Thursday, February 16, 2012

Italian Delights @ Nerovivo, Jalan Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur

Nerovivo is a lovely Italian restaurant housed in a refurbished bungalow off Jalan Ceylon. I was here last month for the first time to sample their new menu, launched on January 9th. As well as the new menu, Nerovivo also has a new chef (who joined the restaurant in August 2011) and the restaurant has been recently remodeled (larger al fresco dining area outdoors and some changes to the bar area indoors).

I have met Chef Paolo Petris during MIGF, and though the meeting was brief, I remember him being friendly and chatty. It was nice to talk to him again after our meal here at Nerovivo, an extremely nice man who is very passionate about food and cooking. 

About 75% of the menu are new items created by Chef Paolo. First, we started with the octopus carpaccio (RM36) - a beautiful vibrant dish, don't you think it looks very pretty?.  (Oh did I not mention that Chef Paolo is very creative with his food presentation?) 

Octopus is a popular ingredient in South Italy, whereby it is boiled and served as chunks with olive, capers and potato to make an octopus salad. However, this dish has been refined here, sliced thinly for a tender bite and served with black olive tapenade, basil oil, capers cherry tomatoes and herbs. 

Carpaccio di Polipo


The strozzapreti with clams and porcini is a dish unique to Nerovivo, Chef Paolo mentioned that there are no other restaurants in KL serving this kind of pasta (at time of tasting). The pasta has more of a bite compared to say, fusili or spaghetti, I liked the flavourful sauce it was served with - made with clams, white wine and fresh tomatoes. This is a pretty light pasta, not the creamy type.

Strozzapreti con porcini e vongole (RM38)



Nerovivo is currently running a Tuscany and Umbria promotion, bringing several dishes from this two regions. These two regions are famous for their wild game and white meat, we got to try the pappardelle with rabbit ragout (RM42) from the Umbria region. To be honest, we couldn't remember if we have ever eaten rabbit meat, and we were trying to compare it with any other meat we've eaten. I said it tasted most like pork and Hubby said beef, what do you guys think?

Pappardelle con ragu di coniglio


The next dish was the baked red snapper with zuchinni, potatoes and cherry tomatoes. The broth is made of stock, white wine and lemon juice and then baked briefly in the oven. This dish reminded me of the "ham choi steamed fish" you can find in Chinese restaurants (the fennel looks a little like "ham choi"), very comforting.

Dentice al forno (RM52)


Our favorite dish of the afternoon was the pan seared Australian beef tenderloin served with roasted potatoes, green asparagus, shallot and red wine reduction. The beef was absolutely tender and juicy, and cooked to a perfect medium rare. One of the most attractive steak dishes we have been served too, with all the bright colors from the vegetables. ;)

Filetto di Manzo (RM78)


Medium rare! 

And to end it all, tiramisu (RM26) - good but would have been much better with a shot of alcohol. *hick hick*

Rich, creamy tiramisu served in a tuille



Chef Paolo Petris


The restaurant interior


Bold artwork by Sandra Knuyt

Al fresco dining area

Full a la carte menu and upcoming promotions can be found on their website

Full set of photos available to view here.

Opening times: Mon-Fri 12.00 - 3.00pm, Mon-Sat 5.45pm - 11.30pm, Sun 5.45pm - 11.00pm.

Pork-free. 

Location: Nerovivo, 3a Jalan Ceylon, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2070 3120

GPS Coordinates: 3.148433, 101.705943

* This meal was by invitation from Nerovivo. 

15 comments:

  1. Strozzapreti con porcini e vongole! Sounds divine. And I would like to try the rabbit ragu too.. ;)

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    Replies
    1. There is still time for the rabbit ragu.. until end of Feb yo!

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  2. i remember neroteca tiramisu to pack a punch in terms of alcohol..a different recipe here?

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    Replies
    1. I'm sure the chef said no alcohol in their tiramisu here, I should double check LOL. It tasted good though.

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  3. What is the tiramisu served in? Is the whole thing edible? hehe

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    Replies
    1. It's served in a tuille, biscuit-like and yes it is edible ;)

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  4. Replies
    1. No alcohol in the tiramisu here, but it was decent.

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  5. the octopus carpaccio looks gorgeous! and the photos of both the strozzapreti & the pappardelle are making me hungry! they look like real comfort food for pasta lovers. i think i'd say rabbit meat reminds me most of chicken breast :D btw, i hate to dispute the chef, but there are two other outlets serving strozzapreti ... garibaldi & trattoria il porcellino (at menara hap seng). but all of them serve it in different recipes (garibaldi does it with rabbit ragout, while trattoria's has wild boar ragout), so i think all three would be worth having! :D

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    Replies
    1. Oops, not dined in as many Italian restaurants as u so didn't know it was served elsewhere.

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  6. That Carpaccio and Filleto looked utterly fabulous!! I probably wont have the heart to eat rabbit since I had them as pets before... ;0)

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    1. I also won't purposely find rabbit meat to eat.. too cute la.

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  7. The baked red snapper is like out chinese teow chew style steam fish :D this restaurant is pretty much my cup of tea.

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  8. I keep saying I'll go to Nerovivo when back in Kl and never seem to make it. Your pics have convinced me it's for next time!

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