Fasta Pasta, Aspley, Brisbane

March 31, 2016

Having new owners means either the restaurant will get better in terms of service and/or food or it will just be the same. Fasta Pasta located in the Harvey Norman precinct in Aspley is a friendly, homey and casual dining where you can experience various Italian dishes with a wide variety range to choose from. If you don't feel like eating pasta or pizza then have a try at their mains or salads. What should I say about this new owner other than that the place has gotten better with a much better customer service and also a friendly owner I might say.. and oh, did I say that the pizzas and pasta dishes also has improved tremendously? I cannot say that previously the food was bad, as it wasn't that bad but it wouldn't be a place I'd recommend if you want an easy but casual Italian fix or an Italian night out.. But now? I would have to say that since the transformation, it is recommended if you want to have a family dinner night or even just to satisfy your Italian tummy..

When you're seated, you are given the menu and be asked what drink you would like as well as being given complimentary slices of bread with butter and parmesan cheese. Soon after, the waitress would come by the table to take the orders.

'Pizza Bianca' (8inch: $5.9 or 10inch: $7.9) is your Fasta Pasta version of garlic bread. A thin pizza base topped with olive oil, garlic, parsley, mozarella and parmesan. The pizza base was fluffy and though it was thin, it was not too thin until it was all crisps. The previous pizza base here was very thin and you would not be able to enjoy the fluffiness and also the delicious dough while eating the pizza.

'Meditteranean Salad' ($12.9) was surprisingly big in portion wise. Mixed lettuce leaves, baby roma tomatoes, cucumber, roasted capsicum, Kalamata olives and bocconcini with balsamic dressing. Having a bright outlook just brightens up the whole dish. The balsamic dressing was just enough to cover everything in the salad which allowed us to not have to try and dip or find extra sauce for those dry bits and pieces. The bocconcini was chewy and had a great texture but what highlighted the dish was the combination of the bocconcini, kalamata olives and the roasted capsicum. It added a whole different dimension as well as having the slight balsamic dressing around it made it brilliant.

'Tortellini Zucca' (E:$15.9, M:$17.9) consists of Chicken filled tortellini tossed with pine nuts, spinach, braised chicken, onion, pumpkin, chilli and cream. There are a wide range of tomato based sauce in the pasta dishes but not so much cream base. Having chosen this dish, we knew right away that it wasn't going to be dissapointing as the Entree portion seemed like a usual Main in Italian restaurants and the fact that the amount of pine nuts, baby spinach and pumpkin pieces were cut quite big made the dish seems really full and filling even before picking up your fork.

The braised chicken was braised well having its own distinct flavour and taste, also, having combined in with the cream and other elements in the dish allowed not only the tortellini to shine out but also its other accompanying elements. The cream however was quite in the heavier side but after you have mixed everything together, it allows you to taste the chicken filled tortellini as well as the subtle cream and pine nuts as well. Overall, a pleasant dish but unfortunately we couldn't finish as it was quite a portion I may say..