La Vita Ristorante Italiano is on soft opening at the third floor of the Podium Mall and they were already packed for weekday lunch!
J and I went for a meal at La Vita before watching Joker and the meal was fantastic! Pricey, but worth it. I understand why the lunch crowd, mostly from nearby ADB, is there. This was my second visit so I already know which dishes I want.
La Vita is helmed by the friendly Chef Maurizio Gibillini. Chef Mau has developed a following from his previous restaurant, Pagliacci, which was on the fifth floor of the old Podium Mall (pre-renovation). It was the one with the gelato in front.
Chef Mau is from Italy but has made Manila home. He’s quite open and readily talks about his life here, and of course, we also talked about Italian food. Many “Italian” restaurants here in Manila don’t really serve authentic Italian cuisine – instead, they serve what he calls “Italpino“.
No worries about that at La Vita, because Chef Mau serves the real deal. One bite, and you know. There is emphasis on the quality and the freshness of the ingredients, and simple preparation.
THE FOOD
What’s good? Hahaha. Everything!
But seriously, I have two dishes tying as my favorites. One is the Pappardelle alla Crema di Tartufo (P440). This is a flat pasta in truffle cream sauce. The pappardelle is fresh – you can tell from the pasta’s texture. The bite is very different from commercial pasta. This pappardelle also twirls well, and gets a lot of the truffle sauce to cling to it, resulting in a very delicious, saucy, flavorful mouthful of pasta. Who is happy afterwards when my burps taste like truffle pasta? Me 🙂 Truffle burps are real. Google it!
The other dish I love is the Risotto Profumo Di Legna (P460). This is a richly umami, creamy risotto that is salty, smoky and earthy. The chewy, roundish rice is perfectly cooked with no raw center, and not a bit mushy at all. You might assume that this risotto has some bacon, but no. The creamy smoky saltiness comes from smoked scamorza and parmigiano cheeses. Unforgettable!
Here is a pizza you don’t see every day – Pizza con Burrata Fresca (P540.00).
We were so fortunate that Chef Mau cut the burrata for us:
The pizza crust is fresh and chewy and all, but the thing that really sells this pizza is the burrata. This is the blob of white cheese in the center. When cut open, the cream oozes out 
the salty cream goes very well with the nutty and peppery arugula.
The burrata is made by one of Chef Mau’s friends. He told us that his friend started making burrata two years ago and has already perfected it.
I just noticed that all the food we ordered were creamy 
Can’t be helped, those were the dishes that impressed me during the taste test (earlier visit) and that I wanted more of.
There is another dish I enjoyed – it’s the cheese and sausage platter that is priced at P750. I wasn’t able to take a photo of it but the cheeses and cold cuts were good quality. I was grazing on this platter and I really liked the cheeses, and that spicy flower-shaped salami thing (I wasn’t able to get what it was called).
For dessert, the Mousse di Cioccollato (P280.00) is unlike any other chocolate mousse. The chocolate is intense, but not dark nor bitter. Mix the mint into the mousse, it’s divine 🙂
I wasn’t able to try the meat dishes but there’s always next time 🙂
SUMMARY
The food is authentic – a real Italian chef is in charge. The decor, the food, the service – everything is up to his high standards. You can be sure the food will always be real Italian, and never “Italpino”.
Chef Mau is always there at La Vita, say hi when you see him 🙂 I was surprised he really knows what’s happening in his kitchen. When he came out to talk to us, he asked if we had already ordered, and I said yes. And then he said “Oh, you’re the one who ordered the Crema di Tartufo and the Burrata…”. Call me impressed.
A little pricey, yes, but typical of a place like this. However, the food is really, really good that you won’t begrudge them their pricing.
La Vita Ristorante Italiano
3rd Level, The Podium Mall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
For reservations, call (02) 285 1486
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lavitaphilippines/
