The moveable feast:Italian interlude

Kathmandu:

There is a little bit of Italy in Thamel right opposite The Kathmandu Guest House up a flight of stairs and it’s called La Dolce Vita and it’s been around for 22 years dispensing The Sweet Life in its varied menu.

Said Chandan Kyestha (one half of a two brother team that run four restaurants and counting), “We have Italian chefs coming in to train once every few years. Recently we’ve had a change of menu and intend to change it again soon so as to offer our customers newness. We have a lot of repeat guests.”

La Dolce Vita or The Sweet Life has been decorated to look like an Italian country kitchen with vast glass bottles and Italian plates, checked table clothes and all the warmth of an Italian welcome.

Said Chandan, “Our Minestrone Soup is different and we have been told it is delicious, try it”.

The Minestrone was created with vegetables and a hot broth to give sailors vital vegetables in the middle ages to prevent scurvy when they returned from sea. The Minestrone that waiter Binod Giri served us was a rich mixture of vegetable and noodles. So many tastes carrots, spinach, tomatoes, it takes you every sip to discover something and it’s always there. A taste of parsley finally hits the spot and you know why the Italians demand Minestrone wherever they go.

At the moment Italian food is sweeping the world with regional dishes re-interpreted and revitalised and there are three floors at La Dolce Vita, one for dining, an Espresso Bar and a terrace that overlooks the city, to cater to the craze.

Probably one of the most difficult dishes is the Italian rice dish Risotto. The idea is not to get the rice soggy or raw. The Risotto with three kinds of mushrooms including the Shitake was as tasty as they make it in Italy where you get to taste each ingredient.

There are 12 pizzas on the menu and I favour pizza Bianca with olive oil and fresh rosemary probably named after some historical beauty because the fragrance of rosemary would suggest a creature of delight.

Another Italian creation that has swept the world is a Pesto Sauce which is made of basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil and garlic in just the right portion and our Tagliatelle Al Pesto was exquisitely done so that the Pesto didn’t swamp the taste of the home made flat pasta. The Tagliatelle was created by a nobleman in the court of the Borgias

in the 1500’s because he thought that the lovely but dangerous Lucrizia Borgia’s hair looked like his ribbon pasta.

Chandan said, “Try our Pollo Alla Grilia which is grilled chicken with rosemary wine sauce.” And we did. The chicken was as tender as the sauce unbelievable. The mix of wine and rosemary in butter made sure you got one taste after another. A memorable experience.

The Scaloppine Con Salsa Di Burro Erbe E Vino is a pounded pork fillet with butter, wine and herb sauce. The pork was tender the sauce piquant and there was a mélange of herbs like garlic and parsley and Chef Prem KC said there was sage.

It’s not often you come across sage in cooking in Nepal because of its seasonality. My friend Rajan Maharjan thought that the dish was outstanding.

I wish I had space for Coffee Grappa, an unusual coffee mixed with the residue of wine-making grapes. As we left the old Italian song Return To Me followed us home and return to La Dolce Vita we would. Call 4700612, 4262768.