BENGALURU: Go on a gastronomical journey with the delicacies from different cities of South Italy at Caprese, Shangri-La Hotel.
The Antipasti, the first course of an Italian meal, usually has meats, herbs and cheese. Among the ones served here, the tomato tartare is a better choice than its chicken counterpart. Double cooked with mozarella and served with black olive powder, the tartare is delicate.
The Free-range Chicken had a unique combination of bell peppers and pecorino romano cheese ice cream. The lightly sweet ice cream with a cheese-like taste is a suprising twist because you don’t expect your dessert to sit on the appetisers. But it goes well together.
Shrimp -- oven baked and roasted -- are served with white spring onion cream and black truffle, they are a must try. The baked shrimp has a strong orange flavour and the roasted is crispy. The cream of white onions lends the dish a sweet and sour flavour.
After the Antipasti is served the Primi Piatti, which is essentially pasta. The lemon foam adds a tanginess to the Fagottini pasta served with burrata, lobster and green peas.
The parmigiano reggiano (a hard, granular cheese) aged 24 months is a perfect match for the ravioli. It looks fancy but tastes familiar, like it is homemade. The tomatoes add a zing to the morel mushrooms, green peas and asparagus.
Secondi Piatti, another mains, has chicken breast and thigh, spinach, wild mushrooms and pumpkin with rosemary, sauce saracena moscato looks exciting but falls flat with the meat cooked in mushroom sauce rubbery.
The sea bass tastes fresh. The platter also includes potatoes prepared in saffron sauce. All good here.
Finally, the desserts, or as Italians call it Dolci, include Tiramasu Parfait and Citrus Tart, Cream and Nuts. The chef special Tiramasu is highly recommended, with its overpowering coffee flavour. As you dig into the Tiramisu, the cream oozes out. There is a hint of chocolate.
As the name suggests, the tart has a strong citrusy flavour from the layers of lemon cream. It is topped with fruits and nuts. The strawberry is a great add-on, softening the otherwise acidic and sharp flavour of lemon.
The reviewed dishes were part of the ‘Capri to Calabria’, Southern Italian food festival, which closed on March 24. But, few of them will be included in the restaurant’s main menu in the coming weeks.