For those unaware, this is a buzzed about high end Italian/Japanese fusion restaurant that recently opened in Little Italy. I have yet to try the tasting menu here, but they have a separate a la carte menu that seems to be more Izakaya inspired that not a lot of people partake in.
I decided to just walk in and try a few items as a result.
Karaage papacelle – Essentially a stuffed chicken wing dish again (i.e. tebasaki gyoza), but deep fried Karaage style, placed on a bed of mascarpone sauce. This one is stuffed with potatoes. Seems to be one of their signature dishes, and is also on the tasting menu. I liked this a lot (much better than the other place I posted about previously 💀). Everything else I ordered was not on the tasting menu.
Gyoza alla Genovese – Gyoza stuffed with veal and cabbage. The texture of the filling is more akin to a stewed meat that you would place on top of pappardelle. I would prefer a more bouncy texture, but this isn't bad.
Takoyaky – Intentionally spelled that way because there's no octopus. Three flavours here: crab tomalley (i.e. Kani miso), burrata and kimchi, and chicken Cacciatore. Since it's a small amount of filling similar to real takoyaky, I would say the flavours were fairly muted aside from the crab tomalley.
Cavatelli with crab ragu, lardo, and rosemary – This tasted decadent without feeling heavy at all. Loved it.
I need to figure out some time to try the tasting menu, but it's nice to know I can just drop by the bar and grab some of these dishes whenever it's not busy.
by FNMLeo
Dining and Cooking