It’s quite refreshing that Paramount Garden, predominantly a residential area, now houses a well set-up Italian restaurant. In the few rows of shophouses in this location, most of the eateries are casual types, more of the kopitiam-style than anything. Hence, a’Roma Dinings, with its chic restaurant, wine lounge and coffee bar is a class above the rest.
The name a’Roma stems from the city of Roma and the team here strives to showcase authentic Italian cuisine using the freshest ingredients. The menu focuses on Italian imported ham and cheese boards, house-made fresh pastas, grilled meats and seasonal seafood. At the bar, there’s a good selection of single malt whiskeys, fine Italian and French wines and Degayo coffee for lovers of the brew.
Stepping into the restaurant, one can’t help but be impressed by the arresting hand-painted wall mural of the Colosseum at one end of the restaurant. Together with the elegant Italian-themed tiles, the dining atmosphere here tries to evoke an authentic Roman feel.
We adored this delicious tomato dip – perfect with the thin crunchy pastries!
After nibbling on some deliciously crunchy house-baked pizza pastries with their special house-made spicy tomato dip, we kicked off dinner with a big Charcuterie Board of assorted smoked meats like Mortadella Bologna, Milano Salami, Prosciutto and Cotechino served with toasted garlic bread, black olives, pickles, balsamic oil and extra virgin olive oil. It was a great start to our meal.
Charcuterie Board – Tagliere di Salumi (RM60)
Their Garlic Bread was so good we had to order more!
As I mentioned earlier, the chefs make their own fresh pasta in the restaurant. I was shown their special pasta-making machine. For our pasta dish, we had casarecce – short rolled and twisted pasta with a rustic al dente texture. Our casarecce was cooked with slow-braised pork cheek, mushrooms, bacon and generously coated with puttanesca sauce. The pasta was sublime.
Casarecce alla Puttanesca (RM38)
Although I’m not a risotto fan, I enjoyed their risotto with seafood, saffron, green peas and roasted capsicum. Using De Cecco Arborio Rice, the risotto maintained a nice chewy bite and was tasty due to the sweet flavours from the scallops and tiger prawn.
Risotto allo Zafferano con Fruitti di Mare (RM48)
We tried a meaty mains – a wooden board filled with slabs of Spanish pork rib and pork belly grilled and charred nicely at the sides. The pork slabs were shiney with the Chipotle Mesquite Glaze and honey and the dollop of dark cherry compote lent a tangy touch to the meats. As a added treat, pieces of crunchy crackling and tender baby potatoes accompanied the pork.
Puntine di Maiale e Pancetta (RM79)
Desserts here were definitely decadent. The Tiramisu was nicely drenched with DeGayo espresso, the mascarpone cream layer was light and fluffy and the trail of melted dark cocoa fudge was a nice touch.
Tiramisu (RM23)
For chocolate lovers, please go for the Semi Freddo – it’s a sinful ensemble of 75% dark chocolate, butterscotch, hazelnut ganache decorated with orange segments and strawberries!
Semi Freddo di Cioccolato (RM23)
The Paramount Garden neighbourhood is definitely buzzing now as residents don’t really have to travel far for some good Italian love. When there’s an urge for a good Italian meal in cosy comfortable surroundings, check out a’Roma Dinings.
A’ROMA DININGS
1 Jalan 20/14
Paramount Garden
46300 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7865-9829
Open 11.30am-11.30pm Tuesday-Sunday
Closed on Monday