Italian flair @ Mario & Luigi, Lorong Kurau
Buona Giornata! ( Good day in Italian)
How's everyone doing ? Well with this heat that we are experiencing does resembles the weather of the summers in the Amalfi coast
As you know, there isn't much honest great Italian food like how the nona's makes it in KL.. I'm happy to say that I've finally found one! And it's in the stretch of shop hiding amongst the houses in lorong kurau..
Its a true hidden gem that showcases a stretch of eateries of various cuisines like the fine dining vegetarian, indian food, peranakan, grill, american style pork ribs, french & italian!
Well that's what we are here for this evening! I'm very excited to try out the latest offering from The Big Group Italian restaurant which was once housed the Hits & Mrs..
From the moment we first laid eyes on this little italian home that is sandwich between the Fine dining vegetarian, Barat & Bakar..
It looks really homey and comfortable with that nice large pillows and long sofa that is against the concrete exposed walls, the white walls on the exterior walls facing the roads and the high ceiling fans whisking the cool air in the restaurants and not to forget the amazing italian song selections being played
The moment you enter, there are servers waiting eagerly to welcome you to their humble home that reveals the calm atmosphere and an open kitchen being right opposite of the rows of tables.. After being greeted warmly, we were whisked away to the table which resembles how the italian restaurant in Italy would look like which is being set with a white simple table cloth and their unique brass cutlery with slightly dented glassware.. Its the place to go for a romantic date or to those that love Italian food as much as I do!
Enough about the restaurant, let's talk about their menu which is really simple and are divided into categories starting from Antipasti (Appetizer), Primi (Pasta), Secondi (Mains) & Dolci (Desserts).. The dishes in each category does sound simple yet delicious! And this made it even harder for me to decide which to start!
After much decision and deliberation, we decided to have 1 antipasti, 2 primi & 1 secondi & to finish off the meal we had 2 Dolci! Not to forget about their simplistic wine list that mainly has Italian wines especially the Amarone Della Valpolicella..
You can opt to bring your own wine with the corkage charge of RM 70..
To start our fantastic Italian feast, we began with the Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes that just looks so colourful yet beautiful on the plate that makes you feel curious & excited to eat it all because the presentation is like something you get in the food magazine! It exudes simplicity and a little reminisce of the italian flag colours..
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| Burrata with Heirloom tomatoes |
This dish consist of burrata cheese which is the non dried version of mozarella and its also called the money bag, aged balsamic & heirloom tomatoes.. All the elements in this dish sings so harmoniously in the tongue as each ingredient that we had in every mouthful is really fresh and have their own distinct taste & natural sweetness that makes you want to have seconds!
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| Tagliatelle with Truffle butter |
The timing of the kitchen was just perfect as the stars of the dinner makes their graceful appearance to our table which was the Tagliatelle with Truffle butter sauce & egg yolk that looks too good to eat and that egg yolk so perfectly cracked and placed on top of the pasta..
Advice from the server was that we have to mix the truffle butter with the egg yolk and pasta together to have all the flavours mingle and do it while it still warm!
And the seductive aroma from this pasta is so enticing that we got to work immediately not to miss out any flavour goodness in that short time!
After getting a perfect and quick shot of the pasta,we mixed it and the 1st spoonful of that pasta was pure orgasmic!(Sorry for the language but that was the feeling I got from that pasta)
From what we was infront of us are the bomboloni with flavours of vanilla, salted caramel, chocolate & lemon.. The dough is really fluffy and not oily at all! Fantastic little balls to eat without feeling the guilt
Personally I prefer the chocolate and the lemon flavoured ones.. The least favourite was the Salted Caramel as it was a tad bitter which is rather unpleasant for us to enjoy.. Its alright to take it far to get the colour but for us their salted caramel they took is too far for our liking and it was lacking on the salt and there was too burn and bitter for us..
After getting a perfect and quick shot of the pasta,we mixed it and the 1st spoonful of that pasta was pure orgasmic!(Sorry for the language but that was the feeling I got from that pasta)
It was pure heaven in your mouth! This tagliatelle was cooked to perfection, not too soft and the truffle butter being mixed evenly well with the pasta and was quite pronounced in every mouthful!
It's like how the Great Pavarotti sings when he is performing , it was just that loud yet clear without any interruptions or fighting with each other to get your attention! You can get the taste of how buttery and earthiness that you can get from the truffle that was seductive yet subtle like how Sophia Loren would be which made it an excellent partner to that tagliatelle! The egg yolk brings creaminess and fantastic coating to the pasta like a second skin!
Seriously the best pasta I had so far! Truly enjoying every mouthful of it and it was wiped off pretty quick.. Pure Joy in every mouthful!
Extra tip: Do ask for some bread as there is some extract of the truffle butter to be devoured! Don't waste it as its like pure gold!
From the scenic Tuscany, we came back to earth for the much reserved yet wholesome looking Risoni with braised beef cheeks, mozarella & breadcrumbs..
I haven't come across this kind of pasta before but after much research about it.
I managed to find out that it resembles a large grains of rice but its a pasta and its known as risi (italian for rice) or pasta a riso or even orzo (Source: Taste.com.au)
Back to the pasta dish, well it was really piping hot like it came just right out from the oven and there was this crispy crust which is formed from the breadcrumbs and the mozarella cheese..
The crust of it brings a flavour of toasty bread which is really wholesome and it was very crusty layer that reminds me of breaking the creme brulee sugar layer that is really fun to break as it reveals a very delicious surprise!
After breaking it in, it reveals itself a warm & tomato based braising liquid that was coating the beautiful little grains of risoni.. The risoni is really al dente which is great as it can absorb those braising liquid from the braised beef cheeks and the mozarella cheese was baked till it was soft & stringy that could go miles on!
I love their braised beef cheeks that is just so tender and melt in your mouth till you don't need much effort to cut it!
Really a wholesome meal to have for yourself or when your day isn't turning out well, this is the dish that gives you love & happiness!
"Life is a combination of magic & pasta"- Frederrico Fellini
That was how we felt from the 2 pasta dishes we had which was the Tagliatelle with Truffle butter sauce & egg yolk and the Risoni with braised beef cheeks, mozarella & breadcrumbs
We moved on from the satisfying Primi to the tantalizing Secondi which is the main course!
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| Seafood Medley |
For the Secondi course, we had the pleasure of tasting the Seafood Medley.. This dish contains alcohol but it is really has a beautiful array of seafood to try from prawns, bay bugs, squid to hokkaido scallop!
Sounds fantastic! When it arrives to our table, it does looks amazing & bountiful as the whole bowl was filled with all this fantastic seafood.. The portion here is really generous!
The seafood medley is really delicious as everything was cooked on point and the texture wasn't rubbery.. The prawns looked beautiful on the plate and taste really fresh.. The flavours of this dish is really fresh. clean and not complicated and not to forget about the broth at the bottom of the plate is well seasoned and you can taste the seafood flavours and the salty Amalfi coast ocean in that spoonful!
A must try for the Secondi & great for sharing if you aren't a meat fan!
So remember to bring a dining partner with you and you both can enjoy this beautiful seafood platter with some Italian Pinot Grigio from the Veneto region!
After the fantastic yet heavenly Antipasti, Primi & Secondi course, we finally arrived to my favourite part of the dinner which is Desserts or Dolci!
Their dolci menu selection is really limited which proves to be helpful as it helps me to decide much easier but its tempting to try them all as one of the dessert choice was a rare treat in KL..
After much thinking, we had the pleasure in trying out 2 desserts which was the Tiramisu & Bomboloni
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| Tiramisu |
Their tiramisu portion is really generous for 2 person but if you're a sweet tooth, this would not be a problem for you to clean it slowly.. The tiramisu here has that balance between the strong and bitter espresso kick and the masala which wasn't overpowering with each other..
I'm actually very surprised that they have the magical touch to make every element balanced out even though its a normal go to dessert of Italy!
The mascarpone cream acts like the cement that coats the lady fingers which makes it creamy and delicious yet sturdy! I went back for more of the tiramisu despite having a sumptuous Primi & Secondi
Delicious tiramisu with that espresso kick that truly wakes you up!
"Desserts is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guest remember before they pass out all over the table"- William Powell
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| Bomboloni |
The 2nd dessert that we had was the Bomboloni.. Bomboloni is actually an Italian version of the dougnut but its rather petite and not the usual wheel shaped kind of doughnut that you may find in any dougnut shop.. In Italy, this is eaten as a snack or dessert..
From what we was infront of us are the bomboloni with flavours of vanilla, salted caramel, chocolate & lemon.. The dough is really fluffy and not oily at all! Fantastic little balls to eat without feeling the guilt
Personally I prefer the chocolate and the lemon flavoured ones.. The least favourite was the Salted Caramel as it was a tad bitter which is rather unpleasant for us to enjoy.. Its alright to take it far to get the colour but for us their salted caramel they took is too far for our liking and it was lacking on the salt and there was too burn and bitter for us..
Verdict:
Amazing authentic pasta & excellent starter which is to die for!
The go to place for authentic Italian food that you only can get from the Mama's kitchen in Italy
Will come back for more of their antipasti & pasta
Great place for gatherings but please make an advance booking as there is only 2 sessions for dinner
7pm &9pm
A must try dish:
Tagliatelle with truffle butter
Burrata
Ambience: 4.5/5
Food:5/5
Price:3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Mario & Luigi
No 15&15A
Taman Weng Lock
Lorong Kurau
Bangsar
59100 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours
12pm-3pm
7pm-11pm
Closed on Monday
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