Via Italia Mooloolaba Review

It has definitely been a while since I posted my last review since I've been so caught up with my new job! Creating an ideal holiday whilst meeting the client's expectations can be hard and so goddamn stressful at times.

Admittedly, I visited this restaurant mid-December 2013 but the food there was absolutely amazing that I cannot stop raving to anyone who may potentially visit the Sunshine Coast! 

Located on Mooloolaba Esplanade, it boasts quite a rustic, quaint look, which warmly welcomes you as a waiter takes you to an available table. 

 Rustic, right?

After being handed over the menu (on a clipboard), James, Diane and I really struggled through the menu - everything sounded so goddamn scrumptious. As scrumptious as it sounded, initially I was quite skeptical due to past experiences with other Italian restaurants with fancy menus but it never lived up to my expectations. Moreover, the prices at Via Italia, is definitely on the upper-market level. 

What originally caught my eye, was the pot of seafood: 

38.9/ A pot full of Seafood Marinara Fregula, Sardinian Cous cous, octopus, cloudy bay clams, Mooloolaba prawns, our smoked salmon, spicy tomato, our "crazy water" kombu crisps.

Nearing close to $40AUD, I was a bit skeptical and James took that option anyways. After flipping the pages back and forth for almost 15 minutes, I finally decided to order:

36.9/ Italian spiced Porcetta, slow cooked pork belly, popcorn milk, apple balsamic pork jus, baby carrots, roasted plums, fennel and chilli pork crackers.

On the other hand, Diane decided on:

36.9/ Our Hay Smoked Salmon Fazzoletti, silky pasta sheets, capers, dill, smoked dried tomato, cream, sea vegetable, anchovy crumble.

We also ordered a bottle of red wine and merrily chugged sipped at it until our food arrived.

 Behold! The Marinara served in a rustic cast iron pot. 

 The pork belly dish looking quite artsy fartsy.

 The Salmon Fazzoletti. The "sea vegetable"served on this dish (that long thin green veggie looking strips) is samphire! First time seen it served here in Australia!!

I definitely did not hesitate to dig into my dish as soon as it was served as I was starving ....

What. The. Hell?! This is sorcery!

How did you guys at Via Italia, manage to make pork belly that literally melts-in-your-mouth?!!!! I must know your secrets and will pester someone about this the next trip back to the coast!

Everything complimented one another on my dish: From the some what sour roast plums, easing the fatty, melty goodness of the pork belly, and the sweetness of deeply marinated baby carrots and the sauce. 

I thought mine was the best dish ordered on the table until I took a bite of seafood marinara dish James had ordered. Now, let me get this straight - I generally do not like tomato-based sauce and it has to be absolutely flavourful and rich before I can actually say that I like it. I've been to one too many supposedly "amazing" Italian restaurants and always have been disappointed. 

I can gladly say that Seafood Marinara pot is THE BEST I've ever tasted. Man, I did not know I was able to love a tomato-based dish so much! Even a slight mention of this pot, renders me into a drooling mess. 

Diane's dish was great too: The pasta was silky, and cream sauce on seafood pasta is my favourite, it simply cannot go wrong! Not to mention, I love sun-dried tomatoes (okay, I get that it is funny that I hate tomato-sauce but love semi-sundried tomatoes from a jar).

Ashamedly, I have to admit that I finished my dish, finished Diane's dish (as she was a small eater), and I finally scooped the remainder of James' dish when he couldn't finish his either, to a point that Diane said that I had a "good appetite". *I lost my dignity over food*

I got a little side-tracked over food and must say that we had a very lovely Swedish waiter who explained everything and was of great service!

Anyways, time for my verdict!

• Food/Presentation: 5/5 (I cannot stop thinking about that seafood marina pot. Seriously!)
• Ambience: 4.5/5 (Love the rustic feel, but it was a bit too busy/cramped for my liking for it to be 5/5)
• Service: 5/5 (Had an awesome cute/eye-candy Swedish waiter who was professional and provided a great service!)
• Monetary value: 4/5 (Yes, it is somewhat overpriced but that's pretty much what you pay for "fine dining" restaurants. Personally, I am happy to pay that again for the food I had. Money doesn't compare when your taste buds are having an orgasm).

If we had a car, I'd be making very regular trips to Via Italia! 

Pay them a visit if you are heading to the Sunshine Coast anytime soon!

Via Italia

Shop 13 Peninsula Apartments | Mooloolaba Esplanade,

Queensland, Australia

(P): 07 5477 7343 

(W): http://www.viaitalia.com.au/

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L'Angolo Bistro - Lunch Review (Revisited and the Last)

As said in my first review of this Italian restaurant, I would be back to give it a second shot. This time, I went for lunch and the first thing that caught my eye was the Gnocchi alla Norcina (Gnocchi with Porcini Mushrooms, Italian Sausage, Cream and Pecorino). I absolutely love gnocchi and what better accompaniment than cream sauce! 

Surprisingly, for a lunch period, they were really quiet - seriously, I was the only customer at the time.

See? No one! (I also can't believe my phone was able to take quite a sharp image!) 

Customer service was good as per usual and the waitress at the time was extremely attentive (albeit the fact that I was the only one there, her attention skills were over 9000).

Not too long after, my food arrived! 

This time, the dish went well - it had all the elements of what I perceive cream sauce based pasta should  taste! The picky side of me would have preferred chunkier mushroom slices and wayy bigger portions of the Italian sausage as I could hardly find that many pieces. It was tasty nonetheless.

BUT. 

Yes, there is a huge BUT. 

I did not think  anything could have went wrong this time, BUT it did.

I was eating very slowly (which is very unlikely of me, but I must admit, I was hungover), and noticed a hard, thin bit sticking out from an angle in the sauce. Initially, I thought it was a herb they've used but it looked way harder than any herb I knew of (rosemary or thyme) and did not recall any of those flavours in the sauce.

So, I picked it up. 

Guess what it was? It was a centimetre long piece from the metal scourers you use to scrub your kitchen utensils!!!! T_T 

The reason as to why I gave the waitress attention skills of over 9000, was literally the fact that she noticed something was up when I stared at it for less than 5 seconds and rushed over (not even enough time to take a sneaky photo). She then ran to the kitchen and then ran back to profusely apologise.

I said it was fine, as I was hungover and wanted to eat my meal in peace. I did end up eating all of it (as disgusting as it may sound now, but I don't find it as gross as finding someone's hair or bug in my meal) and I was also testing as to whether they'd give me a discount as an apology.

I finished, and paid (gnocchi was $22AUD and the Peach Iced Tea $5) $27AUD in total. By the looks of it, the manager came up to process the payment. I said the meal was good, but there was NO acknowledgement of the mistake they have made (it was also the manager/person in-charge) that did also notice the piece of metal when the waitress went behind the bar). 

Like seriously, if it was a restaurant I was managing, I would have been so ashamed that I would have given a 20% off my meal total. I wasn't even a bitch about it until now, as being the "goodie" customer didn't bring any sort of justice. Maybe, it's a lesson that I should have been one of those grumbly customers who would put them in their place.

If I was a child and didn't know better, or if I was eating and did not pay attention and bit into that, or even worse, swallow it! 

Sorry, but I don't think I'll be returning as a paying customer. The food is good but not good enough for the somewhat expensive prices charged (seriously? $5AUD for a bottle of iced tea?), as I am more than willing to travel to Vapiano's in the city for  great seafood pasta at a lower cost.

I was hoping the second visit would have changed my opinion completely, but guess now it also brought down the service standards.

• Presentation: 2.5/5 (Plain)
• Food/Taste: 3/5 (Okay, but nothing impressive again)
• Service: 2/5 (The actual waitress was attentive and was great at what she did (still over 9000! However, whom I assume is the manager, failed).
• Monetary value: 1.5/5 (You can find other cheaper places for better quality pasta)

L'Angolo Bistro Opening Night Review

Hamilton Harbour is definitely a new suburb booming with new restaurants & cafes, grocery stores and other eateries every few months. For us, it was the opening of Woolworths, a bottle shop, Domino's pizzeria, Coffee Club, a sushi shop and as of yesterday, the opening of an Italian restaurant by the name of L'Angolo Bistro. 

As a resident of one of the many apartments in that area, we received a flyer in our mailbox promoting the opening night of their bistro. If there's anything I love more than Asian food, it's Italian and it did get me excited (not to mention a free drink upon arrival when you present the flyer; Yes I'm a cheapskate). 

From where we were sitting (Okay, bad photo. I geddit)!

Prior to the opening night, I had a good glimpse to the setting - it was somewhat casual with my favourite colour combination of red, white and black. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a team of friendly staff and we chose to sit outside (inside was packed with families and screaming kids). I must say, their staff service is impeccable - friendly and asked if we needed anything every so often. I presented my flyer and received their house cocktail, served in a wine glass with ice and full of citrus flavour, it was definitely refreshing to the palate (though I finished mine in less than 2 minutes). I also couldn't believe they brought two glasses out for me and my partner (seriously thought they would be cheapskates and brought us one). Talk about attention to detail!

Free drink, can't complain! :)

Not one but two! :D

However on the opening night, the menu was reduced (as expected) and somewhat just above average prices (after living in Hamilton for half a year, I did expect pricier prices). I decided on the Cannelloni di Vitella (Homemade Cannelloni filled with White Veal Ragout, topped with Napoli Sauce and Saffron Bechamel), whilst my other half decided on the Zuppa di Pesce e Crostacei (Selection of Fresh Fish and Seafood in a Lobster Broth with Grape Tomatoes, White Wine and Fresh Basil). We waited roughly about 10-15 minutes before our food arrived. 

Mmm..

Maybe my expectations were a bit too high for this place?

Upon biting into the cannelloni, the white veal ragout was simply a very, very mushy mince! Okay, how do I put it this way? For the price of $23AUD, and when it is stated 'veal ragout' which is normally a stew, I simply expected like chunky, bits of tender stewed meat inside the cannelloni? Somehow, and I don't know why, but when I encounter mushy mince, it's like the usage of really cheap mince; it does not add any texture whatsoever to the food (unless I'm 70 + years old and I lost all my teeth). Personally, that was the disappointing aspect of my meal. What made up for it was the sauce - creamy, tomato-ey goodness and the cheese. Pasta-wise, I could not really differentiate it from store-bought pasta as it was covered with the sauce and wasn't really al dente.

James' dish (Blurry photo cause most of my photos on this blog were taken via phone. Plus he started digging into it before I could snap another one).

James' dish was alright, although I debated that it could have at least been a bit saltier (he liked it nonetheless and said my taste buds were screwed due to smoking wtf?). I tasted the broth and expected a rich seafood & tomato infused broth, but I found it just like tomato broth. Again, I was not impressed for a dish worth $29AUD. Lobster broth? Hello?! Lobster, where are you? 

The bill came up to about $74AUD (this also included 2 glasses of red wine we ordered at $11AUD each!). For the price paid compared to satisfaction, I personally don't think it was worth it. Don't get me wrong, I'm the sort that would happily splurge if the food is worth the price paid, but unfortunately, this was not the case (I would have much rather catch the bus and go back to Taro's Ramen!).

I am not going to be completely biased and base this wholly on the two dishes we ordered that night. I do plan to investigate and try out maybe some of their items on the breakfast or lunch menu.

But for now, the verdict:

• Presentation: 2.5/5 (Plain)
• Food/Taste: 3/5 (Okay but not impressive)
• Service: 5/5 (Marvellous!)

If anyone wants to prove me otherwise and say it's all autentica cucina italiana, then check them out:

L'Angolo Bistro 

T04 Hamilton Harbour | Hamilton, Brisbane, Queensland 4007, Australia

(P): 07 3369 7417

(W): http://langolobistro.com.au