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#1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)

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#1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)

If ever Michelin recognition is due, it is for Ollie and his results and his choice for his celebratory dinner. #1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course). Etna deserves it in our reckoning. Every single time we come it is incredible quality. That’s why we keep on a coming back, time after time. Our BFF there describes the food with such passion and of course the local knowledge and personal experiences from his days back in Italy with his family sat around a huge table grazing for hour after hour. I will never tire of repeat blogs for Etna, they make it a delight to write about the continuous variety and quality they put on our tables.

Tonight we dine at Etna @ 110 Upper East Coast Rd

For #1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course) we hit the specials hard again. Remember Wifey’s birthday back in December? “Yeah, we’ll have the top 5 Specials please…” It was like that tonight. The specials on offer were tantalising. I love this place so too as we feel like family, not customers. Perhaps there is some Italian blood in us somewhere? I always call us the United Colours of Benetton when having a photo. You never know, you never know. Our little ritual goes likes this;

  • I book a table and ask for a special ‘cake’ for the celebration if there is one;
  • We arrive and it is hellos, smiles and we get shown to ‘our’ table – literally we have sat at the same table for like 4-5 years now;
  • Our drinks arrive cos the guys don’t need to ask;
  • Chit chats happen to the guys we know well in there – how they are, we are since seeing them last;
  • I send Amy to take a photo of the specials board for an initial review;
  • BFF comes table-side and with Italian elegance describes the specials – SOLD!
  • We get to our grazing;
  • We watch as other tables come in and go as we still sit there chatting, laughing and grazing.

I saw this quote in an article and it sums up the Etna experience for me;

“Italians are known to be lively and passionate, so sharing a dinner table with them is quite an experience. They are passionate about life’s pleasures, food being chief amongst them, but they are also creatures of tradition and habit. When it comes to food, they are happiest when things are done right.”

#1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course) – here we go…

#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
OMG, they did it again. They have a created dish that we had to go back for more. I keep saying that they created my #1 favourite pasta dish one time – the Pumpkin Ravioli from the Specials Board funnily enough. Since then they have created my favourite pasta dish over and over again. And this, today, is now my favourite (for the time being until we go back again). This really is just WOW on a plate. Cavatelli Pasta in Saffron Sauce with Bacon & Sausage. I urge and encourage you to get to Etna before the end of the month and perhaps they change the Specials. Sod your New Year ‘lose-weight’ resolutions. This is a DIE DIE MUST-TRY. Off-the-planet good, let alone off-the-charts. Silky smooth, with an almost decadent sauce. A really light pasta, almost cloud-like. Crunchy bacon and super savoury sausage pieces. The very best of bedfellows. I would have this every single time I came if it were on the ‘normal’ menu. Incredible – so good!!!
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
We always have this, as you would have seen from previous blogs. I always take a picture, despite the family ribbing me as to why. It’s to show that we also have our absolute favourites as well as the continued variety of The Specials, and seasonal fair (AKA truffle season).
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
And another new one and an absolute must-order of course with Wifey, Ollie and BeBe being there. Wifey feedback was that it was excellent, but Gaig’s dish and Spain are still top her charts. There’s a challenge for you Etna, Italy v Spain Octopus cook-off for my Wife haha!!! Joking aside this was a stunner as you can see. Grilled Octopus with Salad & Mediterranean Dressing. I did try this and yeah it was super good, the sauce and the octopus were perfect together.
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
Now, this little dish is getting 3 photos. Explained to us by BFF as a ‘chic’ dish. You can see why right? Grilled Lobster with Grapefruit Mushroom Consomme & White Turnip. See what I mean Michelin. How stunning a dish is this?
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
At tableside they pour over the consomme to complete the food ‘act’. This is food-theatre. This is food-porn. Great choice Ollie. #1 did well in is IB and we did well to celebrate with him haha.
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
Seriously, have a look at that. Yes, I’ll say it again = #FOODPORN!!!
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
They keep doing this to us. Another HOLY SHIT food moment happens with our mates here. We ordered two of these straight up. Come on I have two Filipinas with me. Well, and Ollie/Amy & I. We are PORK maniacs, you’d seen my tattoo right haha.  This is on the menu as Slow Cooked Suckling Pig with Potato Carrots & Beetroot. Oh my goodness gracious me. I touched it and it literally all fell apart. It is super-sift and so very moist and punchy in the flavour department. The skin is to die for with a perfect little fat layer to give that unctuous slap in the face. This is a special dish indeed. Again my friends I really do urge you to get here and try this before they run out of this exquisite dish. It’s seriously up there in best pork dish memories EVER.
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
Like being a petrol pump attendant, Ollie is filling up… Bless!!!
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
Congratulations #1. AMAZING results for your IB Diploma. A more-then well-deserved congratulatory meal.
#1's IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course)
I really have no idea what to say… No comment…

#1’s IB Diploma Celebration @ Etna (of course) was, as always, a cracking dinner. You really cannot go wrong here. Every time we come back there is something new on that Specials Board. And when I say special I mean SPECIAL. We just love it here and that is proven as soon as I ask on a special occasion; “Where would you like to celebrate dinner?” It’s a no brainer. I mention it above folks. But seriously do not miss out on those Specials above. They really are a stop-you-in-your-tracks quality. Get your bum down and kick-off your  NY Resolutions head – ENJOY!!!

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Brian Kennett

Father of 3. All my kids are mixed, with English-Japanese, and English-Filipino - a recipe in the making there. I have been cooking since a small lad, as guided by my Nan and my Mum - gradually that morphed through exposure to Thai cooking from a lovely lady called Da in Margate. I used to hang out in her restaurant and watch the techniques. So the 1+1= greater than 2 occurred - Mum/Nan/Da - off I went in to the world of Asian cuisine. Moving to Asia in early 2000's clearly has brought that on somewhat - we travel continually, and eat locally and therefore have exposure to more and more new things. I have lived my dream and written a cook book whilst here, an amazing experience and all for a good cause too as I raised a lot of money for charity. My blog is now hopefully turning in to book number 2. Watch this space. I hope you enjoy my passion.

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