Christine Tjia

Found this restaurant over an ad in the newspaper.

Usually, this didn't attract me so much but their gastronomic tour of Italian cuisine (May 08 - Oct 08) from regions such as Campania, Lazio, Liguria, Emilia Romagna and Umbria is so irresistable.

First all of all, once I stepped into Marina Mandarin, their customer services is thumbs up! Very friendly, very helpful.

Even though the interior design is not exactly the most sophisticated or elegant in town but I like the fact that its restaurants and lounges are located in the middle of the hotel where it's visible even from the high floors (because the centre of the building is hollow).

You can easily stand on the 4th floor and looked down at the musicians with the soothing music lingering in the air. I luv the ambiance and what I luv most is that the lounge is at the open air, inside the building, with no smoke and relatively less crowd. Definitely a good place to catch up and hang out.

Talented Chef Patron Carlo Marengoni presents a signature Italian favourites, made with that special homespun goodness.

Home to the capital city Rome, Lazio's famous culinary fare is prepared without elaborate trimmings and costly ingredients.

The appetiser that we had was divine. It's simply toasted bread with melted mozzarella cheese and anchovy sauce at the center. Sounds simple and yet, taste so rich.

For main course, I had Bucatini all Amatriciana pasta with bacon, onions and fresh tomato sauce, which is known as Lazio specialties. This is the first time I had pasta itself out wins the sauce. The pasta is so fresh and is so "bouncy". Even Bukudu, who didn't fancy pasta kept stealing it.

Oh, just to add it even more interesting, did I mention that this Italian gastronomic tour provides you a passport which gives you a stamp whenever you dine from each region?
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Doesn't that just add more reality to my manifestation for my Italy trip? =)

By the end of the dinner, I had decided to frequent this place. Nice ambiance, excellent services at a surprisingly reasonable price.

Cant wait for the next destination - Liguria 25th - 30th August 2008.