Da Marco

Last night was our first visit to the notoriously busy Da Marco and we have lived here for 2 years! We need to get out more. The place was packed solid all the way from 8 till 11pm - reservation is a must. We left J in charge for the ordering he he got us a whole bunch of dishes to share.

The complimentary bruschetta came promptly and man they were divine. The bread basket was also very hearty and I loved the bread sticks.

The first dish to arrive was the pizza with parma ham (sorry I forgot to take pictures). The ham was thickly sliced and there didn't seem to be any sauce or other toppings on the pizza but it was really tasty. The freshly made medium crust was really yummy.

Then we had the buffalo mozzarella salad. Looking fresh, it tasted as good as a buffalo mozzarella salad can get. I never quite understand this dish to be honest. How delicious can it get?

Next we had the beef carpaccio and I loved the size of it. The beef was very fresh and moist it didn't need a lot of olive oil. (I hate it when they rehydrate the beef with oil in some places.) The parmesan was tasty and not too salty and crumbly...hmm..I am getting hungry again just thinking about it.

The bresaola was also nice but it paled in comparison to the carpaccio.
Next came the excellent and extremely yummy clams and mussels in white wine sauce with garlic and parsley. I had to control myself from eating too many of them so I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of J.
Everything was excellent up to this point. Then came the 2 disappointing main courses. We had some kind of grilled beef dish which didn't have the aromatic meat taste. The meat was a little bland and stringy.

Then there was the suckling pig dish. If I hadn't read the description on the menu I would have guessed the pig was older than me. The meat was so tough it hurt my jaws. (Sorry no pictures as I was fully preoccupied with the wine by that point.)

As full as we were we decided to give the desserts a try. The tiramisu was disappointingly bland and had no taste whatsoever. I suspected the watery bottom was a result of defrosting.

The panacotta was edible and mediocre.
The profiteroles had extremely chewy bottoms which made cutting difficult (especially with just a spoon). Marginally edible.
I wonder why the main courses and desserts sucked so much? I guess you have to know what to order. I would love to go back for more starters and pizzas!

Da Marco
103 Dong Zhu An Bang Rd. (near Jiangsu Rd), Shanghai. Tel: 6210-4495