A simple Italian lunch

It's been a while since I met up with my evil twin, so I called him up while I was in Taipei for a short trip and arranged for lunch.  To my surprise he booked us seats at Angelo Restaurant, opened by Chef Angelo Aglianò who was last seen at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Taipei.  I had been hearing some mixed feedback on this place, so it was good to be able to check it out - even though lunch isn't necessary a good indication of the true quality.

I saw a familiar face before I even stepped foot in the restaurant.  Big Mac and I last saw each other 6 months ago, when we were both going through our respective weight loss programs.  The difference is that I stopped 3 months ago, while he has lost an incredible amount of weight since then.  I complimented him on his lack of a visible gut, and even patted his tummy area to make sure it wasn't there anymore.  I guess it's time for me to restart my program!

I opted for a 3-course set lunch where the pricing was more than reasonable.  I didn't want to eat too much as I didn't want to spoil my appetite for dinner tonight.  As it turned out, 3 courses was still a little filling...

Our amuse bouche was carrot soup with fennel and croûtons. A nice and simple start.

Burrata fresca con pomodorini pesto e balsamico - I ordered this out of curiosity, to see how fresh the burrata could be.  This was actually pretty good, as the texture was still very soft and slightly runny, without lots of hardened "strands".

Spaghetti con gamberi, calamari e cuori di cavolo cinese - pretty good, too.  Al dente, and I liked the use of local ingredients.  Nothing to complain about here.

Baba al rhum con crema di ricotta - again ordered this out of curiosity, and pleasantly surprised.  Very nice with the extra rum poured in, and the candied orange rind.

I was a happy camper.  Lunch today was by no means mind-blowing, but for the price of around USD 30 I wasn't expecting anything spectacular.  I look forward to the opportunity to return for dinner.