Caffé Parma

Don't go to Caffé Parma looking for tiramisu. Named after the Northern Italian town of Parma, home to the best prosciutto, the chef (also from Parma) cooks up simple dishes the way his grandmother taught him.

Rustic soups such as ribollita (cabbage and bean) and cece e costine(chickpeas and pork ribs) are asatisfying meal in themselves and awelcome reminder that there's moreto Italian soups than the ubiquitous vegetable minestrone.

A generous New openings Authentic Italian Time Out reviews anonymously and pays for meals 6 stars - One of the best restaurants we've ever been to, words simply aren't enough; 5 stars - Excellent, one of the best restaurants in the city;4 stars - Very good; 3 stars - Good; 2 stars - Average; 1 star - Not great; 0 star - Don't bother.

A portion of thinly shaven Parma prosciutto (53RMB), a must-order dish given the restaurant's name, balances the meat's savoury intensity with a hint of sweetness. Another success is the medley of salad greens circled by melanzane involtini (48RMB), slices of aubergine, mozzarella and bacon rolled up and topped with a dollop of intense tomato sauce.

Equally satisfying is the maltagliati pesto siciliano. Maltagliati means badly cut and refersto the pasta shape. Sicilian pesto, less known than its bright green basil based cousin from Genoa, combines un-dried tomatoes, walnuts and garlic with ricotta cheese.

The contents of the pastry case tempt from the moment one enters Caffé Parma. Tiny fruit topped tartsprovide a sweet morsel after a meal while a slice of grandmother's apple cake (25RMB) tastes so good you want to barge into the kitchen and give the little old lady a hug of thanks. Gelato, on the other hand, disappoints.

Despite the elegance of crisp white table linens and a white rose on each table, Caffé Parma is a casual place todrop by for anything from a breakfast espresso to a late night bite of stuffed focaccia.

Wine starting at a reasonablypriced29RMB per glass demonstrates Caffé Parma's intention of providing customers with a satisfying dining experience that's easy on the wallet. A meal runs smoothly as long as the managers are around to supervise but wait staff, while eager, need more training.