Metro

Monday June 23, 2008

Simple, yet pleasing to the taste buds

By TAN KARR WEI


SIMPLE yet pleasing to the taste buds – this aptly describes the food at Chiaroscuro Trattoria Pizzeria.

The quaint outlet located at Jalan Bedara, a stone's throw from the lively Changkat Bukit Bintang, serves up Italian food in a cosy setting.

How it's done: A waiter cutting open the bread covering the baked seafood spaghetti.

The word chiaroscuro itself is an Italian term that means “bright and dark”.

The restaurant adopts a clean and chic ambience with dark wood furniture and white table cloths.

Simplicity is also apparent in the plain cement walls that, ironically, lend an elegant touch to the outlet.

Tender and tasty: The baked spring chicken is flavourful and tender to the bite.

The menu is straightforward – two pages listing the choices of appetisers, main courses and desserts, yet each selection is fascinating.

According to owner Carol Lim, there is also a daily special.

After partaking of a welcoming basket of bread with a dip made with sun-dried tomatoes, share an order of assorted cold cuts served with homemade pickled vegetables.

The savoury meats coupled with the tangy pickles whets the appetite for the dishes to come.

Served in a huge clay bowl covered with bread, the baked seafood spaghetti fills the air with its aroma as soon as the baked dough is cut open.

Lim's partner and Chiaroscuro chef Andrea Zanella said the spaghetti and seafood were lightly cooked before being covered with the dough and baked in the oven.

Unique touch: The tiramisu is served in a wafer tube.

“It's just my way of doing it. It seals in the flavour and moisture of the dish and if you fancy it, the bread is good to nibble on,” said the 44-year-old, who started cooking in his early teens.

Seafood lovers would fancy the flavourful taste of the dish, derived from the mussels, scallops, prawns, clams and squid in it.

The spring chicken baked in a firewood oven maintains its moisture and is tender to the bite.

“There's nothing tricky about it. It's all about the freshness of the ingredients. If you enjoy eating food and put the passion into cooking, you'll do your best to make sure it turns out excellent,” said Zanella, who sauntered between the kitchen and dining area intermittently to strike up a conversation with his customers.

Of course, being the pizzeria it is, there is no shortage of choice if you prefer to tuck into a good piece of pizza.

“We try to keep the prices reasonable as we want to present Chiaroscuro as a neighbourhood place where people can come in more often rather than only on special occasions,” said Lim.

n CHIAROSCURO TRATTORIA PIZZERIA, Ground Floor, 38 Bidara Apartments, 30 Jalan Bedara, 50200 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-2144 8006). Business hours: Lunch, Mondays to Fridays (noon to 3pm); dinner, Mondays to Saturdays (6.30pm to midnight). Non-halal.

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