I have been keeping a well-known secret from you all for atleast one month. You see, I was taken to a small, intimate, cozy and charming restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 13. The food was good, the ambiance friendly and unpretentious. It was like going eat at a friend’s house whose mother cooked for us. I liked it so much that I did not want to write about it. I wanted to return there and have my intimate meals with my friends for a while before letting you all in on this little jewel. Then one day I had made reservations to eat there with seven other people.

           My secretary made the reservation but it ended up that I had to be there at seven in the evening and out by nine o’clock. Suddenly I realized that the secret is out and that I might as well write about the place and join the line to go eat there with the rest of the gourmets and gourmands in Bangkok. I am sure that many of you have already been there. The restaurant I am talking about is La Piola. To get to the restaurant which is tucked away in the narrow street of Soi 13, Soi Wattana, you will have to get to it from either Soi 11 or 15 because Soi 13 is one way, you cannot get in from Sukhumvit road.

           The other problem is that you will have to find parking in this narrow street. It is best you take the BTS there, get off at Nana Station and take a taxi or motorcycle to the restaurant. La Piola, I am told, is a name of a flower. As you enter a glass door you will feel like you have come to somebody’s home. There are only about 8 to 10 tables in this small room. Don’t expect white table cloths and waiters dressed in black and whites.

           I sat with my friend by the window. Our waiter who was a friend of the owner, dressed as he would at home came to greet us and inquired what we would like to drink. I looked to the wall at the far end of this small room to see Italian wines and various Italian products lining the shelves. We went to the shelves and selected a Sicilian red wine. Our waiter opened the wine and poured it out for tasting, with the kind of care that you would for a relative who’s there for dinner.

           No menu is given, the bread came in a basket and it was obviously made on the premise because of the irregularities of its shape and size. Then the owner came to our table with our antipasto on a wooden board. There seems to be so much on the board, Parma ham sliced thin covering slices of melon, salami and many kinds of dry sausages. With as much ceremony as you would at your own home, he brought plates of Radiccio salad, grilled marinated vegetables, pickled olives, fresh mozzarella and sliced cherry tomatoes.

           There seems to be so much food for two people on the table but I managed to finish it all. I was eating so fast, a bite of the ham with the grilled vegetables in olive oil and to mop up the fragrant oil I used the home made bread and of course I washed the whole thing down with this robust Sicilian wine. It was perfect. I felt I was eating at someone’s home. I was completely relaxed and did not have to mind my P’s and Q’s. In no time at all we finished the appetizers.

           Plates were cleared and our waiter owner sauntered over grinning. He described to us our choice of pasta, which will be served with some kind of meats. Since there was only two of us, we could only choose two kinds of pasta although they have four choices. My friend chose the Penne in tomato sauce with pieces of smoked ham in it and I chose risotto made with Italian sausage and saffron. We waited a little while and the food came.

           My friend’s penne came with a piece of braised lamb shanks and my risotto came with a braised beef. It was home made Italian food all right. Simply cooked, using only good quality ingredients, the food here is definitely no grand haute cuisine but made from the heart and hands of a seventy year old Italian lady, the mother of the owner. I loved this home cooked Italian meal so much that I asked to go see the kitchen and the chef. It was when I met her that I knew that she the mother of the owner, he is the male replica of his mother! We had desserts. There were only two choices, an Italian crème caramel and Tiramisu. We chose the Tiramisu.

           Our empty dessert plate was brought to the table and our waiter walked over with a pan of tiramisu which his mother must have made and just spoon it on out plate with a characteristic plop. I loved it. We finished the meal with glasses of grappa. I had to be careful about this because of the sugar level in my blood but I was having such a good time, what the hell. If any of you want to have a good home Italian meal and experience a cozy at home ambiance, La Piola is definitely a must. You will need to make reservations. Go eat there, leave all your hang-ups behind, relax, eat and enjoy.