Italian cuisine carries a heavy history when it comes to food. The taste and explosion of flavours at Piano Piano South located at Bakhundole gave us a pleasing experience altogether.

Culinary delights assemble the eclectic and historic values of different countries. Exploring and trying out new cuisines tends to let us weave a thread with various food cultures. Our very intention offered an inquisitiveness to understand and taste Italian cuisine. Piano Piano South, located in Bakhundole, Lalitpur rendered us an amazing experience concerning food and ambience. 

Slightly away from the crowd and hassle, the restaurant gives off serene energy where one can spend time alone or with loved ones. Started with a conversation with Mr Chiranjibi Magar, and the atmosphere got more comfortable meanwhile the appetizers were served. I was intrigued by the Italian food names on the menu. 

Tempura di Gamberi:

Shrimp coated with egg, water, and flour, deep-fried to make a Tempura di Gamberi was a perfect way to start the whole feast along with the dipping cocktail sauce. The seafood always goes best with a little bit of sour addition, in this case, the sauce did a good job. The light and crunchy texture of the tempura alongside the rich flavour of the sauce, came altogether just right. Price: Rs.550

Insalata Di Pollo:

The portion size was quite small, so we dived immediately into another appetiser, Insalata Di Pollo. In simple words, it is a salad full of goodies. The fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chicken, shaved Parmesan, olives, local egg crouton, and bacon, mixed with balsamic vinegar elevated the salad to give great flavours. The salad, “Insalata Di Pollo” was served with Yoghurt dill sauce. Price: 690

Crostini Al Mortadella:

When it comes to Italian food, Mortadella meaning large Italian sausage is famous and included in many food items. The restaurant served the Mortadella with Crostini meaning small slices of toasted bread, cheese, and olive paste. The layers of different flavours altogether popped out uniquely. The crunch from toasted bread, cheesiness from cheese, and olive gave that extra kick, and the Mortadella to add the meat flavour came out wholesome. Price: Rs.470

Now we were ready for the main course (In our defence, they were just appetizers!). Italian cuisine would be incomplete without pizza. Pizza’s journey has been a long one and all the credit goes to the city of Naples. It is interesting how the pizza colour resembles the Italian flag.

Prosciutto E Funghi:

Amongst hundreds of varieties, we were served the special Prosciutto E Funghi. The main ingredients were Italian tomatoes, mozzarella, smoked ham (Prosciutto), and mushrooms topped with olive oil. The soft and thin pizza bread was certainly the highlight with fresh toppings. Elaborately, the Prosciutto is the dry-cured salted Italian ham sliced thin which had a mildly salty taste to it. Originally, villagers in Italy began to dry age pork to extend meat supply during the long winters, and today, it is an ultimate famous Italian item. Price: Rs. 1255

Pollo Polpettone:

Similarly, Italians are a big fan of meatloaf and Polpettone is their comfort food.  Pollo translates to chicken and Polpettone translates to large meatballs. Pollo Polpettone looked delighted with cutely shaped mashed potato, fresh salad on the side, and bacon-wrapped chicken filled with spinach and ricotta. The ricotta cheese and spinach paste were contrasting yet complemented each other well. This wholesome meal has all the Italy-originated ingredients from Ricotta to Polpettone. The salad on the side was a great way to cleanse the palate for the next meal, as the Italians believe. Price: Rs. 1090

Gamberi E Trota:

Do you know what else they believe? Pasta’s supremacy! Wherever Italians immigrated, they brought the pasta along, and now has become an international cuisine. The choice of pasta was spaghetti, and the word come from Italy itself, where ‘Spago’ means thread. The Spaghetti with shrimp tossed in confit tomatoes and topped with smoked trout pate. The topping seemed interesting which turned out to be the paste of Trout fish. The taste of the fish had a subtle contribution as it was not over-empowering, yet the thick and smoky flavour blended well with the tomato tangy flavour. Price: Rs.1350

By this time, we were so full but everybody knows, that satiation comes only after having dessert. Of course, we needed some Italian sweet delicacy.

Tiramisu:

 ‘Tiramisu’, is a coffee-flavoured dessert made with ladyfingers dipped in coffee and layered with a mixture of eggs, sugar, rum, and ricotta cheese. One word for this one would be ‘smooth’. When all the layers come together in one bite, it does cheer you up as the name suggests. Price: Rs.450

 Another dessert that has Italian history is Gelato.

Gelato:

Gelato is a very old delicacy dating back thousands of years ago. Interestingly, all the gelato in the restaurant is made there only. The Mango was in the season, so they served us the mango Gelato topped with crushed nuts. Any fruity flavours go well with the chocolate one and probably everyone agrees on this. The combination of these two flavours just won our hearts. Good Italian cuisine in such a serene space is a chef’s kiss. Price: Rs.250