Ristorante Silvio @ Bellagio, Como, Italy

Cuisine: Italian

Map: Ristorante Silvio @ Bellagio, Como, Italy

Price: EUR33 per person (what we paid for)

Visited: 5 October 2014

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 8/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Bellagio is without doubt a very beautiful small town in the Province of Como. Being so famous does of course come with difficulty to spot non-tourist kind of restaurants. We were no exception and were in the search of good restaurant. At the time of our visit, I have to say we were lucky enough to discover this fabulous restaurant which is just a few kilometres from the centre of Bellagio. It is Ristorante Silvio which is a part of hotel Albergo Silvio.

Ristorante Silvio is located right by Lake Como on the West side of Bellagio and facing Tremezzo. The dining room is spacious with around 20 tables. There are also outdoor seats for al fresco dining on a good weather day too. In fact, windows in the dining can be lifted down which is splendid. At the time of our arrival, there were only a few tables around but the place was packed with local within 30 minutes. At this point, we were at least sure that we had been in the right restaurant.

Ristorante Silvio @ Bellagio, Como, Italy

moderate size dining room at the time of opening

It was crowded when we walked out

alfresco here at Ristorante Silvio should be fabulous too

nice view from the dining room

Ristorante Silvio is well-known for its fish dish and local cuisine. It is believed that fish are caught fresh daily here. Scanning through the menu, it is parted into 4 main sections as usual: starter, first course, second course, and dessert. Unsurprisingly, most of dishes are fish menu. Pricing was the surprise, it is kept in line with most of local restaurants and we would say that it is a good value accounting its location and quality. For wine list, it is ranged from table wine to the high end side. The list is not extensive but at its modest choice. for me, Corvo Bianco 2013 from Sicily did its job pretty nicely with fish dishes. The fruity aroma character with crispiness did the job rather well. This is a decent table wine definitely.

the menu

rather nice bread

Corvo Bianco Terre Siciliane IGT 2013

a nice corner with greet

For us, the first two dishes were Homemade Stuffed Ravioli with Savetta Fish and Butter (8/10) and Homemade Tagliolini with Fresh Lake Fish Ragout (8/10). The ravioli was excellent. Texture was great. I just love the word al dente really. It is a word that comes with deliciousness. The filling was smooth fish mousse. Cooked with butter, herbs, and topped with sage. Delicacy in local style, it is. For tagliolini with fish ragout, this was somewhat strange. I normally would see ragout of lamb or beef. But it was fish in such a case. Just by looking, you would not believe it was fish. Having tasted, I still hardly think it was fish. Hardly any trace of fishy scent. This is a fabulous ragout dish in Silvio style. A must try dish, I would say.

Homemade Stuffed Ravioli with Savetta Fish and Butter (EUR9)

Homemade Tagliolini with Fresh Lake Fish Ragout (EUR8.5)

For the main courses, the first one was Fried Pike with Onion Cream (6/10). An enjoyable fish dish with a little firm texture of pike pairing with savoury onion cream and lemon. I would not say this dish is as wow as those aforementioned pastas but still a good one to enjoy. The second one was Boneless Grilled Lavarello (7/10). Lavarello is a local lake fish. The texture was low in fattiness. Firm but not hard. Somewhat thin fillet. This was fresh and delicious. Simple grilled fish with lemon was sure enough and satisfy. For both dishes, there were potatoes and zucchini along side to accompany.

Well, we have to say that we really this restaurant. Nice view. Good food. Good wine. Not overly priced. What else should I demand more???????

Fried Pike with Onion Cream (EUR17)

Boneless Grilled Lavarello (EUR16)

Ristorante Silvio @ Bellagio, Como, Italy

12 Via Carcano
Bellagio
Como 22021
Italy

Open Hours: daily from 12:30pm for lunch and from 07:30pm for dinner

Tel: +39 031 95 03 22
Web: http://www.bellagiosilvio.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HotelRestaurantSilvio

Elvio Cogno Barolo Cascina Nuova 2010

Date of Tasting: 26 October 2014

Wine Type: Red

Grape Varieties: 100% Nebbiolo

Alcohol: 14.5%

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Appellation: DOCG

Expect to Pay: ~ EUR40

Web: http://www.elviocogno.com/
Chubby Appreciation: 91/100
Professional Rating: WA - 92/100, AG - 93/100, WS - 94/100, JS - 93/100, JR - 17/20, CT - 91/100

Appearance: bright garnet

Aroma: elevated red cherries with refreshing herbs, mushroom, and mild flowers

Palate: Medium bodied texture with some fine grained particles but silkily smooth. Sour and concentrated cherry as the primary taste. Cool mint and spiced notes. Long on the finish.

Another interesting Barolo from an interesting vintage of 2010. This is a production of elegance and pleasure. At this stage, the sour taste of cherry seems to dominate and there were some fine particles, though nose perfume is already awesome. Perhaps a few years in bottle to soften down and balancing would do it better. I had this with Chinese food and they seemed to play their roles nicely. Surely, meaty dishes and game should be awesome too. Looking forward to the next bottle (perhaps 2018). Cheers!!!!!

Sushi Cyu (鮨忠) and Carnival Japanese BBQ Restaurant @ All Seasons Place, Bangkok - ซูชิชู แอนด์ คาร์นิวัล @ ออลล์ซีซั่นส์เพลส กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Japanese (sushi / yakiniku)

Map: Sushi Cyu and Carnival Japanese BBQ Restaurant @ All Seasons Place, Bangkok - ซูชิชู แอนด์ คาร์นิวัล @ ออลล์ซีซั่นส์เพลส กรุงเทพฯ

Price: THB2,000 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)

Visited: 23 September2014

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Sushi is something that has been in the high popularity in Thailand for quite a period of time. Recently, the trend of sushi omakase, meaning "leave it to the chef for the choice of sushi", has increase its footmarks rapidly for examples Sushi Kanda at Thonglor, Yashin by Tenyuu at Thonglor, Fillets at Portico, and Sushi Ichi at Erawan. Most of them, indeed, come at very high price tag that would cost around THB5,000 per person. I am, personally, not a fan of such "low value for money" fancy thing, apart from when visiting Japan.

Nevertheless, a good friend of mine had visited Sushi Cyu at All Seasons Place and it reminded me to give it a visit and review. I kind of recall that I previously had tried it before but that was many years back and it was not that impressive. However, the story of this visit was different and it was delightful to be more precise. Of course, I made a reservation a few days in advance. When I arrived at the sushi counter, there were around 5 customers during the meal (10 seats counter). Staffs were nice and polite throughout the course and sushi chefs were taking care well of their customers. By the way, there are 2 parts for this restaurant: one is sushi and the other side is Japanese BBQ.

Sushi Cyu (鮨忠)

Sushi Cyu and Carnival @ All Seasons Place, Bangkok

Japanese atmosphere

season for shells

Sanma or Pacific Saury (秋刀魚)

At the time of visit, it was September and September is the season of Sanma. In addition, 2014 is the year Sushi Cyu celebrates its 10th anniversary and they had sanma promotion. It was, hence, just why not. We went straight for both nigiri and sashimi: Sanma (Pacific Saury) - 秋刀魚 (7/10). In short, they were fatty and sweet, and pair pretty lovely with ponzu sauce.

While I usually opt for sushi, with rice to fulfil my appetite, Deadly Bunny would normally chooses to have sashimi. Once again she did miss to go for Omakase Sashimi (7/10). It comprised of 10 different kinds and they were pretty good. A particular attention should be paid to uni or sea urchin for the course. It was creamy, sweet, and fresh: pleasant quality indeed. If uni is not something you dislike, I would see no reason for ones not to like it. I wish the quality would be like this when I next visit.

Sanma Sashimi (THB120)

sanma dipped into ponzu

sanma nigiri (THB120)

Omakase Sashimi (THB1,300)

uni sashimi

For Omakase Nigiri (THB1,580), I would say that this was a rather good one. Knife skill and selection of sushi choice were good. Rice was at enjoyable temperature and texture. Sour taste from mixture of vinegar was balance, I would describe. It was milder than many top sushi places in Japan but at noticeable on palate. Below are what were served for the course in sequence.

Hirame (Flounder) - 平目 (7/10) : Mild and light with additional dimension of chewiness

Hirame (Flounder) - 平目

Aji (Horse Mackerel) - アジ (8/10) : Fatty, tender, and sweet. I just love it.

Aji (Horse Mackerel) - アジ

Koban Aji (Pompano) - 小判鯵 (6/10) : I am sure it was pompano but not sure whether the Japanese name was right. Anyway, I had tried this once a while back and absolutely love it but not so sure where. This time, it was still lovely, medium fatty, and savoury. However, I could still get a bit of fishy scent though.

Koban Aji (Pompano) - 小判鯵

Ikura (salmon roe) - いくら (7/10) : Darker in colour than usual. Sweet with mild natural saltiness. Like it.

Ikura (salmon roe) - いくら

Toro (fatty tuna) - とろ (7/10) : Ok, this was some good toro but not excellent. Flavour from fatty layers did not explode quite well as expected.

Toro (fatty tuna) - とろ

Uni (Sea Urchin) - 海胆 (8/10) : Once again, so good and in line with sashimi one.

Uni (Sea Urchin) - 海胆

Akami (red fillet of tuna) - 赤身 (6/10) : Marinated in mirin + shoyu, I suppose. Good flavour with sweetness balancing saltiness. But texture was too soft.

Akami (red fillet of tuna) - 赤身

Negi-toro Temaki (fatty tuna hand-roll) - ねぎとろ手巻き (7/10) : Delicious minced toro with chopped spring onion. Classic hand-roll definitely.

Negi-toro Temaki (fatty tuna hand-roll) - ねぎとろ手巻き

Anago (Sea Eel) - 穴子 (6/10) - Served with salt and a touch of lemon juice. Good flavour of salt but a little over grilled to my liking: i.e. lack of tenderness.

Anago (Sea Eel) - 穴子

Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette) - 卵焼き (7/10) : Good creamy tamagoyaki. Nice sweet palate but not overly sweet. A very good one in Thailand. But don't expect to see the level of those famous joints in Japan.

In short, I do like it and will sure return.

Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette) - 卵焼き

miso soup with clam

Sushi Cyu and Carnival Japanese BBQ Restaurant @ All Seasons Place, Bangkok - ซูชิชู แอนด์ คาร์นิวัล @ ออลล์ซีซั่นส์เพลส กรุงเทพฯ
Fl. 3, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place
87 Wireless Road
Lumphini, Pathum Wan
Bangkok 10330

Thailand

Open Hours: daily for lunch 11:30am - 02:00pm and for dinner 06:00pm - 10:30pm (05:30pm - 10:00pm for weekends)

Tel: +66 (0) 2251 1995
Web: http://www.sushicyu.com/