Bravo Italiana still a long way to go

After reading about Bravo Italiana from Penangtuapui.com, I, being a big fan of Italian food, was looking forward to visit the restaurant some time soon. The opportunity presented itself when the kind Penangtuapui was giving away 20% discount vouchers to its readers who want to visit Bravo Italiana.

Therefore, Saucer and I went to the restaurant one fine Saturday for dinner. It was about 7.30pm when we reached, and only 2 other tables were occupied. When I first entered the restaurant, I was captivated by the amount of paintings lining up the walls of the place. There were also plenty of cute and one-of-a-kind ornaments decorating the place, exuding a certain warm Italian charm about it.

Interior of Bravo Italiana

Our first order arrived, which was the garlic bread (RM4).

Garlic bread

Now, I have said it before that the garlic bread pretty much represents how good an Italian restaurant is, because it’s the fundamental appetizer that cannot go wrong. Unfortunately, the garlic bread in Bravo Italiano was really not my cup of tea. For starters, it was rather bland. Sure there were sprinkles of garlic on the bread, but perhaps there wasn’t enough butter? It was just a torture to eat it after my first piece. Besides, I was appalled when I asked the waitress for olive oil and vinegar to go with the bread, to be was given traditional vinegar instead of the balsamic vinegar that should be expected.

I was expecting this:

Olive oil & balsamic vinegar

But was given this:

Traditional vinegar & olive oil

And that was after she gave me a blank look when I requested for it, like she had no idea what I was asking. Of course, to avoid embarrassment to the waitress, I just let it slide. This was probably the only time I ever condemned garlic bread. Just makes me miss the one in Bella Italia SO much.

Next up, our main course arrived. I ordered the Spaghetti Al Capitano (RM29.80), which was very similar to spaghetti marinara. The first impression, I must say, was pretty good. The presentation was attractive, especially the big pieces of mussels, scallops and prawns surrounding the plate.

Spaghetti al Capitano

I quickly dug in and found the prawns to be pretty succulent and fresh. There were also calamari rings and salmon fillets hidden beneath the pasta, definitely not skimping on the seafood here. However, aside from the pasta, prawns and calamari rings, I really have no other praises for this dish. The mussels, albeit large, were absolutely fishy! I put the whole big piece into my mouth and after a few chews, I was reliving my nightmare of the fishy oysters at Manhattan Fish Market. I have tasted mussels before and they were certainly never this fishy! I simply couldn’t stand it, and gave the rest to Saucer.

Can you spot the scallop roe?

The scallops definitely looked big and tempting, but don’t let the size betray you. Almost half of the scallop was actually scallop roe. Yes, the scallops here came with roe, which, to me was not a good idea. The roe was so extremely fishy, to the point of inedible (by my standards). Also, I even read from forums that scallop roe is highly perishable and is not supposed to be served! *gasp* At this point, both Saucer and I thought there was really something fishy with this pasta! The mussels and scallops were not very fresh! I’m sorry to say that the same went with the salmon fillets. Goodness, we could SMELL the fishy stench before even eating them. So you could imagine how much more fishy the salmon was inside our mouths. Seriously, I have a strong feeling that their seafood used (aside from shrimps) was not exactly fresh.

How scallop roe looks like

Our second main course was the Hawaiian pizza (RM28), which was by far the most expensive Hawaiian pizza that I’ve ever ordered. Honestly, it’s just chicken sausages and pineapples. I really don’t see why it’s priced almost the same with the Spaghetti Al Capitano that had so much more seafood in it.

Hawaiian pizza

Anyway, that aside, the amount of cheese used was definitely generous. Nevertheless, it’s sad to say that this pizza was too sour and a little bland. After just one bite, I could taste the chicken sausages, which, by the way, seemed to me like they came from the packet of frozen sausages I had bought from Jusco supermarket earlier today. Also, the pineapples used were too sour. At one point, both Saucer and I were picking out the pineapples because they were just too sour to savour. The base of the pizza was also sour from the tomato paste, and the pizza crust was tasteless. Basically, the pizza was just – sour, without much of other taste. Rather disappointing, especially for the price they charge too. Domino’s Aloha Chicken fared much much better than this, sad to say.

Even though Penangtuapui.com had good reviews for this restaurant (and I had high expectations for it), I’m afraid that it really failed to tickle my senses. The worst thing was that after that meal, Saucer was hit with a bout of diarrhea the next morning. :( Poor poor guy. I have a good mind that it must have something to do with either the mussels or the scallop roe. *sigh* I guess it was just not our lucky night. It is safe to say that Bravo Italiana still has a long way to go in my books, and I’m not looking to go back there again anytime soon.

Bravo Italiana
01-01-11, Complex I-Avenue,
Medan Kampung Relau 1,
11900 Bayan Lepas,
Penang.
Tel no: 04-641 0499