AN ITALIAN IN MANILA

Manila has long been accustomed to Italian flavors. The cuisine's distinctive fresh, rich, and sharp tastes have been favorites to our palate's usual penchant for sweetness. Thus is the rise of many Italian spots across the metro that fill this craving for pasta and pizza. Yet in this flurry of pomodoro and olive oil filled dishes, there's an emptiness that abounds many of these so-called Italian places. Dishes become a shell of their true selves—sauces reduced to a dull, sour bread without bounce or body, pasta with no bite whatsoever.