Portofino @ Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

This F&B outlet surely had caught my attention when I passed by. 2 days later, I received an invitation by Chef Keli which I gladly accepted. Could be the "The Secret" presented itself. Hehe. 

Striking blue signage that enough to catch ones' attention  

The lower level of Portofino definitely drew some similarity to Porto Romano where I see frames of pictures made up of movie posters hung neatly all around the wall. 

Intimate seating environment 

As I stepped upstairs, the ambiance drew a more simple and classy setting with ample space, that is very well suited for company events, or parties. I was informed that on every Tuesdays and alternate Saturdays, there are group of salsa lovers that would dine and enjoy some salsa moves throughout the night.

Ample space upstairs 

The name of the restaurant was taken after this beautiful Italian fishing village and famous resort vacation spot famed for its picturesque harbour. 

Named after Portofine,, Liguria 

Portofino in Bangsar is jointly owned by 2 Italians, Chef Keli, Lucas, and owner of Porto Romano. As I shared my conversation with these two gentleman blessed with good Italian genes, I immediately gathered that they were both incredibly passionate about running this F&B outlet. Chef Keli had vast background in the culinary field ever since young, and during a trip to Malaysia, he was shared the idea of setting up a restaurant. When back to Italy, the idea was proposed to his dear friend, Lucas and before we know it, Portofino was made possible, and they have recently celebrated their 1st anniversary on 6 Oct 2015. 

Varieties of spaghetti were the main highlight for my lunch. Apart from the standard pastas, I've not seen one restaurant offering this many varieties - from ravioli, pappardelle, gnocchi, tortellini, tagliatelle. All their pasta are freshly made, and Chef Keli ensures that he uses the best supply available and am highly particular with each ingredient used. He also goes personally to the fresh market for some selection of fish and prawns. 

The highly recommended pasta was their Cannelloni ai Fruitti di Mare/Seafood Cannelloni. The fresh pasta are cut into long shape, to form a round shape. Within it, it is filled with cuts of fresh prawns, squid, mussels, fish and bechamel sauce. I love this fresh and reviving outlook of Cannelloni. Love the 3 round shape of pasta, served on top of very yummy gravy, accompanied by a neat portion of salad and decorative chocolate sauce. The gravy was cooked using fish stock, and to ensure quality of every sip of taste that goes into the mouth, the stock was cooked using prawn head, red snapper and its bone, together with tomato paste, celery, red onion, carrot, parsley, and cooked for 3 hours.

The pasta was baked with perfection, with slight crisp on top, and the creaminess of cheese on top. I love the generous portion of seafood used that tasted so delicious. That's not all, I found more generous cuts of prawns below the pasta, and with sweetness of the gravy, this tasted heavenly. 

Seafood Cannelloni. Price-RM36

Secondly, we were served the Tortellini Caserecci / Homemade Tortellini. It was the fresh tortellini stuffed with chicken meat and beef bacon, then cooked with cream, mushroom and turkey ham. The texture carried a slight thickness yet chewy and soft when eaten, and love the extremely creamy sauce. 

Homemade Tortellini. Price-RM38 

Each tortellini were filled with so much of chicken and beef bacon, and I could taste the freshness of the meat. 

All the goodness goo-ing out of the tortellini 

Thirdly, we had the Squid Ink Pasta. This was freshly made using black ink from squid. The tenderness of the pasta was apparent, and it was extremely fresh. The gravy has the fishy sweetness taste to it, and a hint of basil. Yumms.. 

Squid Ink Tagliatelle. Price-RM36

I thank Chef Keli to use cream quality that tasted so incredibly good that made this Gnocchi so luscious. This is made using mashed potato, flour, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese, and then cooked with imported cooking cream, blue cheese, and bacon. This indeed was my first time trying 'potato dumpling'. 

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cheese. Price-RM36

In the past, I have been recommended tiramisu which I was disappointed after I tasted it. I can't wait to taste what is this bowl of tiramisu made of. 

It was made using a long process, to ensure the authenticity of the tiramisu could be savored by its customers. First marsala being cooked, and then mixed with mascarpone, whipping cream, and combined with italian fingers soaked with almond liquor, kahlua and coffee, to derived with this bowl of tiramisu. The softness and the creaminess of the mascarporne was indeed melodious, and coupled with the apparent taste of alcohol, this was indeed a blissful bowl of tiramisu. 

Tiramisu. Price-RM16

The spoon of goodness

My meal ended pleasantly with a plate of dessert that brightened my mood instantly. This has to be one of the best well presented plate of dessert. This pannacotta tasted perfect - soft, and creaminess of the cream made me so delightful. The tinge of orange, and lemon zest gave the taste of this pannacotta an extra umph.  The fact that I'm so full and I can still feel how delicious this was, it must be divine. It indeed was one of the best dessert I ever tasted.

Tasted so good and so beautiful to see. Pannacota. Price-RM14

Flanked by the really tall chef, Chef Keli and Lucas 

I was indeed so pleased with the food quality, and more so of the passion that I felt that brimmed through Chef Keli as he explained to me on each and every dish served. The hospitality extended by both Chef Keli and Lucas were so warm. After this visit, I had the feeling of falling in love during my 1st date, and I can't wait to go for the next date, which I in fact had done so, the week after.  

Food - 9/10; Price - 9/10, Service - 9/10, Ambiance - 9/10 

Portofino
No 1 Persiaran Ara Kiri, 
Lucky Garden, Garden,
59100 Kuala Lumpur 
Tel : 03-2094 8490 

Business Hours : 
11am-11pm daily 

Pork-free (serves halal meat)