i can give you endless reasons why i love Italian cuisine so much and that topic will be off limits for now since it will take up an entire space of this blog.
With all due respect to all Italian restaurants in Malaysia, your food may be up to others standards but i have found a restaurant that has made me never wanting to go back to your restaurant or any other Italian restaurant.
This restaurant is located at Taman Desa and has been in the business for more than 10 years.
It is called Restaurant Paradiso.
I for a fact do not like fancy restaurants or high class places when it comes to food. i would not mind if the food they serve there is worth the price, but the portion, ok call me greedy, but im the type of girl when it comes to food, i love big portions. I live to eat.
As you can see, Paradiso has a very homey, rustic feel when you walk in. Don't expect top notch plates, or glasses or stuff. Expect what you get when your grandmother cooks you good food at home.
The place has a very nostalgia presence. Makes you feel so at home, comfortable and i believe thats how a restaurant should be like. Personally.
Let's get to the food. i did not order a lot on that day cause the portion size was ..lets just say when the Italians eat, they REALLY EAT!
This has gotta be the best of the best soup i have ever tasted. You may think im exaggerating it here, but try it for yourself. Its called Zuppa di mare. Zuppa means soup and Mare means seafood. Hidden in this bowl of soup are treasures of fresh mussels, squids, prawns and clams. A whole lot of it too. The soup starts of with a sofrito which consist of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and garlic, cooked in olive oil. Tinge of chili flakes, ginger and fresh parsley to garnish, its one soup that you can never miss.
Fettuccine Cabonara with beef stripes. HANDMADE FETTUCCINE!. ok some may say "yeah yeah its easy, whats the big deal". Let me tell you that not all italian restaurants i have been to serves me fresh handmade pasta. So to actually get a plate of it, drowned in velvety cream, and topped with fried beef bacon bits, this is a killer even though im never a fan of cream rich stuff.
Next, comes in this beautifully cooked Risotto Fruiti di Mare and yes 6 giant mussels, endless amount of squids, clams and prawns, cooked in tomato based sauce starting with a sofrito which gives out the wonderful aromatic smell, and topped with parsley, this risotto is amazing. The seasoning is just nice.
See, when it comes to seasoning, im a freak of nature when it comes to salt so honestly when i first tried this dish, i was a bit skeptical when i tasted it, well not a bit, a whole lot skeptical but as soon as i got over the first taste, i started wanting more, and more. It was the combination of flavors, the aroma, the EVERYTHING about this dish just makes it so beautiful on its own without the usual heavily salted meals.
Not your usual garlic bread. It fooled me the moment i picked it up. You see, it looked light. Thought it was gonna be like those light, cheap ass garlic bread you get at your local pizza place, but i picked it up, it was heavy. HEAVY. For a bread. its so compact, crispy but filling.
And so my family of 4 which includes me needed more soup, so we ordered the fish soup from their SPECIALTY MENU. Its pretty much the same taste as the seafood one just that its fishier cause obviously its fish, and its just as good as the other soup. The meat is soft, delicate, well cooked, BONELESS, and just amazing. I KNOW YOU MIGHT BE THINKING THAT IM OVER EXAGGERATING EVERYTHING BUT SERIOUSLY. i wish pictures allowed us to lick the computer screen to taste it for real. damn.
i ended my meal with this decent looking tiramisu.
I love desserts. A huge fanatic, but i realize that when desserts are too sweet, they tend to give you headaches and it just spoils your entire dinner overall. This tiramisu, is lightly sweetened, with the bitterness of the dusting of cocoa powder, the mellow mascarpone cheese and the soggy sponge dipped in good coffee.
And here is a picture of my mom's latte. The coffee is not your current really hip coffee houses you go to. When i mean italian coffee, this is italian coffee. Its strong but soothing and rich all together in one cup.
The best thing i love about this place is that the people are friendly, they make you feel at home, great hospitality and the food is just cooked with love and care. You can honestly feel how much passion they put in their food.
Its really traditionally cooked by the owner's mother who is now more than 50 years of age. I love the simplicity of the food, and not over doing it when it comes to the combination of flavors. Do check this place out for other dishes. Owh the pizza are freshly made each time you order them. =)
Paradiso Italian Restaurant
5-0-2, Jalan 3/109F,
Danau Business Centre,
Taman Danau Desa,
58100 KL
Tel: +603 7981 9996