Dinner at La Nuova Pasteleria

La Nuova has been open since 1978 but it was my first time to eat there a few weeks ago. I don’t know how this restaurant escaped my radar all these years. Maybe all my friends assumed I’ve already eaten there. In Manila, it’s always the new restaurants that people frequent. For a restaurant in Manila to exist for 10 years or more is nothing short of a miracle. With that in mind I had high expectations.

I went to La Nuova w/ my HS eating buddies. Deb did all the ordering since she’s the expert on La Nuova.

The dining area was really small.

Inspite of the small space they have a wide array of Italian cold cuts and cheeses for sale.

They also had several cakes to choose from.

flatbread bread w/ pate and tomato dip

I love olive oil based pasta the best and Deb did a good job of ordering for all of us. I’m very hard to please when it comes to pasta since I cook it a lot. Often restaurants serve soft, soggy pasta or bland and ordinary sauces. La Nuova’s pastas were all al dente and well seasoned. My only comment was the servings were quite small for the price they were charging.

The Italian sausages in this pasta were the best I’ve ever eaten anywhere. They were firm and had just the right amount of fennel. I wonder if they sell Italian sausages in the deli display?

Agli Olio Con Salsicce P459
Capellini with garlic, sundried tomato, Italian sausage, chili flakes in olive oil

The tartufo pasta was my favorite. The truffle cream just barely coated the pasta, not drowning it. The scent of truffles was very evident in this dish. I’ll definitely order this when I go back to La Nuova.

The first time I tried pasta with truffle sauce I didn’t like it. I thought it smelled and tasted like dirt. It seems my palate has matured since I now love anything truffle scented. I’m pretty sure all the truffle pasta I’ve eaten around Manila simply use a little truffle oil. I hope I will be able to try real truffle shavings soon.

Tagliatelle with white truffle cream, porcini mushroom top with Parma ham P575

I didn’t get to try the next two pasta dishes since I was already happy eating my share of the Salsicce and Tartufo pasta.

Vongole Al Vino Bianco P459.00
Spaghetti with baby clams, olive oil and white wine sauce

Agli Olio Con Gamberi P459.00
Capellini with garlic, sun dried tomato, shrimps, chili flakes in olive oil

I liked the thin and crunchy crusts of their pizzas. The Italian sausage did it’s magic again on this pizza. I didn’t even miss my favorite pepperoni or mushroom.

maremmana rustica – onions, Italian sausage P407

I’m not much of a veggie eater but I loved, loved this pizza. The flavors were mild but when you bite into a piece of chorizo the flavor explodes and is tamed by the soft spinach and mozarella cheese. It was truly a wonderful combination.

pizza due gusti – chorizo, spinach and mushroom P444

We wanted to eat a light meal so 10 of us shared 4 pasta dishes and 2 pizzas. Add a couple of sodas to that and the average check per person came to P450. The food was excellent but very pricey. I guess it’s because they can only serve very few people in their restaurant and they had to make up for their overhead. I would go back in a heartbeat though.

La Nuova Pasteleria Menu (I missed a couple of pages)
appetizers, side dishes & soup, main course, pasta, rice,
Italian sandwiches, dessert and beverages

Pasteleria La Nuova
San Antonio Plaza,
Forbes Park, Makati
telephone: 817-8568 / 867-2370