Offering an array of handmade pasta dishes, all crafted with colourful ingredients, MyDeli in Hà Nội is a perfect spot for aficionados of Mediterranean cuisine. Make sure to come back and try them all. Minh Thu reports.

As a fan of Italian cuisine, I have enjoyed must-try dishes such as Carbonara and Bolognese pasta at many restaurants in Hà Nội. When I visited MyDeli restaurant, I was again reminded of fresh Italian flavours.

With colours made from taro, yellow bean, squid ink, and pandan leaves, the owner puts a new twist on the familiar linguine. The dishes appear on the table with five colours – purple, yellow, black, red and green in creamy sauces.

I have returned to MyDeli many times to try all the dishes on the menu. It’s hard to resist the extraordinary colours and attractive plates of pasta.

The ‘Alla amatriciana’ pasta is the cheapest (US$3) but worth a try. It’s a rustic mix of chunky bacon and heaps of tangy pecorino, with a light, sweet tomato sauce to coat long strands of pasta. A little bit of wine is added to give the dish a rich aroma.

Squid ink pasta was my last choice as I thought it would be too fishy. I was initially scared at the thought, but my fears were eased at the first bite.

In this dramatic Italian dish, fresh seafood is cooked in a creamy sauce. What adds both a tangy sea flavour and a deep black glow to the dish is the squid ink added to the dough.

The squid ink is taken from fresh squid and mixed into the dough so that the pasta itself is jet black. It’s very interesting and definitely a culinary adventure.

While I feel safe with Bolognese and Carbonara, I want to move on to things that are more extraordinary and daring.

MyDeli makes my experience even better when the chef serves my favourite dish that is not available on the menu.

Aglio e olio is one of the most simple yet most satisfying pasta dishes on the planet. But it is actually absent from menu of the Italian restaurants in Hà Nội. Sometimes I find a restaurant where the dish is served but it’s often expensive.