Europe Euphoria

Italian cuisine holds yellow curry treasures and only if you visit Milan will you get to taste its heavenly flavors. Imagine feasting on the short, wide-grained vialone rice from the Po Valley, creamy with butter and marrow then etched with grated Parmesan. Guess your mouth is watering already! This is the land not only of pasta’s but a lot more. Italian cuisine is amongst one of the oldest in the world. It comes from ancient Roman and Greek gastronomic traditions. Some of the dishes around today, such as polenta, are almost exact copies of meals prepared for Roman soldiers about 2000 years ago. Germanic invasions modified Roman meals and customs, and the Renaissance period introduced more refined tastes into the various regions of Italy. In Milan, as elsewhere, to eat traditionally is to sample history. According to Ada Boni, the late doyenne of Italian cooking, the preference for gold-tinted food dates from to the 14th century when dishes for the European elite were trimmed with gold leaf, not for ostentation but because that costly garnish was considered a panacea. Milan’s cuisine features many specialties and you can choose from a whole lot of restaurants: Restaurant prices are for a three-course meal for two before wine but with tax and tip. � Antica Trattoria Della Pesa, Viale Pasubio, 10; (39-02) 655-5741. About 110 euros, or about $150 at $1.36 to the euro. Closed Sundays. � Bebel’s Ristorante, Via San Marco, 38; (39-02) 657-1658; bebels2@libero.it. Closed Wednesdays and lunchtime on Saturdays. About 100 euros. (1) Trattoria Milanese, Via Santa Marta, 11; (39-02) 8645-1991. About 80 euros. (2) Peck, Via Spadari, 9; (39-02) 802-3161; Closed Sundays and Monday mornings. (3) Pasticceria Bastianello, Via Borgogna, 5; (39-02) 7631-7065. (4) Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone, Via Monte Napoleone, 12; shop (39-02) 7600-1123; restaurant (39-02) 784-650. Closed Sundays. So next time you visit Italy let your taste buds make the memories.