Buon Appetito! It's Italian Cusine in the World Week

The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about Italy is the country’s cuisine. There’s so much diversity of flavor across regions, cities, towns, and villages that it’s impossible to try in one visit. Thankfully you can forego a flight from Beijing to Rome and head to participating restaurants to try dishes that highlight Italy's diversity this week only, during the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World.

Organized by the Italian Embassy in China in conjunction with the Italian Trade Agency, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World runs from now until Nov 19, bringing together 18 of Beijing’s best Italian eateries who will put their spin on a special dish or menu to highlight the cuisine of their homeland.

And what these restaurants have put together goes beyond your run-of-the-mill margarita pizza or spaghetti and tomato sauce. There are antipasti paying homage to texture, mains meant for colder months, and menus elevating the flavors of the peninsula to new heights.

We’ve put together a bit of a dream menu, if you will, of dishes we’d love to try before the week is over. It’s tough not wanting to try everything, but what we’ve listed below are some of our favorites of the bunch.

abboCCa highlights three different cheeses in their Trilogy

Let's start with the starters,  in Sanlitun Courtyard No. 4 has this covered with what they’ve named Trilogy. Featuring mozzarella, stracciatella, and ricotta cheese, it’s a journey from salty to sweet, with different textures complimented by the addition of fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, truffle oil, chocolate, and fruit.

Onto the pasta course, and it’s time for abboCCa’s sister bar/restaurant  to shine. They go seasonal with Pumpkin and Gorgonzola pasta, in which the sweetness of the gourd plays with the tanginess of gorgonzola. It’s either this or a trip to , who has taken traditional potatoes and mussels from Puglia (the easternmost region of Italy which forms the “heel” of the peninsula's “boot”) and forms it into ravioli with a potato filling and a brodetto of mussels and cherry tomatoes.

Clockwise from top right: Pumpkin risotto with sausage at Fiume; Scialetelli Pasta at Danieli's; Potato and Mussel Ravioli at La Pizza; and Pumpkin and Gorgonzola pasta at Buona Bocca

For mains, there’s no better place on our list than , which keeps things hearty with polenta and beef in oil. The latter of which is made with anchovies, olive oil, bread crumbs, garlic, and grated grana padano cheese. For something a bit lighter and more in line with typical Mediterranean cooking, if that’s your thing, near Dongzhimen offers steamed calamari with lemon mayonnaise, squid ink powder and gazpacho.

Of course, we could also opt for a full menu as well, which , , and  have all put forward. These feature everything from beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce to scampi marinated with fennel and orange, plus soups, desserts, and more.

Bottega and Forno are also doing specials, serving up a La Gioiosa pizza and Rigatoni alla Zozzona, respectively

And with that, we’ll be stuffed and, to paraphrase the words of George Miller, hungry again after five or six days. There’s so much more to try during the week ahead, so go check it out and buon appetitio!

The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World is happening now until Sunday, Nov 19 at 18 locations around Beijing. Find out more in this article from the Italian Embassy. For reservations and questions on set menus, contact the aforementioned restaurants at 010 6505 7671 (GIADA Garden), 010 6410 5210 (Frasca), and 010 8555 8555 (Il Ristorante Niko Romito). Contact info for other restaurants in this article can be found via our website: thebeijinger.com

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Images: courtesy of the Italian Embassy in China

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