Bella Marino at Straits Quay

Ouch! I don’t always ‘give constructive opinions’ to restaurants because bad reviews may cause them great embarrassment.

But Bella Marino at Straits Quay better take this positively and hope they improve because Penang really lacks good Italian restaurants.

Let’s start with dessert. The tiramisu is a rip off. Ours is part of the dinner set but still, there is no excuse. It tastes like pudding with a heavy coating of cocoa powder. Nothing close to tiramisu.

The asparagus cream soup is what got me off on a bad start. It is sooooo salty, we added our drinking water into it. The chicken cube or whatever artificial flavourings added into their stock is overpowering and there is nothing that smells remotely like asparagus. They use milk and not cream.

The pizza crust is too sourish with strong yeasty smell.

The pasta is something a first year chef student can dish up. Seriously…how hard is it to prepare a plate of decent pasta?

The wagyu beef is tough though I had asked for medium rare. Though blood is oozing, it is still chewy and sinewy. And why oh why they smothered a piece of beef with so much salt and mustard sourish sauce?

The veges are all over cooked. And they slapped a chunk of mashed potatoes under the beef. Doh…

Conclusion – Don’t trust food bloggers anymore. They take nice nice looking photos and then, say this is my meat, this is my soup. And they offer nothing about taste, value for money or anything that says it is their opinions.

I remembered reading one food blogger recommending the tiramisu from Bella Marino. And another one said how nice the pasta are. So, I was fooled.

However, for saving grace, the coffee is good. Their serving staffs are friendly, helpful and speedy. So, give them a chance. And if you are the owner of Bella Marino who have invested heavily in this outlet, do get whoever is cooking out of your kitchen and get better chefs. He definitely doesn’t have the touch. Foods so salty, I am now thirsty.

Oh I forget to mention The dinner set is RM69.90++ and RM39.90++ for the beef and pasta set.

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