Italy in all her gastronomic glory

Part of Bangkok's club scene for almost two decades, Spasso at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok is best known as for serving up great music played by bands from the US and Canada. Head there for lunch or for dinner before 10pm, however, and you'll discover a fine eatery focusing on authentic Italian flavours.

New head chef Loris Pistillo, who hails from Milan, is introducing his new menu, which features a range of specialities from various regions of Italy prepared with premium ingredients. These include organic vegetables from the hotel's own farm in Wang Nam Kheow, Nakhon Ratchasima, home-made organic soft cow cheese, home-made pasta as well as certified DOP-label extra virgin olive oil and organic rice.

Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity and abundance of flavours as well as a great variety of different ingredients.

"The northern-style Italian cuisine, which is from the coldest part of the country, uses more butter, rice and cheese and less olive oil, pasta and tomato sauce, whilst the more central food uses all kinds of meat and vegetables. The lower boot of the Italian Peninsula is home to olive groves, and the food tends to be lighter than the other parts of the country. This is where seafood, olive oil and tomatoes are essential components of the local cuisine," says Pistillo.

I tested samplings of new dishes by Pistillo. The appetisers from the northern region are rosemary bruschetta with beef carpaccio slices filled with mushroom and parmesan cheese (Bt280) and marinated tomato topped with burrata cheese and organic green served with parma ham (Bt550).

The recommended southern-style speciality is rigatoni with crab meat, white wine, rucola leaves, chilli and fresh cherry tomato (Bt490). This combination of fresh home-made rigatoni made with organic semolina from Italy and a drizzle of certified DOP extra virgin olive oil, produced with respect for very strict technical requirements, works very well.

Next up is his delectable dish from his hometown in Milan - risotto with pumpkin, duck ragu and glazed shallots with balsamic vinaigrette. It's not creamy and heavy but surprisingly light and tasty.

A famous light recipe from the central region is grilled red snapper fillet served with sauteed clams in white wine and red capsicum coulis topped with crunchy fennel salad and extra virgin olive oil (Bt720).

Pistillo also offers a special dish of the day, depending on the best special ingredients available in the market. Slow roasted pork flank (Bt800) was served on the day of my visit. The pork is from the rare breed of black pig Maialino di Cinta Senese raised on a natural farm in Tuscany - a particular pig whose skin is black except a white belt around its neck or hip. The pork flank served here is cut from the white area, and according to the chef, one pig can give only one kilo of this premium cut. The pork is slowly roasted at 62 degrees for four hours with some chestnuts, red wine, black truffle, porcini mushroom, thyme and garlic - giving the meat a chewy texture that's in between pork and beef.

I finish the meal with a tiramisu (Bt250) that's second to none. The word tiramisu means "pull me up", and that's exactly what the mascarpone, sugar, espresso and kahlua do.

After 10pm, the eatery turns into a music club and you can stay young on the floor till the early hours with a live performance of present top hits to all-time favourites.

And for lunch, Spasso offers a buffet at Bt650 per person as well as a la carte. It's also a great place for a leisurely Sunday brunch with a buffet priced at Bt990 featuring a wide selection of Italian dishes from made-to order-pasta, organic salads, house-made cheeses, pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven to an array of fresh fruits and desserts. Free-flowing wines and sparkling wine cost an extra Bt500.

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Spasso is at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on Rajdamri Road. It's open for lunch from noon to 2.30pm and dinner from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, Sunday brunch runs from noon to 3pm. There's live music from 10pm to 2am (except Sunday).

Call (02) 254 1234, or visit www.Bangkok.grand.hyatt.com.

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