Italian Food @ Nerofico, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

nice interior with wine bottles as decoration

Sorry about the glitch on Monday, but the notebook I usually work on decided to expire, hence I couldn't work on Sunday night. Luckily after it checked into the PC Hospital and got some TLC from Splashie Boy, it is working well despite it experiencing a fatal system error!


the unimpressive Caprese Salad (RM32+)

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day was eventful; we celebrated with friends over a simple homecooked dinner. My friend even brought her kids who had great fun playing with the chocolate fondue, we decided to make for them. Back to food, I managed to give Nerofico a try but sadly I felt, it was a little too much hype and nothing much to shout about.

Tortelli Mushroom with dissapointing butter thyme sauce (RM30+)

For those who have very long memories, you will remember the infamous Modestos in Damansara Heights. It used to be our regular hangout place since it was near work - drinks, pizza and pasta outside on the balcony. Not only did that place on Lorong Dungun house Modestos, there was also a pretty good Thai restaurant and the first Vintages bar upstairs. When that place burned down (amid rumours flitting it was just an insurance scam), everyone was devastated. Eventually a tall skyscraper took over that spot and coincidentally that is where Nerofico is located.

tiramisu that passed the test (RM22+)

Deadly quiet like a ghost town on Sunday, it is usually vibrant during weekdays with the offices surrounding it. I guess Nerofico will fit well here, a hangout place for those working late nights or looking for a nightcap after a hard day's of work.

The place looks inviting from outside with bottles of wine & grappas, Dececco pasta and etc placed on shelves around. There is a deli at one end with cheeses and meats for you to choose from. When I started lunch here, we were the only souls around but later people started to trickle in. A quick glance of the menu revealed no pork (shucks!) and nothing that grabs your eye. I went for familiar stuff on the menu like a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad to start with. Utterly simple stuff (just slice it and sandwich them together), I felt the olive oil drizzled over and the balsamic vinegar served on the side wasn't too great a quality and I have had better.

Wanting to be a little different, we went for very different items; fresh stuffed pasta, a favourite of both of ours. Splashie Boy had the crab ravioli with clams while I sampled the mushroom tortelli with butter thyme sauce and foie gras. I thought the sweet taste of crab meat seemed to be masked by the heavy white sauce drizzled over it. My pasta I thought was ruined by the butter sauce, which didn't have any thyme flavour at all and too much cream in it! Dreading dessert, I decided we better go for the familiar Italian items - the cannot fail famous pick-me-up aka Tiramisu and creamy pannacotta. Luckily we were saved at the last round as desserts were good. Splashie Boy liked his drenched tiramisu while I enjoyed my smooth pannacotta with pink dragonfruits.

Overall, I have my mind to write off this place completely but I suspect I may have ordered the wrong stuff. Maybe I will re-review it again once I try more stuff like their mains, typical pasta dishes and the pizza. Incidentally, dining here is not for you if you are feeling the pinch, so be prepared. I felt the pasta portions were miniscule for what we were paying for. By the way, I wonder where one will park during the weekdays. I spied that Wisma Perintis's charges are RM6.10 per hour! Even though next door at the Wisma UN is more reasonable at RM3 per hour, I vaguely remember it being hellish to score a space there. Another thing that irked me about this place, service was a little unfriendly. They were efficient and etc, but when it came to recommendations and a little courtesy, I felt the first waiter who served us had a bit of "I don't care shit about you" attitude. The guy who served us during desserts was better, asking if everything was fine after we finished. More pixs in Flickr.

Nerofico
Ground Floor
Wisma Perintis
47, Jalan Dungun
Damansara Heights
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-22089 5312

(Pork free. For more details on its opening times, see its website link. Just opened on 17 January, 2009)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: Damansara Heights + Italian Food