Bellini’s Italian Restaurant
Last April 14, my mother dear celebrated her Nth birthday. Won’t announce her exact age in public or else, she might give me “the look”. Hahaha! I struggled for how many weeks, thinking over and over on what kind of gift to give her. For a daughter who wants to give back all the love to her mom, I wanted to give nothing but the Best. It took me more than 3 weeks to finally come up with an idea… to “cook” for her. If you really know me, you know that it’s not natural for me to cook for anyone. When I cook, it will be for someone special. To cut to the chase, I made her birthday special by preparing everything from scratch. I made the house look like a restaurant with the food, set-up, etc.
On the other hand, that is not what I’ll be sharing with you guys because I’m shy to show my dishes. Well if you’re my twitter follower, you probably saw some snapshots. Hehe! Instead, I would like to share with you one of her celebrations with our close family friends at Bellini’s.
More than 10 years ago, Bellini’s in Cubao Expo was established. It is a pioneer business in the area, a continuous success throughout the years in the restaurant business because of their remarkable and authentic Italian dishes. Knowing my mom’s taste, it’s a fact that she will never get tired of eating Italian dishes like pizza and pasta. To give her stomach enough satisfaction, I chose Bellini’s for her occasion.
Focaccia with dip (Php 100) - First, I thought it was complimentary. But when I saw the bill, oops it’s not. :-| I would rather get this as a free appetizer like in other Italian restaurants around the metro. Besides, the taste of their focaccia bread and dip - olive oil, black vinegar with cheese - is not that superb for me.
Quinticco Pasta (Php 1,550) - Pasta galore! 5 kinds of pasta in one plate made us want to try them all. Out of the 5 flavors, what stood out for me was their Fettucine Pesto Mare, the pasta on the right with white pesto sauce with mussels on top. I usually don’t order pastas with white sauce, although this one is an exception because of the pesto mixed that made the taste more delicious. Plus, fresh seafood used as mixture solved my pasta fix.
Aside from the 5 pasta dishes you see on the picture, you may ask the servers or chef of Bellini’s on what pasta choices they have for a plate of Quinticco Pasta.
From the name itself, you shouldn’t think twice whether you’ll get your sweet tooth on the move or not. Definitely it’s a haven for 
Fantsy Gloriole (Php 100) - As described by Maitre Chocolatier, one plate includes 6 pieces of astounding Frey Chocobloc Blanc and Noir chocolate coated with their special batter and fried until crispy. It may look dull to you but I’m telling you, looks can deceive. If you are a white chocolate fan, save it for the last. Get a piece of the dark chocolate first, before you put those fingers on the white chocolate snack. Trust me, you will adore their Frey Chocobloc Blanc. Oh so luscious! 
Sweet Revenge (Php 250) - Talk about presentation, this Lindt molten lava cake has it. Cold vanilla ice cream plus warm chocolate moist cake is the dessert combination that kills your diet. I know that summer time is all about getting that beach body. However, this cake might tempt you to forget about it. Just be careful if you’re on a diet. Ask someone to share with you ;) It’s also one of the sweetest temptations you can get in Maitre Chocolatier. 
Vongole (Php 235) - Since no bread given to us, first plate on the table was Vongole or in layman’s definition, it is an olive oil based pasta mixed with clams and white wine. I didn’t admire the pasta too much maybe because I prefer eating pasta with bread. Eating the pasta alone, without seafood, lacks flavor for me. Although mixing the pasta with a bite of shrimp/clams, flavors generated that made me love it. 
5-Cheese Pizza (Php 320) for the win! Chewy and oozing mozzarella muffling our taste buds gives me the right to rave about this restaurant from now on. Normally, I eat 1-2 slices of pizza because it bloats me to eat more than that. Amoroma’s pizza is insanely abnormal. It would make me jog for about an hour to burn what I ate, more than 2 slices of 
Citrus Grilled Shrimp Salad (Php 425.00) - Summer in my mouth! The citrus taste of this salad refreshed me. I enjoyed all of the salad toppings - grilled shrimps, arugula, peach slices, cherry tomato, pecan brittle and cranberries. Even the dressing was so refreshing, sweet and tangy peach lemon vinaigrette. 
Beef and Cheese Cannoli (Php 195.00) - The flaky crust with beef and oozing cheese filling didn’t seem to be an appetizer. One serving was rich with filling, heavy starter for me. If you are getting pizza, don’t get their cannoli anymore. We made a mistake. Hehe. 
Oyster Rockefeller (Php 550) - The first appetizer served, which attracted me with the oozing melted cheese on top. Grabbed my spoon and after tasting, this line went through my head, “Woah! this tastes so good and expensive!”. When I checked the menu and the price, well I was right. You may think it is overpriced but damn, the cheese and spinach inside would make you forget about the price. 
Holy Cow (Php 300) - Holy Cow? Where’s the cow? I mean the meat? The name of this dish confused me. This ultra thin crust pizza is composed of kesong puti, arugula and of course, mozarella cheese. I love that kesong puti flavor stood out. Go pinoy cheese! :)
Pepperoni Pizza (SGD 42.00) - One whole pizza with thick slices. One slice was equivalent to 2-3 slices already if you compare it to other pizza chains. The dough was very American, not that thick yet soft and juicy taste. Its dough made the pizza a hit. Cheese didn’t overpower the taste, which is a positive thing. I think if they made the pizza too cheesy, I wouldn’t appreciate the dough anymore. 
One of my sister’s weaknesses is this, Ice Cream. As soon as we reached Cold Layers, I automatically saw her eyes looking at the menu full of Ice Cream choices. I gave her the freedom to choose. After 10 minutes of deciding, she finally chose this, Let’s Split.
