La Piola
31/4 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 250 7270

It is to my shame that I have not been to La Piola before. I had heard about Mama's cooking but somehow never quite got there.
La Piola is called a family restaurant but I am not certain that that is what it is. It is a really rare restaurant type for Bangkok, but not so rare in Italy. Here Mama does the cooking and there is no real menu. You get what Mama cooks. You can either choose from a limited list of à la carte items or you can have Mama’s menu. The latter has everything one may require, thankfully in taster-size portions. The à la carte menu is entitled “slow food”! In addition there is an excellent and sensibly priced wine list; needless to say it is Italian wines only.
The day we visited the full menu that was on offer was as follows.
With virtually no delay we were given a plate of crudités with a hot anchovy dipping sauce. The hot sauce surprised me, I was trying to guess the ingredients and concluded it was béchamel with chopped anchovies and extra olive oil. I have probably already libelled Mama but in any case it was good and the anchovy taste was not too overpowering. As we nibbled at our raw veggies there arrived a plate of grilled vegetables and a basket of good looking bread and, if that was not enough, a large plate of Parma ham followed supported by half a melon. That was the starter.
Now for the pasta course. This started with a good thick vegetable soup followed by penne pasta with a light tomato sauce and then a fish ravioli with good strong fish taste. On gave me an old fashioned look when I suggested that these were the first two courses and there were only three to go!
The mains consisted of fish kebabs, courgettes (zucchini) grilled with mozzarella cheese on top, and then, just to make certain we did not starve, a chicken leg and thigh, each cooked to perfection and served in the casserole juices with accompanying mushrooms. The chicken fell off the bone but was not dry as it had stayed in the hot stock it was cooked in. It almost had a confit flavour to it.
A short break was permitted until the arrival of tiramisu heralded the dessert course and, with it, the liqueur course comprising a small jug each of lemoncello and coffeecello. And that was it except for the final espresso.
The concept is to offer a meal as it would be served in the home in Italy. If all Italians ate that much every day, Fiat would not be making small cars, so presumably this was a feast day lunch. In fact we had this meal for dinner but it would be a perfect afternoon meal and I am told some take that route.
Nothing flash, nothing too special, and I am sure Mama has no idea what fusion means; just good plain Italian cooking at its best!