VIA PRE @ WELD QUAY, PENANG

Via Pre needs no introduction. Located along Weld Quay, this restaurant is a popular choice for people who love authentic Italian food; local or tourists alike. We made our reservation weeks ago, and had our dinner at Via Pre last night.

We were there at 7.30 and there were already a number of patrons having their dinner. There restaurant gave out a warm ambience although not as romantic as QE II. The waiters were polite and courteous, and we were immediately seated. Prior the visit, hubby and I have browsed their online menu and have decided on what we wanted.

We were served a basket of bread with olive oil-balsamic dip. 

Our drinks; strawberry soda (RM 8) and Corona beer (RM 18)

For antipasti (Italian starters), we ordered ‘Tre’ which came with 4 succulent prawns wrapped with bacon laid on top of grilled eggplants, tomatoes and salad drizzled with a kind of spicy sauce. The prawns and bacon combination, together with the spicy sauce was excellent. I love this to bits. I definitely would recommend this.

Antipasti 'Tre' (RM 26)

The Del Porto salad was served shortly after the antipasti. This salad contains both lettuce and rocket leaves with prawn (1 pc), smoked salmon, capers, artichokes, mushrooms and olives with lemon & chives dressing. The salad is a refreshing twist to the usual salad. It was light, yet bursting with flavor.

Del Porto (RM 28)

We ordered pasta for main course. I had the Spaghetti Al Ragout Di Chinghiale E Funghi (Wild Boar Ragout & Mushroom Pasta) while hubby had their Spaghetti Alla Carbonara.

My pasta came with generous chunks of well-marinated wild boar meat, mushrooms and cauliflower florets. The portion was just nice. In my opinion, the pasta sauce itself was rather bland. I am not sure if the sauce was meant to be slightly bland so that we can savor the marinated wild boar. I would prefer a stronger tomato flavour and more herbs in my pasta.

 Spaghetti Al Ragout Di Chinghiale E Funghi (RM 28)

Hubby made the right decision to order the Carbonara pasta. Although traditionally Italian Carbonara is not creamy, this one was slightly creamier with egg sauce, pecorino cheese and crispy bacon. The combination was Ooh La La..delicious! 

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara (RM 23)

For dessert, we ordered Via Pre’s Grand Marnier semifreddo and their famed tiramisu. I do not know how Grand Marnier tasted like but the semifreddo definitely did not have any hint of alcohol, which I was hoping for. It was sweet alright, which was a bonus which complimented the tiramisu. It was like after a bite of tiramisu, we took a spoonful of semifreddo to get the bitter-sweet ending.

Grand Marnier Semifreddo (RM 9/scoop)

Now, the tiramisu was a letdown (in my opinion) because it did not contain any liquor. The first tiramisu we had at Pisa, Italy contained alcohol at the base (mixed with the mascarpone cheese). The tiramisu we had at QE II was superb because it has alcohol in it too. I did a quick read-up, that actually classic original Italian tiramisu does not contain liquor. Oh dear…this means that because I'm used to having liquor in my tiramisu, liquor-less tiramisu is just not as nice. Oh well, that’s just my opinion. Let me know what you think if you've tried their tiramisu.

Tiramisu (RM 16)

The total bill came up to RM 160.10 (10% service charge + 6% govt tax). I used the groupon voucher purchased last month. The corona beer was not covered under the voucher, and it cost RM 20.90 extra.

As usual, selfies after a lovely meal