Maialino
Suckling Pig with chickpeas,cream, Savoy Cabbage, Scallop and Gentian sauce
Day 2 evening Friday 1st Dec 2023.7.30 pm
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I booked the 2 Michelin starred restaurant once again to celebrate my belated birthday 4 days earlier. Seta at Marina Mandarin Milan is a culinary connoisseur's delight the world over. Truth be told, I am not a foodie. I just tag along for the ride, with my wife's good taste as the barometer of what translates a meal ranging from very poor, average, good, very good and exceptional.
Would we be delighted once again (as in 2017 when we first came here, 6 years ago) or would this be a major and expensive let down ? Read on to find out !!! This fine dining restaurant is located on the ground floor of the 6 star Milan Mandarin Oriental and the address is as below :
Via Monte di Pieta 18
20121,
Milano
website : marinamandarin.com/en
Tel : +39 02 8731 8897
Seta Menu
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The Menu is subdivided into 3 distinct parts. La via del Seta (Seta's Way), Qui e ozo (Here and Now) and Cacciagione (game). You can choose the 8 course degustation menu for EUR 230 to 240 with an additional EUR 200 for the appropriate wine pairing. Or you could also do the a la Carte at EUR 160 (2 course) and EUR 210 (3 course) instead. We chose one of the 2 course and one of the 3 course menu respectively.
Astice Blu
Roasted Blue Lobster with "Lazzalo" sabagliane leek and Matcha tea
With the exception of the meal we had at Dempsey in June 2023, (Tinto restaurant), I would dare say that this meal at Seta is the best meal (culinary presentation, flavour sensation, service, ambience and charm) of the whole of 2023 for me.
The lobster was superb and the mashed potato below it served as a nice filler for my hungry tummy. Serving portions were small, but that is the way it is with fine dining, they want the diners to try the ' degustation' or tasting menu whereby as many as 6 small dishes (before dessert) so that the first timers or casual dining folk can experience as many different taste sensations, flavours and food textures to write home about (like me).
Service was very attentive, the waiters and waitress ratio to diners were practically 1 : 1. Tables were not that close together and the ambience, while it exuded one of quiet elegance, with the clink of champagne glasses and the hum of small talk and sophisticated laughter (fake or not ?) in the background.
I looked a bit like the poor country cousins with my tourist rugby shirt and jeans, but it didn't matter.
The suckling pig 1(see first photo) came disguised looking like a vegetarian dish. The savoy cabbage obscured the brown pig meat below, but the way the fusion dish turned out, I was pleasantly surprised at its presentation. Frankly, I prefer the pork done the Chinese / Spanish way (roasted till dark brown) and the crispy and crunchy thin skin part of the baby pig is so tasty just eating it without attenuation.
The dining area ;
there is a large bar area out at the front where you can have your aperitifs and hors' deuvres before the main course.
Pasta with horse mackerel, herring roe,king crab and juniper.
My third dish was the Al Dente Pasta as shown above, Italians love their pasta done the Al Dente style.That means chewy and with full flavour. If I had to rank my dishes, I would say this 1. Lobster
2. Suckling Pig
3. Pasta
The next post will present the dishes which my better half ordered. They were much better than mine
Carpe Diem.
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