A Taste of Home: Italy

“A Taste of Home” is a regular magazine column in which we ask the natives of a particular country to introduce us to their national cuisine.

“We start with Buon appetito!” declares Tecla Cislaghi in the elegant dining space of Tavola. Italian niceties aside, we actually start with buffalo mozzarella wrapped in Parma ham, with fresh tomato (RMB 88). In a single dish, this encapsulates much of what Tecla and her colleague Claudia Vernotti, both from the Italian Embassy’s press office, highlight as the best of Italian cuisine.

No complicated preparation, just a few ingredients and honest, straight-up flavors.

With this approach towards eating, the basic foodstuffs (or lack thereof) take on a heightened importance. “In China, I can’t find good bread,” says Claudia.

For Tecla, it’s the cheese. “There are some, yes, but I already gave up cheese in Beijing a long time ago. I know I have to wait until I go back.” One could argue that it’s not so much the products but the lack of variety that Italians miss in Beijing. “Take focaccia,” says Tecla. “If you go to Liguria, you’ll find 50 different kinds of focaccia.”

Chef Alberto Alboreggia, bleary-eyed after a flight from Italy, joins us briefly. Alberto insists that the challenge in Beijing isn’t a lack of Italian products. “Nowadays you can find everything,” the chef says. “But the question is price. Some things are available, but expensive.”

Tecla and Claudia have felt the pinch. “When we’re at home, you eat and you have a glass of red wine,” Tecla explains. “Unless you have a very good job, Italian wine is expensive here.”

Claudia adds, “In Italy, wine is very cheap. You can get a liter for two Euros, take your own bottle and fill it up.”

“You didn’t order a pizza?” Alberto inquires, asking a waitress to bring a margherita. The Neapolitan-style pizza, less thin and not as crispy as other Italian pizza, is great, though Alberto hardly needs any reassurance. “This is the best pizza you ever tried, trust me,” he says. “I’ve just been in Italy for one month and I didn’t have one pizza like this.”

When Alberto departs, we feel brave enough to broach a subject we expect to be controversial: Annie’s, Beiing’s omnipresent pizza-delivery service.

“Annie’s? Oh, sometimes we do it,” admits Claudia, to our relief. “Like today at lunch …”

Now Tecla protests, “No, that’s not Italian.”

Claudia shrieks, defensively, “It is! Well …”

Just before all hell breaks loose, Tecla retreats. “I mean, I’m not saying it’s so bad, it’s not like Pizza Hut. If it’s lunch, you only have one hour, Annie’s is fine. But if you’re talking about the taste, then no. In Tavola, it’s like ‘Smell the tomato before you eat it. Taste the olive oil.’” Tavola’s king prawn goose liver ravioli (RMB 128), which the pair recommend for a pasta course, is almost overloaded with taste, with flavors popping from the ravioli filling, rich Parmesan cheese and the subtle flavors of truffle oil.

The ravioli prompts us to discuss the homemade, comfort food aspect of the Italian dining tradition. Claudia pipes up: “In Italy, food is something that unifies people, especially the family. On Sundays, we’d have a reunion, the whole family, a big meal that you don’t have time to have during the week.”
Tecla adds: “There’s a profound respect for food in Italy. It’s in the quality, the process of making it. Look at cheese, wine. It’s not just about being full – it’s the senses that must be satisfied, along with the stomach.” Tecla is suddenly keen to insert a note of respect for the local food. “I mean, we love Chinese cuisine. We eat Chinese food every day.” But another forkful of that buffalo mozzarella later, the diplomatic facade drops. “Mmm,” she coos, presumably drifting off to thoughts of a weekend lunch, with family, wine and a table stacked with bread and cheese.