Yum: The delectable John Dory  [Photo by Antony Otera / Shanghai Star]

Irresistible

As is the rather exceptional eggplant Parmigiana, which has found its way to our table while I was distracted. Like any good Sicilian, I keep my friends close, but my Parmesan closer. I stealthily edge the plate nearer so that I can claim it all as my own while she busies herself with the carpaccio.

Dispatching a tasty morsel like this can be messy. (Sure I’ve got a napkin on my lap, but I kind of wish I had a plastic drop sheet on the floor, too, just in case.) I pick up a forkful of this cheese-and-tomato-sauce-topped delight, guiding it in an untrammeled path to my eager mouth and … badabing! In it goes without splattering so much as a drop on my nice Ivy League suit. The eggplant, which in a dish like this can sometimes be overcooked to a sloppy consistency, is thankfully supple yet juicy and yielding to the bite. The cheese is gorgeously gooey.

As the evening progresses it begins to look more likely that my diet is going to get whacked. But the true enemy of my weight-loss plan — the dessert menu — is yet to show its face.

For mains we both choose the grilled John Dory fish fillet seasoned with lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and fine herbs. It is cooked to perfection with a mild taste and firm texture. The meat is sweet and appropriately flaky and sleeps on a bed of grilled red, green and yellow capsicums. A generous dollop of mashed potato stands behind it all on the plate in silent support.