Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great and very large washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to expensive.
Specialty:Sicilian Cuisine. Top-class Italian wines and great collection of Grappa.
Non-smoking at tables.

It had quite some time since I last had a full dinner in an Italian restaurant in Shizuoka City as I tend to visit them only for a quick fis in between work.
I finally had the chance to enjoy a full-course dinner the other day at Il Paladino as an end-of the year dinner with friends.

Il Paladino’s two chefs prepare Italian cuisine mainly of Sicilian inspiration.
As I was the man in charge of the menu, I had just met them a while before to agree on the number and dishes and their basics. After it was all up to their skills and seasonal avaibility!

Antipasti misto plate for 4

The restaurant being very busy that day, I took charge of serving portions to the four of us into each of our plates (Japanese guests practically never do that, especially men!).
The antipasti, among others, included Japanese rock seaweed fritters, Pesce manticato/Brandade, marinated mackerel and grilled vegetables.

The fish dish was isaki, a fish caught off the Izu Peninsula in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture. It bears the odd English name of “Chicken Grunt”!

Dividing and serving the fish into 4 portions turned into a performance!

One of us belonging to a famous strawberry-growing family (there are 1,500 registered strawberry growers in Shizuoka Prefecture alone!),the chef had come up with a bright idea: Flaglora Risotto/strawberry risotto with fine Piemonte truffles seasoning, parmegiano and supreme olive oil!
A discovery and beauty!

Grilled Lamb for the meat dish!

Hard work again for your servant!

The ladies had to have a pasta dish!

Funghi e salzizia with Buccoli Pasta!
Light and perfect!
Note: the fact it was served individually made the waistline-conscious ladies a bit more secure! LOL

For dessert the specialty of the house: Home-made (completely) vanilla ice-cream with grappa and caramelized almonds and hazlenuts!

As for the wine, read the repport I posted yesterday below!

A somewhat unusual Italian white wine!

Don’t expect to find this wine on their “official” menu!
You must ask for the owners of the place to look what they have stashed away/hidden in the cellar at the very back of the restaurant!

Name: Alois Lageder (Italian White Wine)
Place: Sud Tirol, Alto Adige
Grape: Pinot Griggio (Pinot Gris)
Bottled in 2008.

Clarity: very clear
Colour: Light golden
Aroma: Fruity amd light. Lots of muscat and green apples
Taste: Very light, almost feminine attack.
Dry and fruity with muscat and green apples faithful to its aroma.
Very pleasant and easy to drink, especially a little chilled.
Very fine bubbles disappearing quickly.
Shortish tail.
Holds its own well with food in spite of its light weight.

Overall: An unusual wine, very similar to an Alsace of the same grape.
Very pleasant and light. Woth drinking with antipasti misto and fish.
Will prove a great experience for young beginners!

Tratorria . Il Paladino
420-9839 Shizuoka City, Aoi-Ku, Takajo, 2-8-19
Tel.: 054-253-6537
Opening hours: 11:30~13:30, 17:00~22:00
Closed on Mondays
Credit cards OK (Dinner only)

The Japan Blog List

———————————
Bread + Butter, Comestilblog, Greedy Girl, Bouchon For 2, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Mangantayon, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles, Lexi, Culinary Musings, Eats and Everything, Bite Me New England, Heather Sweet, 5 Star Foodie, Frank Fariello, Oyster Culture, Ramendo, Alchemist Chef, Ochikeron, Mrs. Lavendula, The Gipsy Chef, Spirited Miu Flavor
Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
——————————–
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

The Japanese have their own version for Gratin called Doria which is prepared with rice, especially leftover rice.
It is said it was first invented by an Italian family with the name of Doria who tried to represent the Italian flag (with tomatoes, cucumbers and chicken) in this recipe they first cooked in Paris.
It was first prepared in Japan in Yokohoma by a French cuisine chef from Switzerland at the New Grand Hotel in 1925!

It has become a mainstay in Japan in homes and restaurants.
The variations are endless, but here is the basic recipe:

Japanese Gratin: Doria

RECIPE:
I leave the kinds and weights for the ingredients to your creative imagination!

First make a bechamel sauce:
Use the smae volume of flour and butter.
Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Once the butter is melted, add flour and stir until you obtain a smooth mixture.
Add milk (warm will make things easier) cup by cup and stir well. make as much as you want. Keep stirring until you obtain a thick (the thicker, the better) bechamel sauce. Season with salt (easy on that!), pepper and nutmeg.
Set aside and let cool completely.

Slice onion thin and fry in a little oil until soft and just before colouring.
Scoop out and set aside.
You may of course add such vegetables as sweet pimentoes, etc.

The Japanese make their doria with chicken usually, but you may of course replace it any white meat, fish or seafood.
Cut the chicken into small pieces and fry them in same oil until crispy.
Scoop out and set aside.

Use leftover steamed rice.
Fry it with salt (careful on that one again!), pepper and tomato sauce (ketchup is fine, tomato puree is even better).
Season with other spices if you wish to.
Add onions and chicken and stir fry until all ingredients are well mixed.

Butter the inside of an oven dish.
Pour the whole fried rice inside.

Cover the rice with as much as bechamel sauce as you wish.
Add a generous layer of cheese of your choice.
The original recipe called for parmegiano, but cheaper cheese did not exist then!

Bake inside oven as you would do for any other gratin.
Keep in mind the colour you wish to attain.
It might be a good idea to serve them in individual dishes as they come out very hot!
Can be frozen until cooking them in an oven!

The same recipe with boiled macaroni!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Bread + Butter, Comestilblog, Greedy Girl, Bouchon For 2, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Mangantayon, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles, Lexi, Culinary Musings, Eats and Everything, Bite Me New England, Heather Sweet, Warren Bobrow, 5 Star Foodie, Frank Fariello, Oyster Culture, Ramendo, Alchemist Chef, Ochikeron, Mrs. Lavendula, The Gipsy Chef

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Now, what are real potato chips?

Not the French fries, which are actually Belgian fries.

And not the poor imitations you wolf down with untold amounts of salt and preservatives!

Real potato chips, as known in Great Britain or France (!) are made with potatoes, real ones I mean, and they are easy to make and much, much healthier!

Now, what do you need?
Potatoes, of course, a (very) little salt and good oil.

How do you prepare them?

Your potatoes, being old or not, can be used with a simple technique.

If they are old, no problem.
If you brush them (with a real hard brush) under clear water, you will be able to reduce their outer layer to a very thin skin that is edible (actually most of the really beneficient matters are contained in their skin!).

Cut them as thin as possible (with their skin!).

Important: slices of different thickness should not be fried together.
Try to separate them as shown on above pic and fry them separately.
Great fun if you have the kids around!

Clean potato slices in cold running water. This is an important step unless you want them to stick together, turn black and make a mess!
Dry them thoroughly inside a large clean cloth (or the water will fly upon frying!).

Heat frying oil to 170 degrees Celsius.

This is how your chips should look just before frying!

Use long wooden chopsticks to prevent chips from sticking to each other.

Your chips will change colour and if the oil is at proper temperature swell nicely!

Once you are satisfied with their colour, take them out of the oil and let them rest for a very short while over a fine mesh to get rid of excess oil. Sprinkle a (very) little salt for taste. I personally like some parmegiano and pepper instead of the salt!

Don’t forget the “wrong shapes”! They make for great chips, too, especially with the kids!

I susally serve the round chips with oven-baked chicken or guinea fowl!

Did I mention vegans can eat these?

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow
Bread + Butter
5 Star Foodie
Frank Fariello
Elinluv Tidbit Corner
Tokyo Terrace
Maison de Christina
Chrys Niles
Comestilblog
Greedy Girl
Bouchon For 2

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-