Savoured lots of delicious Italian food on my last travel trip and now its time to share it with everyone!
ROME FOODIE
1) Restaurant Adhoc
After hearing lots of raves about this restaurant on tripadvisor, I decided to make a reservation for my family on our first night in Rome. The restaurant is pretty small and most tables were occupied by 7pm on a Friday night.
We were all served an appetizer and bread sticks as starters. Yes the bread sticks were huge! White wine was also served as a welcome drink.
There were many different types of wines to pair your food with.
We shared a bottle and were given two free bottles as take home gifts!
The four different main courses we ordered.
Though the portions look small, the food was actually rather filling.
I struggled to finish my rivoli (top right pic) as the sauce was quite thick and creamy.
Guess my Asian taste buds were not too used to the thickness.
This restaurant is about a 10 minutes walk from the Spanish steps and near to the river. If you are looking for somewhere romantic to bring your other half, this restaurant provides the ambience for it. There are even couple booths with a curtain attached! The food was so-so but they did score brownie points for the excellent service provided. My mum accidentally spilled water over my sister but the waitresses were quick in helping to get my sis' pants cleaned.
Restaurant Ad Hoc
Via Ripetta 43, 00186 Rome, Italy
2) Elettra
This restaurant is situated near the Termini station and but slightly hidden amongst the street of restaurants. Decided to drop by this restaurant as my hotel was near and there were quite a lot of raves on tripadvisor. (Yes, must eat good food when you've travelled all the way here! No time and money to waste on lousy quality food. hee.)
I had the sea bass (top left pic) as my main and it was fresh and tasty! It did not have the stale or mushy taste which a rotten fish usually has. We shared the grilled vegetables (top middle pic) and that was a good choice too. The vegetables were grilled to perfection and they were BIG for Asian standards.
Desserts consisted of a cheesecake and a tiramisu (last two pics). They were both delicious!!
Elettra
Via Principe Amedeo, 74, 00185 Rome, Italy
FLORENCE FOODIE
1) Terra Terra
Starters (From left): Bread, Parma ham with melon, garden salad and onion soup
The Parma ham paired very well with the melon and its a dish I would try again. However, the bread in the onion soup just tasted weird. I was looking forward to clear watery onion soup but the layer of cheese and bread added in spoilt everything.
Our 4 different mains. The mains were definitely much more impressive than our starters. I would recommend the meat dishes as they were grilled really well.
Left: Shop entrance
Right: Caramel Pudding
Overall, this restaurant is so-so. Not the best I tasted in Florence but pass-able.
If you tell them your hotel recommended them BEFORE you order they will give you a discount. We told them after and unfortunately, they said we had to tell them before we ordered :(
Terra Terra
Via delle Oche 21/r, Florence, Italy
2) Osteria Zio Gigi
Had lunch at this family restaurant. The atmosphere was very vibrant as we could hear the chefs singing from the kitchen. Guess they are one happy bubbly family :)
What stood out was the speed at which we were being served. This restaurant was definitely one of the fastest in terms of service. So if you are rushing to go to another place, this restaurant is worth dropping by for a quick meal. For the lunch menu, they were serving mainly pasta dishes. The pastas were huge in portions and taste wise, my meat pasta was delish!
Zio Gigi
Via Folco Portinari, 7-r, 50122 Florence, Italy
Some extra tips if you are eating in Rome/Florence
- Be prepared to wait a very long time for your bill to come. If you can't wait, go to to cashier yourself. It is much faster!
- Be prepared for extra charges other than your service charge. Always remember to go through your bill and ask if in doubt!
- You will be charged for water.
Enjoy your eating adventures!
And drop me an email about ur escapades :)