New dishes at Italian restaurant Bella Vita Bistro feature some downright soulful plates, namely the slow-cooked pork head, house-made spaghetti with tuna, and off-menu sautéed cappelletti, a must-order dish.
Top 3 New Dishes at Bella Vita Bistro
First off, I know it doesn’t look as impressive as a tomahawk steak. And sure enough, according to chef, this slow-cooked pork head is a sorely under-appreciated dish — but it tastes absolutely fantastic! It has an amazing texture, smooth and velvety with just a little bit of crunch from the tenderized cartilage in some places. A bright parsley and anchovy sauce livens each bite, as does the finely shredded pickled carrots. I implore you to try this at least once.
Then, there’s the house-made spaghetti, more specifically, tonnarelli, a traditional pasta from Rome that is somewhat square-shaped, served with yellowfin tuna. The pasta is tossed with a bright and tart lemon sauce spiked with confit garlic. A generous portion of tuna is on the side, lightly seasoned to bring out that fresh, fatty fish flavors.
And my absolute favorite dish of the evening, the cappelletti, “little hat” stuffed pasta. This is a special off-menu dish of house-made cappelletti filled with finely ground pork and beef mix, sautéed in butter with 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano and finished with freshly grated Yunnan Black truffle.
The ravioli is super fluffy and juicy. And the amount (and quality) of parm and butter is damn near sinful. It elicits an instinctive “dio buono” at first bite. Tastes like Christmas in Italy. Highly recommended.
Interview with Andrea Botti & New Dishes
The executive chef behind these inspiring dishes is Andrea Botti, who traded the isles of the Maldives for Shanghai three years ago. He’s a native of Ferrara, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region in north Italy, and brings with him more than 15 years of experience in the realm of Italian cuisine.
A traditionalist driven by his proud Italian heritage, Andrea Botti talks about adapting to challenges and the balancing act of maintaining tradition and honoring Italian cuisine with market demands.
Read on for the interview with Andrea Botti and new dishes at Bella Vita Bistro.
How would you describe Italian food?
Andrea Botti: Italy is small, but its food is big. They say each church makes something different. Every little town in Italy has a church — so you can imagine how different food is from place to place.
I’m from Ferrara, and our bolognese is made with pork and chicken, sometimes rabbit and [game] fowl, cooked with milk and tomatoes. When people think bolognese, they think of a beef ragu. Then you have tiramisu. Where I’m from we don’t add alcohol. But they do in Napoli. Or pumpkin risotto [originated in Northern Italy], a sweet and savory combination, but isn’t popular here yet [in Shanghai].
What’s it like cooking at an Italian restaurant in Shanghai?
Andrea Botti: If you go to a mid-priced Italian restaurant in Shanghai, meat and seafood is king. And if you want to open a restaurant, you must have the main dishes that people like, for example, smoked salmon at an Italian restaurant [laughs]. We [Italians] eat baccala, but it’s not popular here, so I changed it to black cod.
Historically, Italian food is made with cheap ingredients. Italy is very small, and cities and villages are smaller. In my area we use only local ingredients, vegetables from farmers, meat from butchers. It’s cheaper and incentives the local markets.
When you take that idea and you do it in a place like Shanghai…. you must import key ingredients and the best ingredients. But this isn’t easy because of some restrictions.
How do you maintain traditional Italian flavors with those limitations?
Andrea Botti: Italians are very proud. You can’t do anything about it. I haven’t even lived there for 20 years, but my soul is there and I’m proud about my country’s cuisine. If I have to make it here, then I will do my best to maintain a balance.
Flavor is based on my taste of what is Italian cooking, done with good quality ingredients. For example, the squid we use is from Dalian, up to 1.5kg a piece, a great product. I serve it with radicchio, a common but bitter pairing that I sauté with balsamic.
And all the sauces are traditional and made from scratch in-house. Of course, if the guest requests it [cooked] soft and not al dente, we have to do it. Some traditions are meant to be, while others can be broken. How you adapt tradition is a delicate balance.
So how do you stay sane?
Andrea Botti: I do specials. Mostly to share with or surprise guests with something unique that you can’t get elsewhere. Like beef tripe and rabbit. Another dish is an on-going special, housemade cappelletti, filled with finely minced beef and pork, served with 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano. That’s quite a traditional dish — just like home.
The Space
Bella Vita Bistro is an Italian restaurant located on Tianping Lu in Xuhui. Cozy dining rooms are spread across two floors in a standalone building, the downstairs dining room faces the open kitchen and the cozy upstairs dining room is also connected to a spacious patio that has outdoor dining during the warmer months.
Nomfluence Readers Deals
Nomfluence Readers get a complimentary welcome drink with dinner when you book via the link below! Deal is valid until March 31, 2024.
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Bella Vita Bistro
Address: 318 Tianping Lu, near Huashan Lu 天平路318号, 近华山路
Tel: 64470008
Hours: Daily, 11am-9:30pm
