Italian Bites - YOU! Magazine, The News International

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Italian Bites

By Waqas Hassan Sharif

DATED:[4th -November-2008]

Let’s start with Italy which is known for its rich culture and love and passion for cooking. Cuisine is definitely a very important aspect of Italian culture. Italian food is highly famed; greatly loved and tirelessly imitated the world over; it has been a source of pleasure and joie-de-vivre in countries far and wide. The exposure that has come with television and the internet has led to a raise in the awareness about Italian cuisine. Whereas previously people were restricted to thinking Italian cuisine was just about pizza and spaghetti, today you have all the opportunity in the world to get your hands on loads of Italian delicacies specially in the shape of food festivals.

Recently, PC, Karachi, organised an Italian Food Festival at Marco Polo in a bid to give Karachiites a taste of authentic Italian food. Mr. Junaid Ashraf, the General Manager of the hotel, at the inauguration ceremony briefed the guests about the specifications of the 3-day festival. "Our chefs have specially prepared Italian dishes that will add colour and excitement to your dinner," claimed Mr. Junaid. Whereas hotel’s Executive Chef Mr. Mohammed Iqbal gave a detailed brief about the food and ingredients used to make these delicious cuisines.

It was a delightful sight to see people relishing good food in a friendly atmosphere. Italian cooking is exceptionally varied, nutritious and healthy. As most dishes are cooked in olive oil weight conscious people were enjoying the delectable cuisine without worrying about the extra calories.

There was an array of Italian dainties to choose from whether it’s pasta, ravioli, fettucini or pizza. The appetisers were mouth watering and the soups were just right. The typical Italian bread gave an extra tang to the taste buds. We simply loved the salads which consisted of fresh tomatoes and olives, vegetable salsa, panzanella salad with tuna etc. For our main course menu we opted for Italian lasagne, pizza and pasta. The pizza with its thin crest gave a crispy flavour. We also tasted baked potatoes which were simply divine.

Italian desserts are perfect to end a meal, as they are neither heavy nor filling. These delights range in flavour from faintly bitter to sweet. Tuscan Meringue is one of the most popular Italian desserts. Some of the other popular scrumptious sweet dishes include Tiramisu with whipped cream chocolates and hazelnuts. We really enjoyed the scrumptious desserts decorated tastefully at one corner.

All in all it was a real treat for us to savour Italian food in a cool ambiance.