Natalina Italian Kitchen's summer specials: A seasonal sojourn through salmon, saffron and sunshine

A Mediterranean summer unfolds at Natalina Italian Kitchen, where head chef Stefano Maria La Penna leans on his country’s regional traditions for a sun-soaked culinary showcase.

Served solely for this season, Natalina’s summer specials taste of basil crushed near the Ligurian coast, saffron shimmering in the Abruzzese highlands, tomatoes ripening around Rome and ricotta tucked into crisp Sicilian pastry shells.

From red prawn battuto to salmon ravioli, hand-cut pasta to charred lamb, pistachio cannoli to bomboloni with lemon custard, Natalina by Cinnamon Group leads the way for experiencing Italy's summer in KL.

Antipasti sketch a lively portrait of summer: Seafood at its sweetest, vegetables touched by flame, saffron and herbs harnessed generously and gorgeously.

Begin with Natalina's Battuto Di Gamberi Rossi: Fresh red prawn flesh and head butter, finely worked into a supple battuto mince, perfumed with pesto to bring together island-style marine sweetness with a basil herb garden, lined with a Parmesan tuile for saline snap.

For Capesante, Zucchine E Zafferano, Hokkaido scallops with a caramelised surface meet a beautifully bright saffron sauce, harnessing the 'red gold' of Abruzzo for floral opulence, finished with grilled zucchini seasoned with parsley and garlic for delightful depth in delicacy. 

Persico in Pastella is the most playful of the opening plates: White European fish fillets, tenderly encased in a saffron panure crumb, enriched with smoked red capsicum sauce, caramelised onions and rocket, combining the northern Italian lake country cooking of Lombardy with Mediterranean vegetables.

Natalina’s summer pastas prove perfect for heartwarming leisurely lunches.

Ravioli Di Salmone, Pesto E Pomodori Arrosto represents the season lushly: House-made parcels packed with ricotta and smoked salmon, fragrant with fresh green basil pesto, with sun-dried tomato powder for flashes of ripe acidic allure.

Minestra Di Ceci E Branzino recalls chef Stefano's Abruzzeze roots, with classic hand-cut pasta combined with chickpeas, mantis shrimp and red snapper in a light fish stock enriched with kitchen-simmered tomato sauce. Rustic produce cooked with flair and finesse, echoing timelessly toward Abruzzo's mountain and coast. 

Pasta Alla Zozzona embraces an exuberant appetite, coating Rome's rigatoni in tomato sauce with a robust emulsion of egg yolk and cheese, folding in duck breast bacon for cured meat indulgence layered on savoury-smooth glossiness.

For a summertime grill, order Salmone In Crosta Di Patate, plump salmon that's crisply potato-crusted on creamy green pea purée with briny black olive tapenade and garlic crumble for vibrant flavours and textures, and Costatine Di Agnello, Patata E Mais, returning to central Italy's pastoral landscape with charred lamb rack, rounded out with grilled corn, mashed potatoes, baby cabbage and lamb jus for a contemporary taste of shepherding traditions.

Sicily and Tuscany's cherished staples shine for a sweet finish.

Cannoli Di Ricotta E Pistacchio offers handcrafted pastry shells enclosing cool ricotta cream, showered with pistachios for roasted richness, while Bomboloni Alla Crema promises pillowy Italian doughnuts, comforting with lemon custard for citrus lift. 

Natalina Italian Kitchen
Lot 06, Level 03, Avenue K, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 12pm-10pm. 
Tel: 012-673-3860

Nero Nero: Chef Mattia Fois brings irresistible Italian flavours of Sardinia to KL

Savour Sardinia's su filindeu, one of the world’s rarest forms of pasta, for the first time in a Malaysian restaurant. Discover other distinctive Sardinian creations, including malloreddus and culurgiones handmade pastas, bottarga pizza and pardula pastries that pay homage to the birth island of chef Mattia Fois.

Nero Nero’s new menu is an exciting exploration of regional Italian traditions with reformist European techniques spearheaded by Mattia, a dynamic 25-year-old chef whose experience include stints at Michelin-starred kitchens in Barcelona. 

Chef Mattia has been cooking since he was eight, learning from his grandparents and parents who've long loved cooking. Here, Mattia brilliantly revisits the flavours of his Sardinian upbringing and beyond, beckoning Malaysians for an inspirational Italian culinary voyage.

Start with this beautiful Tagliatella di Seppia con Gamberi, in which cuttlefish is sliced into supple ribbons that borrow tagliatelle's shape. Sweet prawns and citrus-cured onions rest on vibrantly lucid lettuce emulsion, sharpened by clear leche de tigre, with fried fregola scattering a nutty crunch across the plate.

Capasanta shifts into richer, robust territory: Succulent scallops bronzed in brown butter with fleshy artichokes and milky truffle mashed potatoes, decadently delectable with briny bursts of caviar, lifted by parsley flowers and mustard sprouts.

Melanzana Fritta gives roasted eggplant a crisp, golden casing, preserving its soft, smoky centre. Burrata cream and basil mayo bring cool lusciousness, dried tomato skin offers tang, while olive crumble supplies dark salinity for a sophisticated sense of harmonious contrasts.

Su Filindeu is the menu’s most compelling expression of Sardinian scarcity: Italian-milled semolina dough, patiently pulled by hand into gossamer strands by KL's own L’Osteria e Cucina, crossed in layers and dried into tapestries of web-like sheets before being broken into the bowl. Lamb jus, extracted from meat and bones, softens those fine threads while pecorino melts into the broth, turning an austere ancient craft into warmly sustaining immersion.

Malloreddus alla Campidanese also returns to Sardinia’s rustic foundations. The saffron-tinted pasta is handmade, simply with semolina, water and salt, worked with classic tools into small ridged shells to seize the sauce. Ragù of minced lamb and tomato, slow-simmered for twelve hours, settles into every groove for concentrated satisfaction, while grated pecorino furnishes the final sharpness.

Culurgiones di Pesce carries one of Sardinia’s most recognisable pastas out to sea: Plump parcels aromatically stuffed with a smooth melange of fish, potato and mint, silken with brown butter and Parmesan cream, plus fried sage for a brittle, faintly bitter counterpoint.

Fregola alla Sarda honours Sardinian heritage too: The toasted pasta's pebbled texture takes on a comfortingly dense cherry tomato sauce for classic cooking, its firm, chewy beads buoyed by clams for oceanic flashes of flavour.

Pizza Sarda summons Sardinia's coastal pantry on a blistered crust: The pleasurably pungent partnership of bottarga and anchovies is settled over with stracciatella for stretchy lactic folds, tempered by tenderly fried zucchini, peppery rucola and citrusy lemon zest.

Filetto di Cernia brings Malaysian waters into Mattia’s Italian encyclopaedia: Teluk Bahang tiger grouper surfaces with burnished skin and velvety-pearly flesh, bolstered by acqua pazza sauce that fuses inspirations from Italy and Spain, lacquered with 12-year balsamic vinegar, fish reduction and capers for an intensely cutting clarity of savoury tartness.

Other Italian regions remain represented: The Slow-Cooked Australian Lamb Shank is joyously juicy, complemented by creamy polenta that's rooted in northern Italy, while Sicilian caponata introduces a rich register of rustic vegetable brightness.

For a sensational sweet finish, Pardula reimagines Sardinia’s ricotta pastry as a flourless almond cake perfumed with saffron. House-made ricotta lends the crumb a custard-like melt, while honey and orange marmalade bring sunlit sweetness, fringed with caramelised almonds.

Nero Nero
L3-02, Damansara City Mall, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Open Daily, 12pm-3pm, 5:30pm-10pm. Tel: 019-667-4546