Note: Outlet moving to new premises. Check back for updates

January 2009

Like all good things inspired from the land of the Etruscans, this fable has the twin elements of la dolce vita: food and love.

It’s the tale of a raven haired maiden (Carol Lim) who, peering over the fence from her village of Frangipani, stared as the dashing cook (Andreas Zanella) in the nearby village of Nerovivo made his handmade pastas, giggled as Zanella looked begrudgingly at his daily selection of mushrooms, and watched him shepherd his village to greater acclaim amongst the visitors to this part of Tuscany in KL. Kind of. These two would-be Latin luminaries were from different clans but the mutual admiration was undeniable.

Soon they ran away, two romantics whose connection was bound in axiom that food is love. And boy, did they ever love Italian food. They formed their first restaurant in KL and while that was successful, their wanderlust pushed them on.

They found home at a small space behind the Hotel Istana on Jalan Bedara, a location that formerly housed a French restaurant. They set about redesigning and redecorating, deploying fashionable concrete along the walls, installing a wood burning oven, lining the walls in pin yellow lights which cause a green phosphorescent effect to appear.

The front of the eatery is all glass which, together with the long bar, gives the place an Edward Hopper ‘The Nighthawks’ type ambience. Besides the omission of taking out the drop ceiling (a worthy new year’s resolution if ever there was one as the incongruency of the ceiling is somewhat off-putting, to be honest) the physical glow of their new abode is palpable. Eight months old and Chiaroscuro Trattoria Pizzeria, their labour of love, is pulling in a solid dining public.

They’ve received laurels for their pizzas, a definite strong suit, but the breadth of the menu is varied, well executed and immaculately prepared. Their parma ham and melon is very good and a buffalo mozzarella with warm eggplant ‘parmigiana’ delicious. Minimalist al dente risottos and homemade fettuccine with cepe mushrooms and parma ham abound but it is the meats, one an Australian lamb rump cut and the other a Wagyu beef rump ‘tagliata’ style, that deserve special praise.

Both tender and carefully manicured under flame they are some of the best I’ve had so far in the city. With an exclamation mark of their own cylinder tiramisu and an artfully presented pannocotta, Chiaroscuro is one place I’m looking forward to frequenting again. Love, as they say, is in the air. Sam Coleman

Awards

Chiaroscuro was shortlisted in the Best Italian Restaurant category of the Time Out KL Food Awards 2009. Our food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL. This way, we guarantee that popularity and consistent performance is rewarded.