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Talking Italian: Of executive lunches and wine dinners

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte, Contributor

07/13/2008

After a long period serving lunch smorgasbord-style, Paparazzi, Edsa Shangri-La’s upscale Italian dining restaurant, now offers set business lunches. The executive meal includes an antipasti buffet, with options for soup of the day and baked pasta, main course and dessert buffet.

After its successful opening week, we sampled their sumptuous Mediterranean fare. The main course menu that day had choices for either sirloin steak with potato cake and black pepper sauce; chicken stew “cacciatora” with olives and mushrooms; risotto with mixed seasonal vegetables and pesto; and red snapper with capers, lemon and white wine sauce served with spinach. We went for the latter.

“The menu changes every week. Main course options are two meats, one fish and a pasta or rice dish. The norm before was a buffet spread with a main course. Now, our business lunch set has an appetizer and dessert buffet,” says executive chef Massimo Pettinau.

“For antipasti, we have grilled vegetables nearly everyday plus cold cuts like salami, Caesar salad, cheese platters, pasta salads, as well as fish salads. As for the dessert buffet, we change the pastry daily. Then there’s strawberry mousse or chocolate mousse sometimes. Everybody looks for cheesecakes so we keep them and the traditional ones like tiramisu and pannacotta. Of course, the fresh fruit selection, mostly of watermelon, papaya and pineapple, is always there,” he adds.

The shift to a set menu has been well received. By the looks of it, the business lunch might be a regular offering of the restaurant.

“Our baked pasta will also have choices for vegetarians. Our main dishes will revolve around lamb, rib-eye, sirloin steak and fish because the latter is a staple in the Filipino diet. Our business lunch is something different as all food businesses in the area offer the buffet spread,” the Sardinian-born and -raised chef says.

Paparazzi also played host to the Rosemont Wine Dinner where the vintner company, represented by wine ambassador Henry Dawson-Damer, presented to its guests chosen samples of different wine varieties from the company’s six labels. For aperitif, the Semillion Chardonnay 2006, a citrus-tasting white wine variety from its Diamond Cellars label, was proffered throughout the cocktail hour.

The six-course meal started with carpaccio di tonno con insalatina di rucola e agrumi or tuna carpaccio with rocket salad in citrus dressing with crunchy bits of pomelo and oranges. The antipasti was paired with Reisling 2006, a white wine with firm acidity from the Diamond Label, touted as “the beating heart of Rosemont.” Stylish and sophisticated, this variety displays fruit-forward, easy-drinking sensibilities, which make the wine delicious from first sip to the final delectable drop. Continuing the appetizer parade was selezione di salumi italiani, a selection of Italian cold cuts, paired with the Cabernet Merlot 2006, a red wine variety from the Diamond Cellars label. This collection is an accessible interpretation of the Rosemont style and an uncomplicated offering created to delight the palate every day of the week. The hollow mouth feel comes from 60 percent Cabernet with 40 percent Merlot to soften the mix. The combination gives an even mouth feel with hints of oak.

Next came the pasta dish, ravioli di agnello con salsa al rosmarino, or lamb ravioli with rosemary sauce and fresh sprigs of rosemary. The noodle dish came with the Merlot 2006, a medium-bodied red wine variety from the Diamond Label that’s was very pleasurable in the mouth.

Our taste buds actually tells us how a particular wine tastes like. You’ll feel the sweetness at the tip of your tongue, sour notes on the sides and salty and dry notes in the middle part.

After cleansing our palates with home-made sorbet, the main course was served: tagliata di manzo con spinaci saltati, patate croccanti e salsa al vino rosso or beef tagliata with sauteed spinach and crunchy potatoes in red wine. The meat dish paired well with the Shiraz 2005, a red wine from the Diamond Label, and the Rosemont GSM (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre) 2003, a premium red wine, blended from three grape varieties, under its flagship and upscale estate labels. The latter variety was given 94 points by the Wine Spectator magazine and is one of the top 100 wines in their world list.

The gustatory onslaught was perfectly capped with the all-Italian torte, tortino al ciocolato con salsa di fragole fresche.

Since the mid 1970s, Rosemont has established itself as one of Australia’s leading wineries producing wines that reflect the riches of the continent’s terrain and climate. From its original base in the Upper Hunter Valley, it has extended its vineyard interest to a range of viticultural regions. The company has always been a prolific award winner, in Australia and around the world, and the launch of their new diamond-footed bottles heralded an exciting new development for the brand.

“Climate does intensity to the fruit flavor in wines. Rainfall affects the grape’s berry because its roots pick up water that make the fruit bigger thereby diluting the flavor. Drought, on the other hand, shrinks the berries but gives off more flavor but the quantity is lesser. Our Diamond Labels are best drank young, between two to five years from bottling while our estate wines mellows with age and can be enjoyed for as long as 15 to 20 years,” revealed wine ambassador Henry Dawson-Damer during a chat over dinner.

For reservations at and/or inquiries about Paparazzi, call the hotel trunkline at 633-8888 and request to be connected to the Italian restaurant. For more wine information, get in touch with trade marketing manager Eliza Real of Future Trade International, the Philippine distribution company, through their Web site www.rosemountestate.com or the company’s brand ambassador through tel. no. (61)(2) 9217-1390, fax (61)(2) 9212-7412, mobile no. 0417-045815 and/or e-mail henry.dawson-damer@fostergroup.com.