How about Italian food? Not just any Italian food- the best I’ve had in Manila.

Time for full disclosure first: this restaurant is run by my stepdad. He’s Italian American and has been a restaurateur all his life. He knows food, good food. Food like this:

That, gentle reader, is Beef Carpaccio. The dish is made up of thin slivers of raw beef tenderloin, generous shavings of Parmigiano, fresh arugula, capers and a lemony vinaigrette whose memory has my mouth watering as I type this. It is swoon-worthy perfection on a plate, a dish they’ve simply gotten right. And in the five or six times I’ve been there, they’ve gotten it right every time (yes, I order it every time).

The restaurant is Casa Nostra, opened last June in Makati. They serve lunch, but the truth is that it’s absolutely lovely as a dinner destination: slightly out of the way on a quiet corner of Pasong Tamo Extension. The perfect place to have a love affair with food.

Speaking of which:

Behold the Linguine alla Vongole, a dish I’m too often disappointed by. Casa Nostra’s version is excellent. The clams are juicy, the noodles packed with flavor. With every bite, I think this is what Italian food is about – fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and portions that would make an Italian Mamma proud.

Casa Nostra is located on the ground floor of the Ecoplaza Building on Pasong Tamo Extension.

Website: CasaNostra-restaurant.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CasaNostraRestaurant

The space is small (they have a second floor, but we haven’t seen it yet), so we’ve only taken food home so far- but oh, the food! Their Lamb and Chicken shawarmas are some of the best I’ve ever had (and I’m a shawarma lover), their Roti Chanai is sweet and chewy and delicious, their Dahl is a winner, and their Pappadums are worth every cent of the P25 they cost.

Prince of Jaipur is at Fastbytes in Northgate, Alabang. To get there, make your way towards Bellevue Hotel, then towards the McDonald’s there. Fastbytes is right across. Their telephone number is 728-9458 or 728-9459.

This is their Spaghetti Pomodoro, definitely their best dish, which my mom was fortunate to have ordered. As you can see, the portion is pretty generous for it’s price (P90!) and it tastes good. If you like Pomodoro, I urge you to give theirs a try.

At the other, unfortunate side of the spectrum was their Spaghetti with Meatballs, pictured above. The meatballs were bad- and by bad I mean they didn’t just taste awful, they were off. Rotten meat. Oh yeah.

As soon as I reported it (it was my order, of course), they whisked the plate away and offered me the menu to choose something new, no questions asked. I was happy about that- it almost made up for the disgusting taste of rotten meat in my mouth. Almost.

And finally, hovering somewhere in the middle was my husband’s order, the Spaghetti Carbonara. It was just okay. Nothing to write home about, but not awful in any way. Just… all right.

The Good: As I mentioned, the prices here are good. The service was friendly, and our orders arrived quickly (then again, it was merienda time).

The Bad: Rotten meatballs.

In general, I try to avoid eating much during the day if I know I’ll be going out to a big dinner someplace special, especially if it’s the kind of place where I’ll likely order the tasting menu and be eating for four hours.

As always, there are great tips in the comments section of the post as well.