If I had to pick my favorite meal in Italy, and for sure top 10 of this year, this would be IT. La Filoma in Parma.
Lets start with the interior. It exuded old world European charm and elegance right when you walk in. Look at this place!
For starters, we had Culatello ham. This was my first time trying it, and it is WAY better than prosciutto. Love at first bite. Sliced so thin, you could read a newspaper through it, which, I have been told, is the sign of a good slice. Unfortunately, the product is not exported so its probably not possible to try outside of this region of Italy. You can read more about it here.
Next up, we had pumpkin tortelli and tagliatelle with strolghino ragu. Strolghino is a pork salame. This is the best pasta I have ever had. The dish was so delicious. Perfectly seasoned, so much umami from the ragu, and parmigiano-reggiano. The pasta cooked to perfection. I could probably eat this every day. Just wow.
For our main dish, we shared a “stuffed chicken”. What was surprising about this chicken dish, which was delicious, was that it reminded me of the national dish of the Philippines – chicken adobo. The flavors were of adobo. For those not familiar, adobo is basically a sauce prepared with soy sauce and vinegar. While I don’t think this dish had any soy sauce in it, it definitely had the vinegar component.
What was even more interesting is that in the Silver Spoon cookbook, the bible of Italian recipes, I once came across a recipe for “Philippine Chicken” which I immediately recognized as adobo. I have always wondered how this dish, ended up in an Italian cookbook, and now, I was in the heart of Italy enjoying something very similar. If you know the history of how adobo made its way to Ital, please share in the comments below.
This meal was one of the most memorable for me in 2019. Everything was delicious and the setting could not of been more perfect. Service was good. 9.5/10. Would definitely come back, everyday if possible.