Buon Ricordo, Paddington

Besides Rockpool, this is probably the most highly rated restaurant we are heading to thus far in Sydney. Awarded Two Chef’s Hat in the latest Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, we were having some great expectations for the restaurant.

After spending the day walking around Paddington, we headed to Buon Ricordo where Thad had made a reservation the night before. I was really looking forward to it!

Buon Ricordo, which means “Good memories” in Italian, is located in a nondescript double-storey building near Darlinghurst. If not for the pretty salmon-pink color, it’s quite an easy building to miss.

I’m loving the rustic iron-wrought balcony and overhanging signage. Unlike many restaurants, there’s no way of taking a peek into it. In fact, we weren’t quite sure if we were too early as they didn’t appear open. Our reservation was for 6.30pm and it was about 6.15pm. We knocked on the wooden door and a very polite server and maitre’d held the door open and welcomed us in.

We were seated in the ground-level of the restaurant, which was very intimate and quaint. Decoration was rather old-skool which exuded a cosy charm. I hear that the second-level is more modern and chic. There was only one other couple at this time, and the atmosphere was rather quiet you could hear a pin drop. I’m not very accustomed to intimate restaurants where everything is hush-hush and you can feel the servers’ eyeing you from the corner so I have to admit, I was starting to dread how the night was going to proceed.

We pretty much knew what dishes we were going to order; we just wasn’t sure sure what portion we wanted them in. Eventually we ordered two primi piatta and a secondi piatti. When we asked the server if we should order a side, I appreciated his advice that we were having quite a bit of pasta and perhaps it was best to consider later once we’ve had our dishes.

He brought along a basket of bread shortly to start off the night. I loved munching on the breadsticks! Thad said the slices of bread were really tough even with the soaking of olive oil so I left them untouched. At this point, we were offered complimentry amuse bouche of bruschetta, courtesy of Chef Armando, which was a really nice touch. Unfortunately we devoured those too quickly and I didn’t get to take a picture! Suffice to say, it was delish with juicy roma tomatoes and a rather copious amount of olive oil.

Timballo Napoletano @ $35

Our primi piatti arrived not long after. We ordered the Timballo Napoletano, which is Chef Armando’s take on an 18th-century Neapolitan festive dish. The tubular-shaped pasta is stuffed with peas, minced meat, eggs and tomato sauce. The dish actually arrived with the pasta “standing upright” which was quite a pretty sight. Unfortunately, I didn’t stop our server in time and he proceeded to demolish the dish and served the individual portions to us. Thankfully, even with the “demolition” he managed to stack them up quite prettily on our individual plates.

Mmmmm. This was really flavourful and delish. Quite the comfort food that is hard to go wrong. But difficult to blow your mind too. However, a testament to the delicious flavours of this dish was that Thad was raving about it after. And he DOES NOT LIKE tomato-based pasta, unlike me. This dish was mopped up clean in no time. Also, I have to point out that what is pictured is HALF the portion – the servings were very generous.

While waiting for the secondi piatti, more diners arrived and the restaurant became more lively with cheery banters between diners and servers. Chef Armando himself came out of the kitchen to recieve some guests, possibly regulars as I see him giving specific instructions to the server appointed to the tables. He runs a tight ship – throughout the night I see his head peering through the kitchen door ever so often to see how the night was going.

The dish that arrived next is the one reviewed in magazines all over and what made Chef Armando famous in the first place – the Fettucine al Tartufovo (Fettucine with Truffle Infused Eggs). I ordered it as a primi while Thad ordered as a Secondi, which we were told was a DOUBLE primi. Eeeeks!

First, the cheese was brought out. Blocks of cheese.

The dish was served with two fried eggs atop (for Thad’s portion). Now, these aren’t your regular eggs. They are TRUFFLE INFUSED. We were told that the eggs are kept in an air-tight container with truffles, and the truffle flavour gets infused within the eggs. Also, the flavour is infused within the egg yolk and not the egg white.

The server then proceeds to grate BLOCKS and BLOCKS of cheese. Even Thad, who is the avid cheese-lover, had his eyes popped looking at the amount of cheese being grated over his pasta.

Finally, he proceeds to toss the pasta, mixing up the cheese, pasta and egg. At this point – woomph! – the flavour of the truffle hits you like a brick! Seeing our reaction, the server quipped “Do you smell it now? You didn’t smell if before because I didn’t break the yolk yet. Now when I mix it all up, the flavours come out!”

My lame attempt at capturing a picture of our very earnest and modelesque server – he could be on the cover of GQ!

Thad digging into the very rich and indulgent Fettucine al Tartufovo. Yes, he stood out in the crowd of shirts and suits with this Superdry t-shirt (and bermudas might I add).

My 3-step fettucine.

Fettucine al Tartufovo (Fettuccine with cream and parmesan, topped with a fried truffle egg). Tossed at the table. $33.50 as Primi; $45.50 as Secondi (Pictured: Primi Piatti)

I’m rather embarrassed to say that we both struggled through the dish. Nono, not because it was bad, but because it was so rich! The truffle, the cheese, the cream… oh boy. It was probably a cardiologist’s nightmare. One thing was for sure – they didn’t skimp on the truffle. If you’re a truffle-addict, this dish is for you. We also had the heavy Timballo as an entree earlier, which probably filled us up more than we had thought.

We took our time with the dish, but eventually Thad had to give up. It IS a portion for TWO if you think about it! The server reappeared at our table and gave a sympathetic look – “probably a bit too much?” Not wanting us to overeat and make ourselves sick from what is an otherwise great dish, we stopped and allowed him to clear what was left.

Now, you didn’t think we were going to leave without having dessert do you? With Thad, there’s ALWAYS room for dessert. I like to tell people that I’m fairly proud of the fact that I haven’t ballooned into Augustus Gloop given the amount of meals and dishes I have to eat with the husband.

Dolce – Semifreddo Torrone $21

For dessert, we asked the server for recommendation and he pointed us towards the Semifreddo Torrone, a combination of Italian nougat ice-cream, pistachio cream drizzle and candied fruits. The dessert was lovely – I loved the crunchiness of the nougat and almonds, it wasn’t too sweet despite the candied fruits and helped remove the feeling of heaviness from the earlier dishes. The pistachio cream was especially intriguing. A wonderful way to wind up a good meal. We also appreciated their thoughtfulness in portioning out the desserts into two plates when they realized we were sharing (although that might be less appreciated by couple in a burgeoning relationship yearning to feed each other mouthfuls of desserts). I digress.

For a Two Chef’s Hat restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised by the pricing. Yes, expensive for pasta but not so expensive for what is regarded as one of the top restaurants in Australia. The fact that we were stuffed meant that we over-ordered as well. Unlike some reviews that I read, service was very pleasant and non-intrusive. I can imagine that with the way we were dressed we would have been slighted at many other restaurants, but we received none of that nonsense here.

All in all, a lovely date night (: The other restaurant that we have our eye on is non other that Tetsuya’s, who happens to be a very good friend of Armando!

Buon Ricordo
108 Boundary Street, Paddington
Telephone: (02) 9360 6729
Reservations recommended.