Back Alley Pasta in Ampang
[Non-halal] There’s nothing dodgy about this Back Alley Pasta.
Located in Ampang, this cozy spot is accessible from a back alley – which gives the restaurant its name.
Yes – it’s a bit on the nose. The restaurant also serves pasta and other Italian offerings (with a touch of Japan) – but what’s more important than being straightforward and forthcoming, is being good at it as well. Here’s our short take from our recent visit to Back Alley Pasta.
Back Alley Pasta in Ampang
Opened in May 2021, Back Alley Pasta first only offered limited seats of 8-9 pax with a very personal view of the kitchen.
Literally, the entrance leads you to the hearth of the kitchen (and the heart of the restaurant) as you sit within the kitchen space itself.
The restaurant would later expand with a back room that offers more tables (which allows for shorter intervals to make reservations).
Hence, we managed to book our table a month in advance for dinner in June 2023.
Back Alley Pasta undergoing reno soon
But, good news! Back Alley Pasta is expanding further as it will undergo a facelift from 24th July until 8th August to offer more seats and a brand new look when it reopens.
Do follow them on their socials to find out more (they will be doing a pop-up event during the period as well).
Personable service
For such a small outfit, we must first commend the service.
Service here is superbly personal.
While it does feel like the kitchen staff has double-duty of cooking and taking orders – each person who attended to us was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and intuitive.
Pastry chef Onn who took our orders had a warm and amicable personality – he really took his time to explain all the dishes here, as well as the specials of the day.
He even acceded to our request and made adjustments to our dessert (it’s really good by the way, more details below) that really suited our preference.
We also had a good experience with Jawed and of course Chef Jay, who was nursing his injured leg at the dessert counter.
Datang sini, makan arancini
The Quinoa Arancini (RM27) is one of the most recommended starters, and we can see why.
Served like Italian meatballs in Pomodoro sauce and topped with a healthy amount of cheese, we like Jay’s interpretation of the classic Arancini.
The breaded balls are stuffed with quinoa which gives a nice crunchy texture, and chives for a beguiling grassy taste. Of course – the requisite cheese and lots of it. We enjoyed this a lot.
Lovely Tagliatelle with Kurobuta collar
While Back Alley does offer risotto and solid meat dishes on its menu – we decided to stick to its main specialty – pasta.
The first to arrive on our table was the Tagliatelle in Roasted Garlic and Nori Butter served withGrilled Kurobuta Collar and Pesto Diavola (RM65).
The pork collar was stellar. Seasoned with the right amount of salt and pepper and beautifully grilled for a bit of char, the collar paired really well with the thick pesto paste (strong garlicky with some sweetness of tomato).
We liked that the texture of the paste was thick and a bit coarse, which paired well with the dark meat. The meat was fork tender, and the fat was lovely.
Meanwhile, the pasta was slathered in a sauce that was buttery, nutty with a strong hint of nori. We did find the Nori taste a bit too strong for us on its own, but it went well with the pork and pesto.
Jumbo River Prawn with Tagliolini
From the day’s specials, we decided on the Jumbo River Prawn served in prawn oil, Pomodoro Sauce, with Chilean Mussels and Tagliolini Pasta (RM108).
A cross between Tagliatelle and Capellini, we enjoyed the pasta’s firm texture which reminded us a bit of fried yee mee.
The Pomodoro sauce was nicely reduced to give way to rich seafood essence and we liked the hint of bunga kantan in the ensemble. The prawn was fresh and the big mussels were sufficient for a satisfactory protein fill.
Mid Sweet Ice Cream Sandwich is *chef’s kiss
The desserts here come under the Mid Sweet banner (and under a separate legal entity) – but they all should end up where they belong – in our bellies!
As mentioned above, Chef Onn’s passion for dessert really comes through in his detailed explanations, and finally in his end products.
We would have loved to sample all – but alas, we settled for the Mid Sweet Ice Cream Sandwich (RM35).
Chef Onn was kind enough to reduce the cream for ours – but the whole element just worked so well together.
The pièce de résistance of the dish was the shoyu ice-cream – rich, creamy with a umami hit of Shoyu Bros’ artisanal soy sauce.
But what the dessert work is the contrast with the sweet and crunchy biscuit, and tartness of fruits.
Summary
All in all, the dessert we had was definitely not a mid – and we also enjoyed the Arancini and pasta dishes. Service, as mentioned – was amazing!
RECOMMENDED!
Back Alley Pasta
Address: No8 jalan 1/67b, Off, Jalan Mengkudu, 55000 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 5.30pm-10pm Daily (Closed on Mondays)
Phone: 03-2856 3065
Reservations: https://www.tableapp.com/partner/back-alley-pasta#/
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