Day 5 : Scugnizzo

Scugnizzo means cheeky, naughty, cunning. We stumbled upon this Italian restaurant while walking back to our hotel. We were tired and cold and hungry, and so we went inside, hoping for a good warm meal of Italian pasta.

The interior of the restaurant was quite cosy, with the soft lighting, wooden furniture and the black and white photographs on the wall.

The tables were nicely set up
Snow-white linen, white porcelain plates, sparkling glasses and shiny cutlery

On the wall ..

An emblem? Cause it was part of the signboard outside too ...

We could not understand a word in the menu! But the waiter was friendly and helpful, and he clarified our queries patiently. He was a Brazilian who found Melbourne a more liveable place compared to his home country. 

While waiting for the main courses ... 

Bruschetta with mozarella ..... yum ...

 Bread with olive oil and butter

The olive oil was probably infused with herbs as it had a very refreshing, citrusy taste

 
The mains ...

Gnocchi al Rosmarino con Polpettine, AUD$26.00

Rosemary gnocchi with meatballs in a mozarella basil cream sauce with sundried tomatoes

This was the special of the day and it was not in the menu. I liked the meatballs and the rich cream sauce. 

Gnocchi alla Pizzaiola, AUD$26.00

 Saffron gnocchi with involtini of sardines and mussels in a Pizzaiola sauce, wrapped in speck

This dish is redolent of the rich and herby tomato sauce. We found it very flavourful, but my friend thought it was too meaty, with so much of bacon atop the pasta.

 

 Pappardelle di basilico alla Genovese, AUD$24.00

Basil pappardelle with traditional Campania beef ragù

 Well, the ragu was a wonderful combination of meat and vegetables.

 Scialatielli di Mare con Zucca, AUD$28.00

Buck wheat scialatielli with grilled scampi,roast pumpkin and cuttlefish with sage oil

I was absolutely happy with what I had ordered. The whold dish had a very delicate flavour, and to me, that enhanced the freshness of the seafood! The scialatielli was slightly hard for me, though I was sure it was al dente. The scampi was really heavenly - very sweet and tasty, and the generous cuttlefish slices were chewy. The pumpkin on the other hand, was really sweet as well. Overall, I enjoyed this pasta lots.

Later on, we found out that the chef hailed from Naples, Italy and it is through this restaurant that he wants to share the lovely food of Southern Italy. Scugnizzo is located on Little Bourke street. Here is the website.