I was invited to the media launch of Tosca Trattoria Italiana, the Italian Restaurant at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru.
The rustic, earthly yet contemporary interior at Tosca was simple yet classy. Located on the 13th floor, the windows overlook the Straits of Johor.
I like this private room - we can
The well stocked bar at Tosca.
There is also poolside alfresco dining which I think will be great for a romantic evening :D
Executive Chef Jaffery at DoubleTree has over 25 years of experience, that took him around the world before coming here to Johor Bahru. Chef Jaffery's philosophy is quality ingredients prepared to perfection with simple techniques. It's an approach to food that I subscribe to as well :D
At Tosca, all pizza dough and pasta are made from scratch in the kitchen. Chef Yuzry demonstrated pasta making for us and showed us the squid ink fettuccine he made.
Tosca is equipped with this special Zesti wood fired pizza oven capable of extremely high temperatures (700°C). This is the only such oven in Southeast Asia, at the moment.
We tried our hands at making pizza under the tutelage of Executive Chef Jaffery and Chef Yuzry. Xiang Yun from The Star newspaper on my left.
To round up the media event, we were hosted to lunch at Tosca.
There was a wide range of antipasti (Italian style starters) to whet our appetite.
The hearty mushroom soup was a grainy blend of a few types of mushrooms dressed with whipped cream, olive oil and sprinkles of finely chopped parsley leaves. Deliciously earthly, savoury and mushroomy.
After seeing Chef Yuzry's demonstration of pasta making, I ordered this Fettuccine Alfredo to try.
Fettuccine Alfredo is the most basic of pasta dishes, made with (flat and broad) fettuccine tossed in melted Parmesan cheese and butter. The melted cheese and butter smothered the eggy pasta with a smooth and rich coating.
Personally, the most elemental, basic way is the best way to enjoy pasta and noodles (including wanton mee 云吞面 and mee pok 面薄 :P ).
Tosca's al dente and richly flavoursome Fettuccine Alfredo was excellent.
Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and mozzarella cheese, and served with grilled vegetables and baked potato.
The tender clean tasting subtly sweet chicken breast was complemented by savoury gravy enveloping it's surface and savoury melted mozzarella cheese stuffed in it's inside. The gravy soaked spinach added to the layers of savouriness in this flavoursome dish.
I liked this too.
We rounded up our lunch with a sweet and cold Pistachio Semifreddo dessert. The frozen mousse and ice cream blend was another winner.
I enjoyed the small sampling of Tosca's food today and look forward to trying the pizzas made with that mighty Zesti wood fired pizza oven :D
Entrance driveway at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru
My thanks to Grace, Karen and Lena for the invite and hospitality.
Restaurant name: Tosca Trattoria Italiana
Address: 12 Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/KIaRs
GPS: 1.465216,103.760182
Hours: Lunch | Dinner
Tel: +607 268 6868
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert
Date visited: 26 Aug 2014
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The corporate events next to the main dining hall were great and the outdoor patio is just beautiful, especially at night when they let down the curtains, very good.
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