Spasso Milano

Spasso Milano is one of the newest additions to the never-ending list of Italian restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. This being the last week of the year and all, I am pretty happy to say that we found a cool new restaurant to add to our list of “likes”, thanks to Sean of Eat Drink KL, blogging about this place.

(NOTE: Spasso Milano has now moved to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, on the 6th Floor)

Spasso Milano has the sleek contemporary looks of a modern restaurant in any part of KL, but it is a little cosier. The low ceiling, the trendy open kitchen concept, all say to the diner, welcome.. you are a part of our kitchen.

In case you missed it, the ‘big’ man about the kitchen is guy in charge.

Chef Felice Martinelli a.k.a. Chef Felix is the new Chef in the kitchen and he hails from Milan. Prior to this, he lived in Bangkok for many years and before that, worked in the Maldives for a fair amount of time as well.

The menu here is both user- and budget-friendly, with a fair number of dishes hardly jumping the RM30 mark, and starters staying below RM19.  We were really surprised that this Italian restaurant seemed approximately 20% cheaper than similar restaurants in its league. Maybe a couple of the mains were priced higher, but this would be because you ordered a Wagyu steak, and still very much on the low side of high.

Bread that is just begging to be doused in olive oil. The crust is thin and not overloaded with dough.. we loved the chewy texture of it , not unlike that of thin crusted gourmet pizza.

Seafood soup – RM18.80

The squid, mussels and prawns make a lush combination of flavors. This rustic seafood soup is the closest thing to real country cooking I’ve had in a while. Really delicious.

Smoked Duck – RM18.80

Zucchini Roll – RM23.80

Fly away.. oh butterfly!

Flamed Mussels – RM28.00

Frankly speaking, it is with its seafood that this kitchen displays its finesse. The soup and the flamed mussels were divine. Later, we thoroughly enjoyed the king prawns as well.  Whilst the preparation of the dishes here are not exactly earth shatteringly original, all in all they are well-prepared and great as mid-priced choices.

Having said that, the duck starter and the Zucchini roll were fantastic too. Rich and full of flavour, this appetite teaser was delicious – hard to not ask for more.

Wagyu Rib Eye Herb – RM88.00

The first steak that arrived was just shy of well-done, which means to say, it was overcooked for our order of “medium”.

Wagyu Rib Eye – grilled with Wine reduction sauce

Chef Felix was good enough to whisk that well done steak away and replace it with a grilled medium, and super juicy steak. This new wagyu steak was huge, meaty, succulent and well worth RM88 if you ask me. Meat-happy carnivores will be happy with this one!

King Prawn Mustard – RM52.00

What did we say about the seafood? Good. Very good.

Desserts of Chocolate sorbet ice cream with oranges and Lemon cream & pine nut tart with vanilla gelato

Of course this being our first time to Spasso Milano, it is hard to tell if this is a one off fluke, or if the food is really that good. After all, this restaurant has only been open 2 and a half months and is just getting off the ground. We need to come back as well, for the homemade pastas that are supposed to be the trademark of this restaurant. Only time and subsequent visits will tell us if the kitchen needs to work on consistency.

All in all a great dining experience. We highly recommend Spasso Milano for a great Italian dinner.

Directions : On Jalan Ampang, heading towards Gleneagles hospital, pass the Great Eastern Mall on your right. Around 500 meters along, you will see Nihon Club (stand alone bungalow) on the same side as the GE Mall. Spasso Milano is located  on the 1st floor of this building.