This Swish Restaurant Rustles Up Italian Food As It Should Be - Earthy, Flavourful & Comforting

There’s a new chef at Alba, JW Marriott, and Eliyaz is taking the food back to basics -- earthy, familiar, loveable and simple. Just as Italian food should be. Comfort food, at its best. 

Let’s face it, you went to Alba to impress your Valentine, or to show Mum you cared (and then borrowed money from her to cover the bill!). We sure did. But now, make Italian food more accessible, and easy to love (how it should be, really), Alba has a new chef, and under the helm of Eliyaz, we’re in love with the Italian restaurant all over again.

We started off with an Asparagus Salad with an interesting Granny Smith coulis, candied almonds and Parmesan fondue, Grilled Prawn Procencale, and Quinoa And Puy Lentilo. With Haricot beans, Italian lemon jelly and vanilla froth, the quinoa salad even won over the mildly flavoured prawn in tomato water. The asparagus is creamy and rich, but perhaps a bit much for us. But oh, the soup. Rustic, and just how we imagine an Italian mamma making it, the porcini mushroom and white onion soup had the perfect balance. Add to it olive powder and crispy herbs (no, really, it’s like herb tempura!), and you’ve got a winner. Don’t forget to order their earthy woodfired pizzas here -- the Vesuvio, with pesto, roasted chilli, and sundried tomato is a star for vegetarian, and the lamb sausage one for the meat eaters. 

For mains, we had a filet of salmon (with skin, yum!) with a mildly sweet, but otherwise tangy orange glaze, cauliflower cream, and a fried mash potato (come on guys, fried mash potato is heaven). Another fine option is the Lamb Loin. Cooked as a proper meat, and also crafted into pulled lamb cake, it’s a very different options, and comes with artichoke and pumpkin puree. End with the on-point Tiramisu, that’s as good as your shot of coffee. Or panna cotta, if you like.