As might be expected, the dessert menu in Toscana is fairly extensive and runs the gamut of dishes you would expect to find in any top quality Italian restaurant. There are nine or ten flavours of ice cream, all made from both cow and goat’s milk, alongside sorbets, profiteroles, tiramisu, mousses, puddings, sponges, and the like, making up a long list of dishes.
It will be no surprise that all the desserts are made in-house from products sourced primarily from the Toscana-Moom Talay natural animal farm which they run out at Huay Yai.
Although the dessert menu runs deep, desserts are not considered as a key feature in the Toscana culinary landscape. As mine host Luca says, “I don’t mind if people want to just come to Toscana and have a cake and a coffee – or indeed a hamburger, Panini or fosaccia – and maybe watch the sunset, that’s fine.” Luca hangs his hat on the breadth and quality of his starters and main menu dishes, but also understands that there will be some customers who just like the idea of having something light, say between lunch and dinner, and can relax and enjoy the passing parade on Beach Road.
The restaurant has its own pasteurizing machine and there is no pre-mixed powder or preservatives used in their desserts. This is in keeping with the general theme of Toscana and Moom Talay of producing food across the menu spectrum which is as natural and fresh as possible.
After 29 years of “making ice creams and desserts I can tell you the most popular are tiramisu and profiteroles,” say Luca. He understands that part of the reason for the popularity of both these dishes is that they are usually familiar to diners, while desserts with more exotic-sounding names such as Panna Cotta, Cream Catalana, Fragola and Amarena are not so well known.
The latter pair (Fragola and Amarena) are part of a selection of desserts classified as Semifreddi. These dishes are a meringue-based cold dish which consist simply of sugar, milk and cream, with the flavor (chocolate, strawberry, etc.) blended into the cream. Simple yet tasty and filling.
As an accompaniment to a dessert dish, Toscana also has around 35 different varieties of grappa with an alcohol content of anywhere from 38 to 43 percent. They are blended as smooth as possible so the alcohol doesn’t burn your throat.
The restaurant serves liqueurs, including Irish Coffee (made of course with Jameson Irish Whiskey).
In keeping with the aim of running a restaurant which is as friendly and relaxed as possible, Luca says, “some customers, when they’ve finished their main meal, might like to go outside and have a cigarette or a cigar. We have no problem with that and they are welcome to have their coffee or dessert served outside where they can sit down and enjoy the evening.”
Trattoria Pizzeria TOSCANA Restaurant and the Moom Talay Thai Restaurant are located on Beach Road, Pattaya (between Soi 6 and Soi 7). Telephone: 038 362 370; Fax: 038 362 371;
Email: [email protected]
For reservations: Phone 081 861 3446.
