All things black and flavorful at Capricciosa

I nearly had black spaghetti for my birthday. Very nearly. Anyway, I believe there is no more fitting dish for someone who loves H.R. Giger and J.P. Witkin (dark artists not known for loving carbonara or fettuccine) than the calamari-and-onion pasta that comes in black squid-ink sauce, one of the specialties of Capricciosa in Greenbelt 3.

The restaurant’s very accommodating waiters will tell you that customers freak out when they see a plateful of this pasta in all its blackened glory (like the spaghetti equivalent of Siouxsie and the Banshees), but after getting a taste of that delicious squid ink with the gustatory counterpoint of onions, they keep coming back for it. In fact, it has become one of the signature dishes of the restaurant that serves authentic Southern Italian cuisine. Other restaurants have it, but not with sauce as thick and aromatic than the one in Capricciosa.

The restaurant has an interesting genealogy. It was founded in Shibuya, Tokyo in 1977 by chef Masaaki Honda who worked at the Italian Pavilion Café. Soon, it expanded to Yokohama, and then to Saipan and Taiwan. When Capricciosa opened in Guam, it was very well received by Guamanians and foreigners who love big servings of Southern Italian dishes.

“When we lived in Guam, our family had dinner in Capricciosa once a week,” says operations manager Willy Adrian Tan. It so happened that the people who run Capricciosa wanted to expand to Asia, so Tan-Vy International grabbed the chance and opened a branch in Greenbelt more than a year ago. “We get a lot of foreign customers — especially Japanese,” Tan adds.

Aside from the aforementioned black pasta, another must-try dish is the lasagna, according to operations manager Engilou Lee Vy. She says, “Lasagnas are usually dry, but our lasagna is more saucy and stuffed with layers of delectable melted cheese. My favorite, though, is the shrimp and spinach rigatoni. The white sauce is so delicious.”

“Mine is garlic and pepper spaghetti — because I am a very garlicky person,” says Tan with a laugh. One thing about Capricciosa is that the people who run it are foodies themselves and not just businessmen.

I learned that the entrée menu is getting some “sprucing up” with more of Capricciosa Japan’s favorites like the Acciughe Anchovy Pizza and the Hamburg Neapolitan, ground meat patty served with bread or rice on the side. Other dishes include the grilled delights, as well as the penne with bacon in tomato cream sauce.

For my birthday bash with my family, we ordered the Sicilian-style rice croquette, breaded ball with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. I could live on this for a week, I told my girlfriend Becca, who suggested Capricciosa for my birthday dinner after having eaten in the Guam branch a couple of months ago.

We also had the quattro formaggi pizza (gone in 60 seconds from the dinner table like Amelia Earhart over the Bermuda Triangle), the shrimp and spinach gratin with rigatoni cream sauce (my mom Elena’s favorite because of its creamy sauce and cheese that melts in the mouth), mushroom spaghetti with cream sauce (gone in 70 seconds), and the spicy grilled chicken with rosemary (cooked in olive oil and cooked just right).

For dessert, we tried the homemade tiramisu and mango semifreddo. Tan explains, “In Guam and Japan, they use kiwi and strawberry — here, we came up with the mango variant.”

In paying for the feast, I whipped out my trusty Citibank credit card.

Capricciosa is one of nine restaurants featured in Tasting Room, an ongoing promotion until Dec. 31, which is spearheaded by Appetite magazine together with Citibank and Greenbelt. The other eight restaurants are: Mr. Rockefeller, Max Brenner, Bubba Gump, Bed Space, Fuzion, Mezze, Kai, and Bizu.

Citibank marketing vice president Aneth Lim says, “The concept was inspired by Restaurant Week in New York, and aims to encourage Filipinos in Metro Manila to savor delectable dishes and world-class cuisines at affordable prices. And when guests pay with their Citibank credit card, they will be entitled to special privileges including discounts, complimentary menu items, and free gifts.”

The idea behind it is to offer Citibank cardholders the opportunity to sample the best of what these restaurants have to offer, and at pocket-friendly prices, too.

Lim concludes: “Filipinos love to eat, or should we say live to eat, and we always mark a celebration with a dining feast. We wanted to provide our cardholders with many tempting options when dining with family and friends this holiday season.”

Eating pasta in black squid-ink sauce during the holidays? That would be like dreaming of a wonderfully black Christmas.

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Apart from the Tasting Room offer, Capricciosa is also one of the featured partners of Citibank Savings. Whenever Citibank Savings clients who carry Citibank’s Elite Privilege Card dine at Capricciosa, they are entitled to a free sampler appetizer, choice of rice croquette or bruschetta, for a minimum bill of P500.

Not yet a Citibank cardholder? For information, call 995-9999, or visit www.citibank.com.ph.

Capricciosa is at the third floor of Greenbelt 3. For inquiries, call 757-7811 and 757-7898, or e-mail capricciosa.makati@tanvygroup.com.