La Favola

Those who know me know that pasta is, hands down, my favourite food. I whole-heartedly agree with La Favola's motto "life is a combination of magic & pasta" - in fact, at La Favola, pasta is magic.

Although the service is surprisingly fast, the pastas, stocks and sauces are in fact hand made on site every morning - and a peek into the kitchen, with its large bags of flour, suggests this is indeed the case. As a side note, there are actually two kitchen areas - an open kitchen where diners can watch the chef toss pasta in sauces; and a back kitchen where the prep happens and other food-stuff is made. I'm ecstatic to report that both kitchens are immaculate.

The name of the game at La Favola, of course, is their pasta - but let's begin with a little appetiser - carpaccio. Delicate, thin slices of raw beef is topped with kale chips, rocket, parmesan and drizzled with truffle oil. The contrast between the baby-softness of the beef and the satisfying, light-as-air crunch of the kale chips is simply gorgeous. The earthiness of the truffle oil works well with the sharp, mature parmesan. A light, yet highly satisfying, start.

Carpaccio, $20

Since carpaccio is simply raw meat, our waiter recommended that we pair it with a focaccia. The foccaccia didn't really come in handy for the carpaccio, but I sure am glad we ordered it - it is pillowy, slightly chewy, and fragrant with garlic (a very light touch), oregano and rosemary. It is hands down the best focaccia I've had in a while (I find them dry and powdery on most occasions) and I enjoyed using them to mop up the pasta sauce.

Focaccia, $4

There are six types of pastas on offer at La Favola - you can mix and match with any sauce you like. We opt for the casarecce (one of my favourite pasta shapes because the twistiness allows sauces to cling on better) in the dal mare sauce, which is simply described on the menu as "octopus, prawns, calamari, chilli, garlic, white wine" - imagine my (pleasant) surprise when it turned out to be a red sauce!

The seafood is cooked to perfection - the octopus and calamari pieces so beautifully tender. Instead of  whole large prawns, La Favola has opted for delicate little bits of prawn meat which have almost melted into the sauce itself. It's like a paella in a pasta, and it's gorgeous. 

As a side note, for my celiac friends - gluten free options available.

Dal Mare

La Favola's beauty lies in its top-quality simplicity. Just a couple of options, done really, really bloody well. I can't wait to go back and try out all the other pasta shapes and sauces.

I'd love to say "let the carb loading begin", but I don't think I ever stopped carb loading in the first place.

Score: 5/5 
I think I'm a little bit in love, actually.
Price: $50 would get you very, very satisfied.
Address: 170 King St, Newtown
Website: www.favola.com.au