SCORCHING: The furnace makes all the difference in the way they bake their crispy pizzas.VNS Photos Mỹ Hà

Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

Located at 1,500m above sea level up in Lâm Viên Plateau in the Central Highlands of Việt Nam, Đà Lạt enjoys its mild weather all year round. It seems the spring never leaves this land.

Dubbed the "City of a Thousand Flowers", Đà Lạt, once the administrative centre of Lâm Đồng, is now divided into five wards after the province recently merged with Đắc Nông and Bình Thuận.

We went to Đà Lạt towards the end of spring this year, when the jacaranda trees sported their last purple blooms. Everywhere in the city, flower beds in public parks, small pots in front of people's homes or hung above their terraces gave the city a lively and romantic air.

Elsewhere in the city, roses were in full bloom in all colours, giant bloom of hydrangea in purple or pinkish under the pine shade made one feel calm and at tranquil. The carefully manicured gardens scattered around the city were our favourite backgrounds for photos.

In Đà Lạt, the mild weather creates great conditions for vegetables, as well as grass. Local veggies and milk are among the country's best. The local veggies have become a signature for the freshest, highest quality and delicious food provided for hotels in Hồ Chí Minh City or Hà Nội.

Interestingly enough, the local food scene is quite vibrant, with eateries representing many regions of the country. Local food stays limited and is not as strong as the neighbouring city of Pleiku.

We chose to try an Italian restaurant, as we were delighted to try a pizza with seven cheeses on our last trip here. The pizza was fired in a wood oven and served hot next to the fresh garden salad directly from the garden.

SUPER MEAL: The all-in-one salad with fresh greens, peppers, onion, artichoke and more.

The name Đà Lạt came from the name Đạ Lạch, with Da or Dak meaning water, and Lạch was the ethnic Lạt or K'Ho people: the two words mean the spring of Lạt people, i.e. the Cam Ly spring that runs through Đà Lạt from north to south.

In the 19th century, the French were looking to build a mountain retreat town at the proposal of Alexandre Yersin, the doctor who went on an exploration trip to this land in 1893. In the first half of the 20th century, the French built a colonial city with villas, offices, hotels and schools. Đà Lạt became a tourist and education centre of Indochina.

The city's lifestyle can be easily related to that of French influence, and French and Italian restaurant fits in quite well.

Primavera is located off a small lane in Phan Đình Phùng Street. Cars cannot stop in front of the restaurant. You have to walk down a slope to get into the establishment, which is attractive and gives an air of privacy.

The interior was designed to make it look both like a home restaurant and a little pasta studio, where fresh pasta is hung up to dry. It gives both an authentic feeling and a homey meal where the food is cooked with love and years of tradition.

cSLICE OF PLEASURE: Wood-fired oven pizza with fresh green rocket aplenty.

It's been a while since we had dinner in an Italian restaurant, and we forgot how big the portions were. We each ordered our favourite pick from the menu before realising they were too big for us to finish.

We had Primavera Salad (VNĐ120,000) for starters. It has all the fresh veggies and herbs: the crispy lettuce, broccoli, onion, tomato, bell pepper, black olives and the legendary Đà Lạt artichoke. The salad dressing was superb as it blends all ingredients together, but each veggie was flavourful and fresh.

Next we had Calzone (VNĐ210,000) with tomato, mozzarella, ham and mushrooms, tagliatelle home-made with bolognese sauce (VNĐ185,000) and chicken and mushroom ballotine with purée (VNĐ290,000). The calzone was delicious and burning hot when it arrived on our table fresh from the oven downstairs. It was too big for one person and I could barely finish half of it and had to take home the leftovers for the next day's lunch.

The chicken meat was thick and juicy, the meat tender and flavourful. The plus point is that when you are in Đà Lạt, the amount of fresh rucola they toss on your dish can be generous, which we all loved. It makes a big difference when the veggies are home-grown instead of flown in.

Since the pizza dough tasted so flavourful, I wondered if they were using sourdough to make the pizza crust. And the menu gets changed every month, so the menu you were looking for online before your trip may be renewed when you get there.

When we finished the meal, the rain was getting heavier and as we stood waiting for our cab to arrive. We decided to buy some fresh home-made tagliatelle pasta before we left.

With the fresh home-made pasta of fine quality, a simple toss in a pan with garlic and olive would be enough.

Primavera still has other dishes we'd want to try the next time we come here: bruschetta with Gorgonzola and artichoke (VNĐ150,000), mix of salami, ham, speck and three kinds of Italian cheeses (VNĐ290,000) or the spaghetti with crispy bacon, pecorino cheese and egg (VNĐ185,000). VNS

Primavera, Italian restaurant

Address: 54/7 Phan Đình Phùng St, Đà Lạt Ward, Lâm Đồng

Tel: 0263 3582 018