The first time I ate at Saizeriya was many years ago.
It is a meal I particularly remember, not so much for the friend whom I was with (and whom I don't meet anymore), but for the pasta carbonara that I'd ordered, and which, have not yet forgotten.
I remember the pasta being well cooked.
I also remember the sauce being creamy and heavy and thick.
It's interesting how they've managed to keep standards of their food so consistent over all these years.
Not only have they not deteriorated, in fact, I think they've gotten better.
For those who don't know, Saizeriya is one of those diners you go to whenever you want a quick, delicious meal from a menu that offers plenty of variety.
I don't know whether it is because you can get free-flow drinks for an additional $2.90, but this place is popular with youth, young people, families and couples alike.
I've seen Japanese students from international schools having their dinner before heading off home.
I've seen office workers having a birthday party meal- complete with wine- at a large table setting.
This is the kind of place where you don't have to think too hard about costs to have a good meal, and there's more than enough for one to have the full set of soup, salad, main and dessert without breaking the bank.
Appetizers, soups and salads are surprisingly some of the most popular eats here in this place. Whether it be the mushroom soup, or corn cream soup, whether it be the egg salad, chicken salad, or even the salmon salad, they're all really popular. I've seen people happily dig into their plate of lettuce and vegetables whilst sipping a cup of coffee. I've also seen people having their soups whilst chatting, and waiting for their main to come.
Sauteed spinach with bacon, sauteed broccoli, and chicken wings make for great appetizers, in particular, the first, where it makes for a good addition should you be on a no-carb, less-carb type of diet.
Perhaps one day I should try the escargots- just for fun- and see how they taste like.
Most of the time, however, we go for the pizza.
It is a dish quick, fast, easy to eat, easy to share.
We've tried the Pineapple and Bacon, we've also tried the Margherita but today there was a special item of a Parma Ham pizza, so we got that instead.
Me and my dining partner do, after all, love a good slice of parma ham from the supermarket, and this one came with huge slices of the ham gently laid over the crust of the pizza.
I can't remember whether there was cheese underneath it.
i think there was.
There might have.
Only thing about this pizza is that I didn't manage to get a good picture.
We had been hungry and so begun eating before I'd snapped a nice picture.
No matter, I'll get it another time.
I'll also have to get a better picture of the risotto as well.
The one this evening didn't turn out as pretty as I hoped.
Maybe I should have had the bacon slices laid out in a prettier manner, or dug the mushrooms out from under the heap of risotto, but, what with it being hungry and wanting to eat finish and go home, the picture turned out this way.
Guess I'll have to order this Bacon and Mushroom Risotto again next time.
Or I just might have the Spinach Chicken Gratin- the picture looks interesting- or the Pesto Genovese, which is, literally, pesto sauce with bacon and cheese.
The one thing I haven't really thought of having, however, is the Grill, even though it is extremely popular, and more often than not I've seen diners having the Tuscan Lamb Chop, or the Cheese Chicken, or the Grilled Salmon that comes with Cream Sauce and Spinach.
The Cheese Chicken is, especially, a very popular dish.
More than once I've seen diners happily cutting up the piece of chicken and munching it with their sides of potato and kernel corn.
Perhaps I'll give it a try one time.
But one thing I'll want to go for whenever I'm here is their dessert.
It might be just $5 per piece, but their dessert is surprisingly good.
We've taken to their Tiramisu, but their Hazelnut Semifreddo, their Salted Caramel Semifreddo, and their Oreo Cheese Cake seem pretty good too.
Plus, I want to have the Apple Crumble Ice Cream.
It looks too good not to have!