Nerovivo @Jalan Ceylon KL – Preview of the Xmas Set Menu

There are many things NEW at Nerovivo, Jalan Ceylon.

Though not a new addition to the Italian dining scene in KL, Nerovivo recently shook things up a bit both internally and externally. Starting with physical renovations at it’s premises, it’s management was reshuffled as well with the appointment of a new Executive Chef Paolo Petris, a direct import from Italy as well as suave Restaurant Manager Alessandro Boneschi. Nerovivo completed the package with an ultra sexy Marcom personnel Rachel Lai who’s just very recently returned from South America.

Quite a dynamic team in place, I believe, and I had first experience of the new team at work just few weeks back.

The occasion was a sneak preview of Nerovivo’s Christmas Eve Dinner & Christmas Day Lunch Menus. Awesome.. Italian food and Italian men on the menu.  

But I digress.

Chef Paolo started off the night’s programme by demonstrating his deft skills in shaping tortellini for our soup.

Below: The tortellini – freshly made and ready for the pot!

THE CHRISTMAS MENU

24th December 2011
RM 178++

Starter
Selection of Tasmanian salmon, prepared in Orange cured salmon, salmon tartar with salmon caviar, salmon gravlax

Soup
Homemade tortellini in chicken broth with drops of white truffle oil

Entrée
Porcini mushroom & red radicchio fresh made lasagnette with smoked scamorza

Main course
Pan seared sea bass escalope, fennel purée, taggiasche olives and caramelized orange zest

OR
Smoked duck breast, leg duck confit on a red cabbage, potatoes gratin and honey lime jus

Dessert

Panettone semifreddo with orange sabayon

Petit four

Now, first of all, let me decide your main for you. You. Have.To. Order. The. DUCK.
YES. Order The Duck.
No, I’m not saying the sea bass was not good. Oh no, the seabass was ok. But the DUCK was superb. Pink, tender and though smoked, it wasn’t the slightest bit too salty, a fault found in many smoked ducks. Even the potatoes gratin was worth blowing the diet for (actually I’m kind of regretting it now…); nicely luscious and rich.

Below: Leg duck confit in a “puff”.

The sea bass, though no doubt a healthier choice, just pales in comparison to the duck.

Anyhow, for fish protein one can always count on the salmon starter. All 3 preparations of salmon were good, though not superior.  Anyhow, I’m a salmon lover, and gladly wiped the plate clean.

While everyone else raved about the soup, I didn’t finish mine. I thought it was rather bland.

By the time we got to the lasagnette with smoked scamorza, I was stuffed.
Now, if you do not know what “scamorza” is, you’re not the only one.  Scamorza (see below the cheese topping the lasagnette?)  is an Italian cow’s milk cheese, similar to mozzarella.
While mozzarella is dead ordinary to us by now, Scamorza offers a slightly different texture and flavour, bordering on  rubbery, stringy and is drier than mozzarella. Likewise, it has a bland, milky taste.

Dessert: Panettone layers (it’s Christmas after all!) with ice cream in between.

Restaurant address:

3A Jalan Ceylon,
50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-20703120
Email: [email protected]

Opening hours:
12.00pm – 3.00pm (week days)
5.45pm – 11.30pm (week days)
5.45pm to 11.00pm (Sunday)

25th Lunch December 2011

RM 108++ Menu with unlimited main course
RM 118++ Menu with unlimited fresh juices & soft drinks
RM 128++ Menu with Unlimited Carlsberg draft

Starter, sharing Family style
Mix cold cuts: turkey bacon, smoked chicken breast, smoked duck breast
Fish: salmon gravlax, prawn salad, crab salad
Turkey salad, beef carpaccio

Soup
Home made tortellini in chicken broth with drops of white truffle oil
Or
Porcini mushroom & red radicchio lasagnette with smoked scamorza

Unlimited Main course
Roasted turkey breast, roasted lamb leg, beef tenderloin Wellington
Roasted potatoes, caponata, Brussels sprouts

Dessert
Panettone semifreddo with vanilla sauce,

Petit fours (torrone)

Here’s a recipe for you to replicate at home! Thanks to Chef Paolo Petris for sharing!  

Homemade Tortellini in Chicken Broth

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
2 oz ricotta
2 oz mascarpone cheese
1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 whole eggs
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth

Truffle oil a few drops

Method:

1. Boil the chicken breast in the vegetable stock.
2. Chop Chicken breast finely and combine in a bowl with the mascarpone, ricotta, grated Parmesan cheese, 1 egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and mix well.
3. Heap the flour in a mound on a board and make a well in the center. Break in the 2 remaining eggs and knead into soft, smooth dough. Roll out into a thin (1/8″ thick) sheet and cut into 1-1/4″ circles (you can use a small juice glass).
4. To make tortellini, place a little of the filling in the center of each circle and fold the pasta in half, pressing it around the edges to seal in filling. Then wind the folded edge around the tip of your index finger and press the 2 ends together to form a ring.
5. Bring chicken broth to a simmer.
6. Drop in tortellini and cook until al dente, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and serve in bowls of broth, passing remaining grated cheese and a few drops of truffle oil.

Christmas…. you know what I really want to try? A Turducken!! Anyone where to get one?  

All pictures taken with: