COCONUTS HOT SPOT — One of the latest casual eateries to liven up Taman Tun Dr Ismail (fondly known as “TTDI”) is Livello Uno, located on an upper floor of a shoplot along Jalan Aminuddin Baki.
As it’s housed in an upper floor, you may not even notice it if you don’t look up when cruising along this road.
Inside the restaurant, besides the Italian flag colours being reflected in the furniture, there are crazy bright Italian pop art murals on the walls and we love that cosy corner with cheerful sofas if you just want to chill-out with some coffee or waiting for your fellow diners.
Owner-cum-Chef Mashad Pino, together with his sister, Mutiara run the place. Of Italian-Malay parentage, Chef Mashad decided to return to his homeland after 8 years of culinary experience in Europe.
We started off with some Bruschetta con Burro Acciughe – slices of baked-till-crispy baguette covered with homemade anchovy butter and garlic spread and it’s one of the best bruschettas I’ve had! They looked rather plain and mediocre but trust me, they were so good I had to replicate them at home that weekend!
Bruschetta con Burro Acciughe
If there’s one dish that has to be ordered at Livello Uno without fail, it’s Chef Mashad’s favourite and signature dish: Gnocchi Pomodoro Con Manzo. The freshly-made potato dumplings with a delightfully light airy texture were braised in house-made tomato sauce with beef strips, topped with fresh mozzarella, black olives and arugula.
Gnocchi Pomodoro Con Manzo
I could taste the unmistakable potato flavour in those dumplings which set them apart from the usual chewy floury gnocchi found in many places. They serve a substantial portion and this is comfort food at its best.
More pasta? Spaghetti Marinara is of course a common dish in any Italian eatery. Chef Mashad executed this very well: al dente pasta tossed with prawns, NZ mussels, squids, crabmeat in a thick house-made tomato sauce.
Spaghetti Marinara
Those 2 prawns were huge and with all the rest of the seafood thrown in, I thought this was one of the best value-for-money marinara dish I’ve had in quite a while.
I love clams and just couldn’t resist the Vongole ala Tarantina when I spotted this on the menu and it turned out to be an excellent choice.
Vongole ala Tarantina
Since they were in season, the chef cooked these really tasty and sweet Venus clams which had been saute’ed with garlic, chilli, chopped parsley and extra virgin olive oil. With all these elements, the result was a sauce that was incredibly delicious, pungent with the sharp briney flavours of fresh shellfish.
I had their Tiramisu and while I’ve had better versions, the generous portion of soft sponge fingers, dipped in their house blend coffee and layered with mascarpone cheese was a steal at RM16.
Tiramisu
That huge piece is more than enough for two people to share!
What I really liked about the food at Livello Uno is the distinctive unpretentious “home-cooked” flavours of their dishes, affordable pricing and the bright energetic vibes of the place.
LIVELLO UNO
165A Jalan Aminuddin Baki
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2856-0345
Operating hours: 10.30am-10.30pm
Closed on Tuesdays
*Alcohol & Pork-free
Chris Wan also blogs at Pure Glutton
