurious fattiness.  With some pecorino romano, we found a close flavour profile with the carbonara except for one major difference - the fresh figs.  That lightened up the heavy dish somewhat and provided a bright sweetness.

Our favourite pasta was the Gnocchi with white veal ragout and black truffles.  Although the gnocchi was a little on the lukewarm side, it had a great texture.  There was a certain firmness with each bite while still being soft.  Due to the saltiness of the previous 2 pastas, the mildness of the meaty ragout was welcomed.  It was rather meaty too.  Naturally, the addition of shaved black truffles added woodsiness.

Onto our bigger plates, we had the Veal Saltimbocca with prosciutto, sage and white wine sauce.  I really enjoyed this one as well since the veal was meaty while tender.  The addition of prosciutto on top added more meatiness and of course saltiness.  The white wine really came through in the final flavour profile with a certain booziness yet still cooked down.  Although not looking like much, the side of roast potatoes were excellent being soft and tender with a slightly crisp exterior.

Last dish was the Grilled Vacche Grasse Rib Eye Steak served with the same roast potatoes as the veal.  Although the quality of the beef was quite good, it was cooked to about medium-well.  That in itself made it a touch too firm and of course no longer juicy.  However, it was still plenty tender with good natural beef flavour.  The rosemary butter served on top added a woodsiness nuttiness.  Throughout the meal, we were literally falling asleep, but the food was solid enough that it kept our attention.  A great start to our European trip and really appreciated the warm family atmosphere of the restaurant.

The Good:

- Solid home-style eats

- Wonderful people, very welcoming

- Reasonable-pricing

The Bad:

- Steak was a little overdone

- Food was a bit salty

Paella Experience by The Paella Guys

Believe it or not, I'm walking on air...  Wait, no what I meant is believe it or not, I have not ever tried out the Paella Guys before.  Hey, it isn't as if I haven't seen all their giant and tasty-looking paellas on social media though.  I guess, there is just too many places and things to eat in the GVRD to get to everything.  I really do enjoy paella and I actually own a paella pan (which I've used on several occasions to make my own paella.  So when I got invited to their commissary kitchen to participate in their Paella Cooking Class, I didn't need much convincing to go!

Upon arriving at their facility near the Production Way Skytrain station (which makes it convenient for those who want to transit), I took a seat at the large table.  I put on my apron and proceeded to write my name on the supplied name tag.  We were presented with a variety of Meats and Cheeses including loin, salami, Serrano ham, manchego, truffle and black garlic cheeses.  We also found some olives and marcona almonds as well.

Onto a quick lesson on how to make an authentic Red Sangria, we learned that adding sugar gives it the necessary sweetness.  No use of any sweetened sodas such as ginger ale or lemon-lime, rather we used club soda.  Also, we diced up 3 types of tree fruit including apples, pears and oranges.  No rinds were added due to their bitterness.  Normally, this would be prepared 7 days in advance or minimally 4 hours prior to consuming.  This was truly refreshing and went well with the paella.

So to the main event, we were going to be split up into 2 teams to make on Seafood Paella and a Traditional Paella each.  The ingredients for the seafood included bomba rice (since it is good with high heat), diced onion, red peppers, saffron, salt, EVOO, sofrito (tomato paste, garlic, olive oil), scallops, prawns, squid, mussels, clams and a stock made from whitefish tomatoes and leeks.  For the traditional paella, we found bombo rice, green pepper, green beans, chicken, EVOO, salt, sofrito, rosemary, saffron, paprika and stock made of artichoke leaves and chicken bones.

We began by heating up some EVOO and then adding salt.  We seared the scallops first on the seafood side and browned the chicken on the other.  Then we added the peppers and onions and cooked them until translucent.  We cooked down the squid on the seafood side and then the green beans on the other.  Broth was added to de-glaze the paella pan. The rice was added shortly after.

During this time, there was a platter of Tortilla coming around for us to munch as we anxiously awaited for the paella to be done.   For those who are aware, Spanish tortilla is not a chip.  Rather it is an omelette of sorts with onion and potato. I've had this on numerous occasions, usually during a round of tapas.  This particular one was loadded with potato that made it quite hearty.  This was served on a bread.

So when it was all said and done, the Traditional Paella looked like the picture you see above.  The rice appeared to be slightly underdone, but that was intentional to keep things al dente and also the rice would continue to cook from the residual heat.  Underneath that, there was a socarrat (rice crust) that had formed being nutty, caramelized and slightly crispy on the edges.  This had a robust flavour from the chicken and was very tasty.

As for the Seafood Paella, it was topped with prawns, clams and mussels where they finished off cooking with a tin foil tent.  The rice on it was also appealingly chewy with a nice socarrat on the bottom and edges.  The seafood was perfectly cooked while the flavour was briny and slightly sweet.  As a group, we all agreed that the seafood was our favourite and there was plenty of it to go around.  We even had leftovers!  Oh and it wasn't pictured here, but we got a healthy dose of aioli on the side of our paella.

Onto dessert, we were served small Tarta de Santiago aka Galician Almond Tart with plenty of butter and a hint of citrus.  These were sinful but ultimately delicious with a noticeable butteriness with the unmistakable taste of almonds.  The top and edges were crunchy while the inside was soft and warm.  A fine finish to a fun evening of drinks, cooking, friends (meeting new ones) and eating.  There are several more sessions available in November.  They sell-out quick, so be sure to book online!

*This Paella Cooking Experience was complimentary for this post

The Good:
- You really do learn some new things
- Fun and interactive
- Delicious!

The Bad:
- Only a small class, so limited seats, but also keeps it intimate
- Limited parking

 

Bombay Kitchen + Bar (Commercial Drive)

If you haven't noticed, we've been invited to try out quite a few Indian restaurants (predominantly Punjabi) all over the Lower Mainland.  Not sure if this by coincidence and/or Indian restaurant really like us.  However, we sure aren't complaining because we all enjoy Indian cuisine!  The latest dinner happened to be at Bombay Kitchen + Bar on Commercial, located in longtime former spot of The Reef.  They have completely renovated the place and similar to many of the higher-end Indian restaurants in town, the decor is appealing with a bougie bar.

So with such a nice bar, we had to get some drinks including the Mango Mojito, Strawberry Virgin Mojito, Sexy Bombay, Lime Soda and Mango Lassi.  The theme of these drinks were definitely fruit and very drinkable.  Hence, they were also dangerous as you can down many!  I loved how the ones with alcohol were balanced and not crazy strong but at the same time, you could definitely tell it was there.

Off the food, we started with the Bombay Mixed Platter featuring veggie samosa, veggie pakora, paneer pakora, and fish pakora.  Things were deep-fried perfectly in this dish as the pakoras were all crispy and not heavy.  The fish was flaky and moist while the paneer was appealingly squishy.  Veggie pakora featured wilted veggies that weren't mushy.  Pakoras sported a crispy outer shell that wasn't greasy.  Inside, the filling was well-spiced.

To get a taste of everything we got the Tandoori Mix Grill consisting of chicken, prawns, chicken tikka, lamb chops & fish.  This was another winner with nicely charred meat.  My favourite was the bone-in chicken tandoori as it was flavourful and super moist.  The fish was also good being flaky and buttery (from the ghee on the bottom of the cast iron plate).  Lamb was in smaller pieces and was also good.

Next, we had the Vegetable Chili Momos that were bathed in a tangy and spicy sauce.  It was very flavourful and could've been eaten with plain rice.  However, it was there to flavour the momos.  That it did.  It ended up soaking into the dumpling skin.  The result was a soft and very delicate dumpling wrapper as it was quite thin to begin with.  Inside, the veggies were soft, but not mushy.

If you haven't heard about Chicken 65, then you need to hear about it.  It is a flavourful fried chicken snack that originated from the Hotel Bruhari in 1965 (hence the name).  This one was a good version with medium-sized pieces of chicken that sported a crispy coating that was spiced by red chilis.  It wasn't actually spicy.  Rather, it was more balanced.  Inside, the chicken itself was moist and almost juicy.

One of the most surprising dishes was the Chili Prawns.  You see, we asked for mild dishes because not everyone could handle spice.  Personally, I love spice, so it was a nice surprise to see that the heat from the chili prawns was significant.  It caused a lot of coughing at the table.  For me it was perfect as it made up for the delicate flavour of the meaty prawns.  There was also equal parts savoury and sweetness.

Moving onto the mains, we had to get the default dish in the Butter Chicken.  This was quite creamy and smooth with the balancing tang from the tomatoes.  Beyond that, we could also taste the spices with a slight kick and earthiness.  Unlike many other version where they use tandoori chicken breast, they ended up opting for tandoori chicken thighs.  Therefore, the meat was juicy and tender with much more natural chicken flavour.

So the butter chicken was very good, but honestly, the Coconut Chicken was the table favourite.  Sporting the same tender and juicy chicken thighs, the sauce was the real star of the dish.  It was creamy and rich with the aromatic and tropical flavour of coconut milk.  It was further enhanced by the tang from the lemon and bite from the ginger.  However, the dish as a whole was on the sweeter side and definitely needed rice or naan for balance.

On the topic of sweet, the Kerala Fish Curry was equally sweet with some of the same flavours as the coconut chicken.  One of the key differences, other than the protein, was the addition of shallots and garlic, which made for more aromatics.  Also, the green mango provided just a slightest background tanginess.  Of course we need to talk about the pieces of fish as they were delicate and flaky.  So much so, we had to be careful spooning it out of the casserole dish.

Going in a totally different direction in terms of flavour and protein, we had the ever-popular Lamb Rogen Josh.  This was truly rich and comforting fall flavours from the cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. There was also the sweetness from the onions as well as the earthiness from the cumin.  Classic flavours and definitely impactful.  The big chunks of lamb were fairly tender, but it was somewhere in between firm and soft.

Going for a veggie dish as our last curry, we had the classic Palak Paneer.  This was also rather creamy and rich with the slight earthiness from the cumin.  I also got the bright sharpness of the ginger that helped break up the heaviness.  Hidden within, we found little cubes of paneer that were squishy in a texturally-pleasing way.  Not sure if this was necessarily the healthy veggies we were looking for, but it was tasty nonetheless!

Onto the breads, we had a wide selection including Garlic Naan, Cheese Naan, Spinach & Paneer Naan and Lachha Paratha.  On looks alone, these looked on point and in fact, they were with the garlic naan being nicely blistered and crispy.  On the inside, it was chewy and slightly fluffy.  The stuffed naans were softer with crispy edges.  The fillings made them good on their own.  Lastly, the paratha was crispy with a pleasing chewiness while brushed with plenty of ghee.

We also had one rice dish in the Chicken Biryani.  Yes, we know that plain basmati rice should be the compliment to all the curries, but we just love biryani and had to get it.  Turned out to be a great decision as it was prepared very well.  The rice was chewy and moist without being wet.  It had soaked up all the flavours and had a nice spice level.  The morsels of dark chicken meat were tender and also well-spiced.

We ended up trying all of their desserts including Gajar Ka Halva, Ras Malai, Mango Cheesecake and Stick Kulfi.  For me, I love the carrot dessert as it was sweet with raisins while soft and warm.  I also love all things kulfi and this was not exception as it was creamy and rich with cardamom.  Surprisingly, the cheesecake was excellent being rich and firm but not too heavy.  Yes, these desserts were sweet, but not so much that it was overwhelming.  All-in-all, this meal at Bombay Kitchen + Bar was fantastic and well-portioned.  Prices are very reasonable and the decor is welcoming.  A solid spot on the Drive and I would definitely come back.

*Food & beverages were complimentary for this post

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Reasonable-pricing
- Welcoming dining space

The Bad:
- Parking is always difficult to find on The Drive
- Restaurant is relatively small and can fill up quickly