[Pork-free] Everyday, I’m trufflin’. Osteria Gamberoni offers rustic Italian cuisine -freshly-made dry pasta, local seafood, and Roman-style pizzas – in the heart of KL.
Osteria Gamberoni in Chow Kit
Located in the foyer of the beautifully-restored Yap Ah Shak House in the liveliest part of Chow Kit (the area surrounding The Row, which is now a thriving dining scene), Osteria still manages to catch the eye with its inviting al-fresco dining area.
The space is perfect for special occasion dinners with friends and family, and is well-suited for a romantic dinner for the eternally-smitten lovers.
The front of the restaurant also offers opportunities for Instagram selfies with the Petronas Twin Towers as the background.
Osteria Gamberoni offers rustic Italian cuisine
Helmed by Roman-born head chef Daniele Ponzan, Osteria offers rustic, traditional Italian cuisine – with hand-crafted pasta as one the main attractions.
We counted at least ten pasta dishes on their menu – featuring the likes of handmade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach, Sardinian Gnocchetti served with tomatoes and beef sausage, and fusilli tossed with provola, basil and heirloom zucchini.
Osteria also serves Roman-style thin-crust pizzas here – from standards such as Margherita, Diavola, and Capricciosa to pies topped with smoked duck bacon, white truffle paste, and tiger prawns.
Tender, moist meatballs
For starters, we ordered the Polpette al Sugo (RM38) – beef meatballs in tomato and garlic sauce, served with rustic bread.
We enjoyed this as the meatballs were surprisingly tender and moist, with a bit of “cheesy” notes inside. The balls were wonderfully seasoned and we like that they had quite a good balance of tomato tang, and umami from the garlic and spices.
Two pasta make a right
As we had our fill of pizza meals prior to this visit (we checked out Heritage Pizza nearby just a week earlier) – we decided to solely focus on Osteria’s pasta offerings.
First up – Trenette Frutti di Mare (RM60) – fresh trenette generously slathered in a light tomato sauce, with seafood as toppings.
We found the pasta to be perfectly cooked with a nice al-dente bite. With its narrow and flat form, we found the trenette pasta to be quite similar to linguine and fettuccine.
The sauce was very balanced – not too sour or rich, with enough of the natural seafood broth aroma.
The seafood toppings were generous and we found the seabass fillet, squid and clams to be fresh – but one of the prawns was slightly mushy (but not a deal-breaker, in our view).
Truffle, hush now
For our second pasta dish, we ordered the Tagliatelle al Tartufo Estivo (RM80) – well because, it had truffles.
This dish was one of the items on their special menu, and we heard good reviews about this dish.
To put it simply, this pasta dish was lovely. The tagliatelle had a nice bouncy bite, and we found the truffle to be quite punchy but not overpowering.
They were quite generous with the shavings of fresh truffles, which had a subtle earthy tone (as opposed to the artificial strong truffle flavorings you find in commercial products).
However, the black truffle paste sauce was quite thick and creamy – and can get a bit cloying when the dish gets cold.
We advise you to demolish the dish immediately upon serving (as it should when it comes to good pasta dishes).
Classic Tiramisu
To end the night, we ordered Tiramisu Classico (RM26) – which was traditional in every sense of the word. So, it wasn’t mind-blowing.
On a footnote, the Poggio Badiola by the glass (RM36) was quite lovely and complemented the dishes well.
Summary
All in all, we enjoyed the dishes here at Osteria. However, we do advise ordering a variety of dishes – as the combination of our two pasta dishes was a bit rich for us by the end of the night.
The folks of Osteria also recently opened a rooftop bar – Terrazza – in the same building. Do check that place out – as it offers a nice view of both Menara KL and Petronas Twin Towers from the same spot.
The bar is great for a tipple before (and after) dinner at Osteria, in our view.
Osteria Gamberoni
Address: 17, Jalan Yap Ah Shak, Chow Kit, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-3pm, 5pm-11pm Daily
Website: https://www.gamberoni.co/our-menu
Phone: 03-2602 9727
Reservations: letsumai.com
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