Porto Romano @ Mon't Kiara

About twelve hours earlier, a very much Chinese family was sailing on an armada, a culinary one, to be exact. The word armada itself was inspired by the restaurant’s logo. I still can’t decipher the existence of the dolphin in that logo though.

We had a good time going through the Mediterranean-based menu and joked about the names of some of the dishes. It was really fun.

The Eagles was playing in the background and there were only two occupied tables that afternoon. Well, it was afterall, almost 2.15 pm. While waiting for the food, we talked about everything; holidays, family affairs and mostly, nonsensical (yet humorous) tales of others.

Having burnt much calories by laughing at the silly times and certain unnecessary table etiquettes, we were happy to see the garlic bread (RM8) in all it’s regal yellow. Covered with a substantial amount of melted butter and flavoured with chopped garlic and herbs, it was good. The spongy focaccia bread, however, reminded us of a certain worshipping delicacy the Cantonese called fatt gou.

I never believe that pasta can be fiery hot, eventhough it’s ala arrabbiata. But this time, it was hot! Simple yet tasty, the Spaghetti Arrabbiata (RM19.00) was a good choice despite the slightly less al dente spaghetti strands. A closer look revealed a red sauce full of softened tomatoes and paprika powder. It made us sweat, curse and laugh at the same time. I was glad the waiters were not of Chinese origin because some of our curses were quite lethal.

A conversation piece, the Quattro Stagioni Pizza (RM29.00) or four seasons pizza in English, was also a very good choice. The main ingredient for every season was fresh and very much flavoursome. The ham was soft and nicely salted while the sausages had a nice hint of smokiness. Even semi-bland ingredients like olives and mushrooms complemented the tomato-based, crispy/soft crust well. When an elderly gives thumbs-up and exclaims ho jiak, you know this piece of “gwai lou ham jin peang” (westerner’s fried pastry) is worth the money.

Digging deep into the Tiramisu (RM15.00), we discovered the infusion of coffee and almond liqueur. It was momentarily nauseating (in a good way). The generous amount of mascarpone and cocoa powder made the head even lighter. Perhaps this is what they call climaxing. I would have peaked if not for the faces of the folks sitting right across myself, as I hold the object of orgasm in my right hand.

We loved Porto Romano and had already planned for another family’s birthday here. Well, that's just an excuse to try the lambshank!

Ristorante Porto Romano
No. 28, Jalan Kiara
Banyan, Mon't Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (+603) 62078171

Twelve hours later, another landslide took place. This time, at Bukit Antarabangsa. Lives were sacrificed as hills erode due to the constant rainfall. Metaphysically, it’s called fate but technically, the piece of land was already considered unsafe, as was reported in the dailies. It’s sad to know that despite the advancement in science and technology, we still depend on the lost of lives as a siren for the becoming of catastrophes. And of course, there’s the human negligence factor to balance the tragic equation. The blame game started rolling but I feel the pointlessness of this charade as hills will keep eroding and lives will still be taken. To say that it’ll never happen again is too idealistic, but if precautions are taken more seriously, perhaps more lives will be spared.

Our dinner that following night was on a rather minor note as compared to the boisterous lunch at Porto Romano. We were saddened by the tragedy. But most of all, we were quietly counting our blessing that we were still able to have a dinner, together.