New Level

You know, I love food and all, but I've never really thought that I could ever have had the chance to taste truly authentic Italian cuisine in a restaurant which is participating in the Gourmet Festival 2008 *hyperventilate*.

And to have my meal being prepared by a world-renowned chef, Chef Daniel Evangelista, sparked me off in ways that I couldn't even expect *further hyperventilate*.

The very thought of "world class dining experience" (as suggested in the festival's website)! The thrill! The excitement! The obsession!!

I just had the most fabulous lunch in Villa Danieli@Imperial the other day.

And I really couldn't use any other words except Bravo!

Why not let the pictures do the talking, because apparently my mind goes electrifyingly blank every time as I refresh my memory of the fine dining experience XD.

Villa Danieli.

The main entrance to the restaurant.

I *HEART* this shot a lot. I never knew that my
2.0MP lousy phone camera could do such a good job XD.

The view I got when I tried to look to my left.
Breathtaking.

I must add, this is a really good place for couples.

The sub-entrance.

Italian bread with sun-dried tomatoes and other magic within.
The inside was chewy and tasted slightly like garlic bread
and the outside was surprisingly crunchy and warm.

NO, that's absolutely NOT coffee!!
It's thick mushroom soup.
OMG the mushroom soup was excellent,
full of bits and pieces of mushrooms
and the aroma was amazingly rich.

Pizza Fra Diavolo
Pizza with sliced beef, rocket salad and sliced tomatoes
The salad reminds me of the arugula salad
I had in TGI Fridays the other day.
The flavour of this pizza was really unique cuz you don't often find
fresh uncooked ingredients (the salad and the tomato slices)
on top of a crunchy slice of pizza.
I totally adore the thinness of the beef slices XD.

Pizza Mediterranean
As the name suggested, the picture presents assorted seafood pizza.
Thin-crust with oozing cheese and flavourful seafood,
this is more common as compared to the
Pizza Fra Diavolo we had earlier. But it's still great ^^.

Risotto ai frutti di mare
Classic Italian rice with assorted seafood
My pick for lunch.
This is the first (and also probably the best) risotto I've ever had.
Finally my wish was fulfilled: I've been wondering how risotto
tastes like ever since I knew of its existence from TV.
Btw, sorry for the bad presentation, I just had to taste it
before I snap a picture of it. It's that good. XD

Last but not least,
Fettuccine con gamberi, calamari e pomodorini secchi
Homemade fettucine with prawns, calamari
and sun-dried tomato
I'm not exactly a big fan of fettuccine,
since I'm more of a die hard fan for lasagna and spaghetti,
but I'll definitely make an exception for this particular fettuccine
cuz every bite was as tasty as the previous one, seriously.

Besides, it seems like Italians love tomatoes a lot. Not that I mind though ^_^.

And towards the end of our meal we actually met Chef Daniel Evangelista in person!! He came by to ask my dad how was the meal and all, but that time I didn't realize his identity and try to act as nonchalant as possible XD.

I will cherish my first formal epicurean experience in my mind forever. XDXDXD~~

P.S. Perhaps food critic's my true job? xD

Yvonne..