By Aubrey Buckingham (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-07 14:05

Prego's new winter menu at The Westin Bund Center keeps "the way of Prego" by mixing cuisines from the north to the south of Italy.

Italian fine-dining restaurant Prego at The Westin Bund Center Shanghai is offering a new winter menu, but fans of the classic favorites found in Prego restaurants around the world should fret not.

These dishes have been kept on and continue to taste as good as ever.

While the thought of homogenized food envokes images of fast-food chains, it is a different case when it comes to hotels.

Travelers forced to spend great amounts of time away from home often find luxury hotels to be cold, impersonal places, no matter how opulent the surroundings.

The Westin chain has thus hit upon the idea to ensure that not only does its Prego line serve homely, endearing fare, but also to guarantee that hungry travelers can enjoy a few dishes they have come to love - they taste the same in any Prego restaurant around the world.

The food is also focused on offering a taste of the entire country's cuisine, as opposed to just a specific region.

"The food at Prego is good, wholesome brasserie-style fare," said Executive Chef Luke Elder.

"This is what you would get eating at home in Italy - nothing too small or petite as you would get in typical Italian fine-dining but decent-sized portions with good-quality produce."

Emphasizing this homeliness is the restaurant's winsome Italian chef, Dario Congera. The Linguria native has been with the property for nearly four years, and has come to epitomize what the restaurant is all about.

"The new menu is still keeping the way of Prego," said the manager-chef. "We're keeping the originality of the mix of cuisines from the north to south (of Italy) with a variety of dishes from all regions."

The comprehensive menu features, in addition to the classic favorites mentioned above marked with a "Prego: We Love It!" tag, about 60 to 70 dishes that encompasses as much of the country as it can.

The lobster salad (148 yuan/US$20) is a pile of green leaves, boiled Canadian lobster, ripe cherry tomatoes and fresh, tangy orange, topped with rich olive oil.

Simple but tasty, and refreshing to boot.

The Milan-style ossobuco (268 yuan) is a Prego staple and tasted as wholesome as its chef proclaimed it to be. A hearty dish, the tomato sauce and saffron risotto made perfect bedfellows to the braised veal shank on a bitterly cold winter's day.

Chocolate lovers will find the soft-centered chocolate pudding (88 yuan) absolutely divine.

The fluffy pastry gave way to warm, rich and gooey chocolate that lent itself to the spice of the cinnamon ice cream on the side.

According to Congera, the eatery benefits greatly from the improved access to ingredients local chefs enjoy these days.

"You can be a good chef, but with better ingredients you can be more original. Over the past few years the quality of ingredients available, especially Italian products, has improved. Mozzarella, for example, has a shelf life of one week, but now you can get fresh mozzarella on a plane today, in Shanghai tomorrow and on your plate at night."

The ability of local customers to appreciate such products has also increased lately.

The Italian stated that the percentage of local clientele has doubled since 2005, and there is a greater interest in Italian fare.

Address: 2/F, 88 Henan Road M.
Tel: 021-6335-1888