Saturday 15 June 2013

An Italian Experience @ Nerovivo, Changkat Bukit Bintang

A few days ago, it was KS's birthday and I decided to bring him to Nerovivo @ Changkat Bukit Bintang after work for a special dining experience.


Serving authentic Italian cuisine, Nerovivo sits in a chic and trendy inner-city bungalow, decorated with bold, sexy artworks and extensive displays of wines.  Outside, there is the open-air wood-fire pizza ovens where pizzas are made and baked.  Seats inside the restaurant is pretty limited, but luckily, as I have made reservations, we get to sit inside instead of the al-fresco setting.


While we were examining the menu, we were presented with a complimentary basket of freshly-baked pizza bread and balsamic vinegar dip.  Oh my, they are so deliciously addictive - full of herbs and garlic flavours with a nice smoky fragrance.


First on the menu is the starter.  We ordered the Zuppa di Zucca e Porri (RM 24), a pumpkin leek soup with roasted onions and sea salt.  The soup has a very light, uncomplicated flavour, with a hint of pumpkin sweetness.  It is quite thin in consistency and hence, it didn't give that feeling of fullness too early in the meal.


One thing that impressed me very much at this point was their service.  During the order, our waiter noticed that we only ordered one soup and kindly asked if we intended to share the soup, of which he then, to my surprise, offered to split the soup into two bowls for convenience.  How thoughtful!  This is the kind of service that warmth the heart of the diners.

The birthday boy ordered the Pollo Alla Diavola (RM 55) as his main dish.  This Devil's Chicken served with rosemary roasted potatoes and seasonal garden salad accompanied by black pepper sauce is one that brings a big smile to my birthday boy.  The forequarter chicken was very juicy and tender, and with each bite, you can feel the juice bursting out in your mouth.  We're very impressed with how well the chicken was cooked.


The flavours are quite gentle but wholesome.  Even without the black pepper sauce, the well-seasoned chicken is good enough on its own.  The roasted potatoes are also very nice and soft.

As for me, who love all things pizza, ordered the Pizza Contadina (RM 40) which has mozzarella, Italian chicken sausage, eggplants, ricotta cheese with tomato sauce.


Voted as the Best Pizza in the Time Out KL Food Awards 2009, Nerovivo delivered quite an impressive pizza (in my opinion).  The thin pizza crust was well-baked without having a burnt presentation.  There was a good balance of the ingredients and the cheese was so gentle-flavoured.  Although the eggplant was quite little (KS joked about not able to find the eggplant), I quite enjoy my pizza.  It didn't have the oiliness feel and was moist.

Finally come the desserts, which are beautifully plated and decorated with strawberry and gooseberry.  Both are also decorated with a piece of chocolate almond brownie-like biscuit, which I find very tasty.


Coming to an Italian restaurant, I cannot missed ordering the Tiramisu (RM 28).  When it first arrived, I thought it was ice-cream as it really looked like one.  Served in a crispy, sweet waffle-like tuille, the lady finger biscuits are arranged at the bottom and topped with scoops of mascarpone cheese mixture.  Generally, the flavours are light with a mild espresso flavour and very smooth texture.  The mascarpone cheese mixture has a nice  balance of sweetness and quite gentle on the taste-buds.  However, both of us preferred a more solid texture from the soaked biscuits as it was kinda too mushy for our liking.  But still, a good piece of dessert.


The other dessert which we ordered is the Dark and White Chocolate Mousse (RM 28).  The mousse is quite firm but velvety, and resembles very muck like a cake.  Surprisingly, this dessert was not overly sweet despite having so much chocolate in it.  However, I find the white chocolate portion being a little less captivating as it didn't have a strong milky, vanilla flavour but the dark chocolate portion was really good.


Overall, the food served in Nerovivo is very good.  Their flavours are generally lighter and focus more to the natural flavours of the ingredients.  I quite love how the flavours blend in perfectly without overpowering other flavours.  Thumbs up!


I love the cosy ambiance in Nerovivo with its soft lightings.  For a moment, it actually felt like I was on a holiday.  It is so comfortable that you feel all the day's stress has been lifted from your shoulders.  Not to mention the good food to heal your inner self and a good companion to share your thoughts.

Well, most importantly, my birthday boy is happy with the experience :)


Nerovivo
3A, Jalan Ceylon
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel:  03-2070 3120
GPS:  3.148411,101.706018

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