Food, wine, and German beer: Risotto Night at Buona Vita
It’s always a fun night when good food and drinks are involved, and Risotto Night at Buona Vita was no exception.
Organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce Philippines, it was a chance for members of the Italian chamber in the country to get to know the community around Alabang. It was also a chance for them to mingle with people outside the chamber, what with almost 30 people attending the event.
The night, however, belonged more to the risotto than the Italian Chamber of Commerce. The event was graciously hosted by Buona Vita Ristorante Italiano, whose head chef is 100% Italian.
5 RISOTTOS, 1 PLATE. Clockwise from bottom left: Risotto al Funghi, Primavera con Porchetta, al Frutti di Mare, alla Monzese (Luganega e Borlotti), and con Salsicca Fresca. All were great, but the Primavera con Porchetta was the best for me.
Owned by German Thomas Moersheim, it’s possibly the best place in Alabang to get Italian food, but not the Italian food Filipinos are familiar with. Yes, they still serve pizza and pasta, but they’re more into the kind of Italian food you’d find at home – like risottos.
GREAT TALK WITH THESE CHAPS. That’s Thomas Moersheim on the left, holding a glass of high-quality German ale.
According to Thomas, the key to a good risotto lies in the rice you use and how it’s cooked. What it boils down to is using arboreal rice from Italy and going through all of the steps to cook risotto.
“You have to continuously stir your risotto while cooking it to get the starch out of the rice. That’s where the creaminess comes from,” he said.
FULL HOUSE. Buona Vita was packed last night! Here’s to more of the same in the coming months!
This won’t be the first themed night for Buona Vita, though. Look towards the following months as there might be more in store with Buona Vita and the Italian Chamber of Commerce Philippines.
Written by Andronico Del Rosario
