Villa Mauri
All the rave about good italian food... all that hype.. maybe if i did not live in Italy ever summer for four years and maybe if I did not study there for the better part of a year in Milan...
Dont get me wrong.. italian food isnt just about good food.. its also about the hospitality.. which Maurizio has.. and lots of it too if he isnt too busy running around during the busy times.. but good food.. that is another matter. Maybe if the patrons did not know what good italian food is.. yeah.. maybe.. unfortunately, during my years there, I learnt much of their culture and acquired much of their disdain for poor excuses for things italian. Italians are a very family oriented race.. much like our culture here in South East Asia.. their love for la mamma's cucinare... (the mother's cooking). Their use of the freshest and finest materials ensure that their families are healthy and well fed. In fact.. if one were to visit them during Christmas or Easter.. oh my.. be prepared to bring along your extra stomach. They can eat for hours on end. In fact, I remember its an average of 4 hrs of non-stop feasting... wave after wave of superb antipasti, prima pasti, etc.. ending with gelato (ice cream) and ultimately, cafe' (called short expresso here) to help the digestive tracts. Hence one can understand their love for food. Now.. here's the beef.. I've been reading Reeda (anakbrunei)'s rave on and on about the great italian food there so being a latino lover of all things italian, my mates and i dropped by tonight to try it out. Hmm.. what a disappointment. I was never satisfied with spaghetinni's nor with Fratini's no matter how they try to call themselves with fancy italian names. Well, I'm not satisfied with the food at Mauricio's either.. most of them that we tried anyway.. except maybe for one plate.. which.. Maurizio cooked himself.
1) Pizza. The bread itself was good.. the ingredients that went on it.. disappointing. I saw they served something called Pizza alle cipolla which is essentially pizza topped with onion rings.. the ones i tried had in italy was superb.. to the point i kept going back to the same tavolo and ordering the same thing for weeks. Well, the one here.. had a few slices of onions... on tomato sauce! Argh.. its not suppose to come on tomato.. disgusting..
2) Beef medallions. I didnt even finish the little piece i tried. Enough said.
3) Antipasti. The olive oil they used must be extra extra extra extra virgin coz we all felt it had this stench of gas. Seriously.. the parmegiano was weak and mild.. tasted very commercial.. the mozarella was ermm.. for lack of a better word.. weak... good mozarella cheese has a nice tender taste with very very mild tang to it.. this one.. well.. just felt like tasting chalk.. but that said.. I do know how hard it is to get good italian cheeses here. So.. these things can be forgiven.
4) Spaghetti with spicy garlic olive oil. Now this one was interesting.. the first plate.. tasted like crap. No taste in the olive oil and the chilli used was fresh.. looks like everything was just thrown in together in a hurry. As the italians put it, merde.. One of my friends said something to Maurizio about it.. and he came back with a 2nd plate.. which was so much better.. Way better... which made me think.. who actually cooks this? And it seems those that cook it apart from the head chef know nothing about italian food.
5) And finally, the cafe. I didnt even bother to sip it. One look and i knew it was a waste of time. The so-called expresso was watery and without the creamy head. My friend tried it and immediately put it down. Making cafe is an art.. too bad nobody there know how to do it.
How can italian restaurants have italian names and cannot even serve proper italian cuisine? Even one with an italian chef! And people hype about it like it was the next best thing since polyester. Sheesh.
Ok.. sorry.. believe me, i would not even bother writing like this about this if this was chinese or japanese food..
mi scuzi Maurizio.. amo la cucina italiana.. veramente.. ma.. penso che hai piu potentiale per improvare il cibo alla restaurante tuo. Perfavore? Update: My italian is so rusty, its not even funny.
Dont get me wrong.. italian food isnt just about good food.. its also about the hospitality.. which Maurizio has.. and lots of it too if he isnt too busy running around during the busy times.. but good food.. that is another matter. Maybe if the patrons did not know what good italian food is.. yeah.. maybe.. unfortunately, during my years there, I learnt much of their culture and acquired much of their disdain for poor excuses for things italian. Italians are a very family oriented race.. much like our culture here in South East Asia.. their love for la mamma's cucinare... (the mother's cooking). Their use of the freshest and finest materials ensure that their families are healthy and well fed. In fact.. if one were to visit them during Christmas or Easter.. oh my.. be prepared to bring along your extra stomach. They can eat for hours on end. In fact, I remember its an average of 4 hrs of non-stop feasting... wave after wave of superb antipasti, prima pasti, etc.. ending with gelato (ice cream) and ultimately, cafe' (called short expresso here) to help the digestive tracts. Hence one can understand their love for food. Now.. here's the beef.. I've been reading Reeda (anakbrunei)'s rave on and on about the great italian food there so being a latino lover of all things italian, my mates and i dropped by tonight to try it out. Hmm.. what a disappointment. I was never satisfied with spaghetinni's nor with Fratini's no matter how they try to call themselves with fancy italian names. Well, I'm not satisfied with the food at Mauricio's either.. most of them that we tried anyway.. except maybe for one plate.. which.. Maurizio cooked himself.
1) Pizza. The bread itself was good.. the ingredients that went on it.. disappointing. I saw they served something called Pizza alle cipolla which is essentially pizza topped with onion rings.. the ones i tried had in italy was superb.. to the point i kept going back to the same tavolo and ordering the same thing for weeks. Well, the one here.. had a few slices of onions... on tomato sauce! Argh.. its not suppose to come on tomato.. disgusting..
2) Beef medallions. I didnt even finish the little piece i tried. Enough said.
3) Antipasti. The olive oil they used must be extra extra extra extra virgin coz we all felt it had this stench of gas. Seriously.. the parmegiano was weak and mild.. tasted very commercial.. the mozarella was ermm.. for lack of a better word.. weak... good mozarella cheese has a nice tender taste with very very mild tang to it.. this one.. well.. just felt like tasting chalk.. but that said.. I do know how hard it is to get good italian cheeses here. So.. these things can be forgiven.
4) Spaghetti with spicy garlic olive oil. Now this one was interesting.. the first plate.. tasted like crap. No taste in the olive oil and the chilli used was fresh.. looks like everything was just thrown in together in a hurry. As the italians put it, merde.. One of my friends said something to Maurizio about it.. and he came back with a 2nd plate.. which was so much better.. Way better... which made me think.. who actually cooks this? And it seems those that cook it apart from the head chef know nothing about italian food.
5) And finally, the cafe. I didnt even bother to sip it. One look and i knew it was a waste of time. The so-called expresso was watery and without the creamy head. My friend tried it and immediately put it down. Making cafe is an art.. too bad nobody there know how to do it.
How can italian restaurants have italian names and cannot even serve proper italian cuisine? Even one with an italian chef! And people hype about it like it was the next best thing since polyester. Sheesh.
Ok.. sorry.. believe me, i would not even bother writing like this about this if this was chinese or japanese food..
mi scuzi Maurizio.. amo la cucina italiana.. veramente.. ma.. penso che hai piu potentiale per improvare il cibo alla restaurante tuo. Perfavore? Update: My italian is so rusty, its not even funny.
posted by David at
8/15/2008 12:58:00 AM
13 Comments:
Went there last night and ordered the Seafood Linguine and was disappointed when the seafood used is not fresh especially the prawns. Italian food is simply to make, the ingredients is most important. Let alone the cafe, still needs a LOT of catching up.
Hello guys... havent go there.. but i would like to critics about this another not *ITALIAN* restaurant in kiulap... CAPERS!!! the food totally bad...tasteless, dry and so what ever.. the cooking is not consistant... the chef must be..3 or 4 persons i bet... doesnt have proper experiance in cooked italian food. although its all u can eat offer for about $14+... still not worth at all... The waitress is totally rude....served us with Sour Face..... hope u guys can improve URGENTLY..
ya let not forget about FUSION, the staffs there are in conFUSION when come to explaining more about the dishes in their menu, they are not properly train and not friendly at all and i wonder how fresh is their ingredients, the lamb rice i ordered doesn't taste like lamb at all and their steak are hard and taste like you eating overnight leftover beef meat. the most disappointing is i saw one of their chef/kitchen helper wearing the chef uniform went to the nearby toilet and he never washed his hand after pee. Enough said.
i can't believe there another person fall for the hype which some blogger put on their blogs. this is brunei, we are exposed to too much bad blogs, bad sites, bad designs, bad photos, bad videos, bad foods, bad restaurant and etc. how many bruneian know the true taste of authentic italy foods? if you want to eat authentic italian foods then you better eat it in italy or cook it yourself to suit your taste buds.
I have yet to try out Villa Mauri and I have read quite a number of bad comments, though there are also a number of people saying its good. I will be going there to try out the Sungkai offer and I will probably comment on from there. I havent been to Italy and I know I'm not food expert but what I do know, I love food and I know how to eat. Thanks david for the insight and I'll try it out. If it doesnt win my heart, Fratini's is still the place for me to get my pizza :)
AND I agree, ingridients are very important in preparing a meal. MUST be fresh and sadly, restaurants here dont take regard of the freshness of its ingridients..
Hi to you all
My name is Maurizio the chef/owner at Villa Mauri.
It is with much regret and surprise that I have read your comments so negatively about my place and being a professional I will accept it as constructive feedback.
I must admit for a guy who has been in Italy, your food knowledge is very good but a bit over the top if you don't mind me saying and yes you are right that night, like every other night has been very busy with many people.
But unlike you, I might add that 99% of the people that have been in here one way or the other have come back or suggested to their friends.
In addition for the comment on the coffee, I use LAVAZZA one of the best brands of coffee in ITALY with a SAN MARCO coffee maker, again one of the best coffee makers and if it is still not good enough, then something is seriously wrong. I would like to point out that for the past 2 weeks we must have made 1000 coffees and in all honesty only 2 people were dissatisfied. So in all honesty I should take this not so seriously as it is extremely difficult to please 100%. I guess as for the rest of your comments, yes I was running and helping out the service because there was lack of manpower but I can guarantee you that all my chefs have been trained to the highest level and some of these guys have worked in the kitchen for more then 10 years. All your criticisms are really out of reality.
And to finish off, you never had a pizza with onions but with tuna and onions, the extra extra or extra virgin olive oil is of a very good quality and if you are used to dressing your salad with engine oil then that is up to you, the mozzarella was the Buffalo Mozzarella, one of the best. You also mentioned that I am supposed to use dry chili for the pasta like they do in Italy. To add to your knowledge on that one, I just want to tell you that the dry items in Italy is only used in the winter as the fresh is not available.
I think that is all I can explain to you and if you permit next time as a friend you should at least tell me directly that night instead of acting like we are best of friends.
The way you have commented about this is like stabbing someone behind their back.
Take care and look forward to see you again in Villa Mauri
Not really...
Ciao
Per finirla in Italiano cosi lo capirai meglio non vedo l'ora di abbracciarti e di baciarti come si fa dalle nostre parti.
Un abbraccio
Don Coglione...
Be good
Ciao Rizio...
Sorry about the negative comments.. but imho.. its not quite there yet. Ever since I came back to Brunei, i've been waiting for an authentic italian restaurant and have been to every one that has opened up. Fratini's, Spaghettini etc.. and each one of them has been disappointing. I guess I was kinda hoping yours would bring the quality of italian food up a level here. Forgive me, maybe the 'acquired' taste i got from living and working at an italian restaurant has soured my taste buds to anything but. Other people would probably not have the same taste and would happily accept pizza hut as real pizza but you and i both know the difference.
As for the coffee, having the same traditional beans and top end machine does not mean the coffee will come out top. Your people must know how to make it. Its the same analogy as giving someone a ferrari and expecting him/her to be a race car driver. Cafe, as you and I know, is not watery.. its rich, thick and creamy (hmmm..katso.. hahahah) .. the scent and oil from the beans should be there.. even the temperature must be right, no?
Pizza with tuna and onions, really? And I asked for pizza with onions.. As for the engine oil comment, I'll ignore that. I know you are 'unhappy' about this. No che problema.. As for the chilli, well, if you think that fresh chilli being heated in oil gives you more flavour than dried.. its your style.. ps.. they also use as we call it here 'dried chilli padi', not the normal chillis. But then again, I'm sure the styles and ingredients will very depending if you are from the north or south..
As for the stabbing behind the back comment, perfavore, non ti conosco prima l'altra notte.. ho cercato di dire ma eri truppo occupato. Non e' colpa tua. Per il tuo informazione, le altre due, e' neutrale.. questa tutto sole il mio 'opinione.'
As for your 'not really' comment.. bravo.. mi piace il tuo attegiagamento.. troppo professionale..
Buona Fortuna..
palui kali..go and open ur own restaurant... nuff said..
semua jua kan complain eh...
if u think u can cook better... y not open up ur own restaurant... see how many customer u will get.
non siete stato soddisfatto mai con qualche cosa o chiunque. Mai persino voglia sostenere l'altra gente quando ci sono molti fuori là stanno sostenendo questa gente. Stesso va a fotographia. Sempre osservate giù su altri e le criticate. Congettura avete un problema di atteggiamento. Dovete ridurre alla terra David. Don' la t è così fiero ed ego e mai non pensa che siate il meglio o il FOTOGRAFO PIÙ IMPORTANTE. E per quanto riguarda l'alimento italiano, vada aprire il vostro proprio ristorante italiano se pensate che possiate realmente soddisfatto altri.
Translated "you're not ever been satisfied with anything or anyone. Never even want to support other people when there are many out there are supporting these people. Same goes for photography. Always observed on other down and criticized. Guess you have a problem of attitude. You must reduce to land David. Don 't be so proud and ego and never thought to be the best or the MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHER. And what about the Italian food, go open your own Italian restaurant if you think you can really pleased others."
You are right.. I am seldom satisfied with much. Everything can always be better.
As for supporting people.. hmm... funny.. when i support the local photographers, i get flamed.. called names.. get ridiculed... by our own locals. (Ref: CS). Now.. sama jua. Worst still, people assume i do not support them. That's why now.. i couldnt give two cts.
As for 'best or most important', funny, really funny. I get flamed when ppl say my work and good and i say there are others better... now i get flamed because YOU think i think i am most important.. kiri kena, kanan kena jua..
As for restaurant.. sorry, no.1, am not a cook and no.2, am not aiming to please others.
There ways and ways of satisfying your self and to me looks like that not even a big chili would do the trick.
Photographer, doctor, director what else could you be?
A big asshole for sure that could be one and the other an idiot yes that also is a good one.
What you need a spank in your butt sound like you could be a masochist or something on that line.
Look at the mirror and see behind your horrible ugly faces you should be able to see that the nature has made a big mistake by creating a thing like you because in all honest you are not human you are a disaster to the world.
Ba take a chill and stick a pencil up your ass I am sure you will have pleasure from it....
Take care
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