The Tuscany region in Italy is famous for its renaissance arts and architecture as well as the lush olive groves and vineyard especially in the region of Chianti! With such background and natural resources it is with no doubt that the culinary scene in the area is awesome as well! Trattoria I Barberi, located in the heart of Siena, is one of the most acclaimed restaurant in the city as well. It is priced for serving up authentic Tuscany cuisine with great servings and price point. Tuscan cuisine strives on simple cooking, usually just done with olive oil and the freshest ingredients. Fast and simple fancy food. They use the freshest seasonal ingredients daily to add on to their regular menu. During the time that I was there, nov, the seasonal items are Truffles and Porcini mushrooms!
Trattoria I Barberi is located a couple blocks away from the duomo, the location is good and just minutes away from Piazza del Campo. I was here on a mon for lunch. There is a couple table of people inside although the restaurant was of a good size. The restaurant was cosy and homey. It has brick walls and black color tables. It felt like a mixture of modern and traditional!
Right before dining here, I already knew that I am going to have the Truffles Tagliolini which is the main reason why I am here! Setting my sight on that here I come. I have not ate since taking the bus from Rome in the morning. Feeling super famished, I ask the waiter for recommendation on the starter as well. Hey after all, an authentic Italian meal is a min of 4 courses huh! As per the usual, a true italian meal begins with bread and olive oil or balsamic vinegar. I am actually loving this dining practise more and more. Pour a little olive oil on your bread plate, then sprinkle salt on it. Break up the bread with your hand and then dunk into the mixture. How heavenly! The salt seems to even further enhance the fruitiness of the olive oil.
I got the Puff Pastry with Shepp Cheese, Bacon, Onions and balsamic vinegar for the starter. It comes at 7 Euros. I really like this dish since the flavour are just so powering and comforting. Everything’s better with bacons. It tasted like a crispy, flaky breakfast burrito. Everyones knows how well bacon and onions combine. The hint of cheese also add in a little creaminess that brings everything together. Then the balsamic vinegar just cuts all the guilt out from the dish. Actually! Balsamic vinegar is the only vinegar that I eat, since it is not sour at all but in fact sweet! Overall, it is nothing special but just so delicious!
Then there was the plain looking yet the highlight of my meal. Tagliolini with fresh summer truffles! The prices of Trattoria I Barberi is pretty fair, dishes all ranges around 10 euros, even for the mains, this is also I strongly recommend this place. Fancy delicious food yet light on the wallet, score! Although given that this dishes uses truffles, naturally, it comes at a slightly higher price! The Truffle Tagliolini comes at a modest 12 Euros. Just look at that glimmering plate of pasta! If you know about truffles, the dishes that use it are always something simple, either this or it is use as a garnish. Truffles on scrambled eggs, Truffles on risotto. The idea is not to have an even stronger flavour to cover its scent. It is going to be really hard to describe this dish. Tagliolini are light ribbon pasta that is always used for this dish. In fact it is something like our “mee pok” that we have in Singapore. It comes in a super light cream sauce based, then the truffles are shaved over them.
I would say that the amount of truffle is pretty generous. Even though these are only black summer truffles, I can really get the aroma of them. Especially when you are still having it hot. The hot pasta comes on the dish steaming, with the steam lifting the freshly shaved truffles on top. Perfect. I would say that a truffle dish is mainly to feast your nose instead of your palette! All in all I am very pleased with my meal at Trattoria I Barberi. 21 Euros, for my truffle pasta, a starter and bread. Satisfied!
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