Amici by City Delivery
for lunch today my aunt and i had the most amazing spread from AMICI, courtesy of city delivery.
in case you didn’t know yet (truthfully before this experience i hardly did either), CITY DELIVERY is a multi-restaurant delivery service that delivers food to anywhere in metro manila. you can take your pick from their comprehensive list of partner restaurants, which includes the city’s finest cuisine – from italian to japanese and a ton more in between.
i received an invitation to try out some good ol’ fashioned food delivery, and given a shortlist of restaurant choices: 26 out of the couple of hundred they offer. it may sound a lot easier to choose from this, but trust me: it wasn’t. it took me days figuring out which type of food and from which restaurant i wanted to order. it honestly felt like one of the most important decisions i ever had to make! in the end i decided to go with amici (a.k.a. everyone’s favorite italian joint) because, upon close examination, i realized i had never actually tried the restaurant. crazy, i know.
and so i placed an advance order (one of city delivery’s convenient features) for sunday noon, when i was sure i’d have someone with me to eat all that grub. i picked a handful of amici’s tastiest-looking dishes – based mostly on reviews i read online – which were all laid out on the city delivery website. in fact i did the entire transaction online! easy-peasy food delivery. i then got a call from them a few minutes later confirming my order and next thing i knew, i was anxiously waiting for today for the city delivery santa claus to bring me my goodies.
everything arrived at my door well-packed and compact, and 15 minutes ahead of schedule. of course i knew they must utilize the appropriate technology that would allow food to stay warm through the course of city-wide travel, but i still got surprised (and ridiculously excited) when i opened all the tin foil packaging and got huge whiffs of blissfully warm steam. in an instant my apartment smelled like herbs and cheese and tomatoes and everything else that is good about italian food.
we dug into the salad first. i had picked the blue cheese & pear salad (P190), and it tasted AMAZING. my aunt said the honey vinaigrette dressing was too sour for her liking, but i thought it was just perfect. i found all the elements (pear slices, arugula, blue cheese and chunks of walnut) to blend really well together and make you want to do a little happy dance.
we then moved on to the ravioli di spinaci (P258). i liked it a lot! anything stuffed with spinach and mushrooms (then slathered with creamy truffle oil sauce) is good in my book. it was just a tad on the bland side, but i found the dish to be a wonderful complement to the chicken i also ordered, so it worked out great in the end. however if you eat it on its own and are looking for a bit more flavor, a small sprinkle of salt will do the trick!
half rosemary chicken with a side of veggies, a.k.a. pollo arrostito (P296) — ahhh, a tasty dish if i ever had one. the meat literally slides off the bone and is so flavorful i had to close my eyes every time i took a bite. (no joke.) and the veggies were a nice touch.
okay i’ll admit, out of all the food i ordered, the tutta carne pizza (P356) was probably the only bit of letdown. not that i didn’t enjoy it! this is by no means a bad pizza; it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. after reading an endless number of glowing reviews about it on blogs and foodie sites (people seem to go crazy over its trio of toppings: italian sausage, ham and pepperoni), can you blame me for expecting it to blow me through the roof? however i just found it…quite typical for an all-meat pizza. but like i said: it’s not a bad pizza at all and i’m sure it will remain to be one of the restaurant’s bestsellers. i think i’ll just choose something a little more adventurous next time.
finally, my favorite pick from amici, the spaghetti ai tesori del mare (P332). as soon as i opened the styrofoam container my aunt gave a squeal of delight: apparently it’s her favorite dish from the restaurant. and after having my first forkful, i knew exactly why. the blend of seafood and tomato really sits well on your palate, and that little spicy kick is the cherry on top. add to that that the pasta is cooked to a perfect al dente and you got yourself a dish you’d practically want to lick off the plate.
i’m really happy about my first CITY DELIVERY – and amici! – experience and i am certain this won’t be the last. you can click on the photo below for their complete area chart. note that extra delivery charges vary depending on total distance from restaurant to recipient address.
when you feel like going for an unforgettable dining experience, say, in your pajamas, or are celebrating payday at work, or want to surprise a loved one for any kind of occasion, give CITY DELIVERY a call. you won’t regret it! do also add them on facebook and twitter to keep up with their latest updates and new offerings!