Va Bene Pasta Deli

I love my fresh pasta!  It’s one of the things I loved about Bistro Ravioli and it’s one of the things that excited me about coming to Va Bene.  A reunion with my college buddies was a great excuse to brave the Makati traffic¹.

First of all, they have a shitty location.  It’s located inside a gas station that charges for parking².  Go figure.  But you can get your ticket validated, so all is good.  Second, the gas station is right along EDSA.  So you can probably imagine how it’s like during rush hour.

But the food wasn’t bad at all.  To start with, they give you complimentary bread with this salsa/tomato mix that’s actually not bad.  You can ask for refills.

My friend got the Portobello Mushroom Soup with porcini dust and truffle oil.  Didn’t taste this, but from what I gather, it was a bit oily and diluted.  For 300 bucks, I’d say give this a pass.

We felt like loading up on carbs a bit and the day ended up with a galore of pasta dishes.  Like I said, they serve fresh pastas³ and some of them are pretty unique.

First was the Potato Gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce, arugula, and wild nuts.  I usually don’t see gnocchi on the menu so it was an interesting choice.  Was OK, but a bit bland for my taste.  I’ve had gnocchi only once before in Rome and this was not even remotely close.

I’m not a big fan of white sauces, but apparently my friends are.  The Organic Eggs Tagliolini is served with Portobello mushrooms, white wine cream sauce, and truffle oil.  The truffle oil should really elevate the dish a bit but that’s cheating.  It’s the closest thing we will get to truffles here in Manila.  The truffle snobs like Bourdain and the French will probably snot at us and say truffle oil is shit.  Can’t disagree.  But we don’t exactly get our truffles for free, don’t we?  Bastard.

The Parpadelle looked really good.  I mean, how can braised lamb shank, black olives, sundried tomatoes, and pecorino cheese be a bad thing?  Apparently, it was just OK.  A bit pricey for something without the Wow Factor, apparently.

I chose the Black Ink Tagliolini, which I will probably go back for.  Instead of the usual black ink sauce that tops a pasta dish, they chose to bake the pasta with the black ink.  Why does this matter?  Because you don’t get the black stain on your teeth (or all over your shirt).  It’s a seafood explosion with mussels, fish, and squid rings topped with a light tomato cream sauce.

I got the House Iced Tea, which was pretty light, pretty good, but pretty expensive.

Overall, I liked the food.  Fresh and a bit unique, but ultimately nothing mindblowing.  The ambiance leaves a little to be desired and it can get a bit pricey for something that’s not extraordinary.  Will I be back?  Maybe during another reunion.  Then again, there are places that are much better.

Va Bene Pasta Deli 2011-06-03

love my fresh pasta!  It’s one of the things I loved about Bistro Ravioli and it’s one of the things that excited me about coming to Va Bene.  A reunion with my college buddies was a great excuse to brave the Makati traffic. First of all, they have a shitty location.  It’s located inside a …