MIGF 2015 Review – Nerovivo

Tim Chew 11/10/2015 2 Comments

[MIGF Special Feature]

Nerovivo is located along Jalan Ceylon which is up the road from busy Changkat Bukit Bintang

Regina and I recently headed over to Nerovivo in Jalan Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur to try their special Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) 2015 menu. Nerovivo has actually been around since 2004, and just completed a major renovation of the restaurant last month to refresh their look.

When you step into the restaurant you will first enter the lounge section which houses some high tables as well as sofas. Good for enjoying pre or post dinner drinks.

The view from the reverse angle

The well stocked bar

The wine cellar

Nerovivo is known for their delicious pizzas which are cooked in this wood fired oven

We had some champagne at the bar before dinner

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The indoor section of Nerovivo has a nice romantic ambience which is great for a couple outing. There’s also a private room for some added privacy. For those who prefer more fresh air, there’s an al fresco dining area and we noticed mostly foreigners dining there while the locals preferred to dine in the aircon.

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The interior has a warm colour scheme in the dining rooms which adds to the mood, while the fixtures, bottles and paintings on the wall added to the whole ambience.

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Amuse Bouche – Grilled Artichoke Cream, Cecina Ham and Crispy Wild Mushrooms

Paired with Brut Rose’ Chiarli Modena

The grilled artichoke cream has a very nice smoky and creamy flavour but the real star of this dish was the Cecina ham and crispy wild mushrooms on toast which is simply bursting with savoury and earthy flavours! The rose went well with this dish as it lent its dry and sweet notes to balance the dish nicely. What a great start!

Starter – Octopus Carpaccio, Tomato Crouton, Pickled Vegetables, Aged Balsamic and Green Olives (or vegetarian)

Paired with Dry Riesling Konrad

The octopus was sliced really thin! A good appetiser which really perked up my tastebuds! The riesling was really nice too and balanced out the rather tart dish with it’s sweet notes. If anything, this dish made me more hungry!

Entrée – Fresh homemade Spinach Taglierini with Burrata Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Roasted Pinenuts

Paired with Sherezade Nero D’Avola Donnafugata

This one was crazily addictive and I finished every last strand of delicious and taste taglierini which went wonderfully well with the burrata cheese while the cherry tomatoes added a burst of tartness to prevent the richness from getting to you. The roasted pine nuts were an inspired addition to the dish as it added both deliciously nutty flavours as well as a contrast in texture. I hope that this dish will make it onto the new menu at Nerovivo! The wine pairing worked for me and I enjoyed the spicy red wine which also helped to balance out the dish.

Main Course

Veal Scallops with White Wine and Capers Sauce and Raw Butter, Roasted Tomatoes Tortino

Bacalla Confit with Red Onion, Bortoli Beans Pure, Spinach, Egg Yolk, Garlic and Orange infused Olive Oil

Paired with Lessona 2009 Massimo Clerico

Both Regina and I had the Bacalla Confit which is a salted cod fish which is served with red onion, a bean puree, spinach, egg yolk and the fragrant oil. Now if you’re a fan of salted fish (aka ikan masin) you will love this as the cod is flavourful and soft after being soaked in water for two (2) days. Regina wasn’t much of a fan of the bacalla as she found it much too salty for her taste. I finished it as I found it went well with the other ingredients on the dish that were I believe intentionally less well-seasoned. I think the red wine would have gone better with the veal than the bacalla but good thing I had leftover riesling which I enjoyed with this dish. I found that the red wine went well with the dessert so it didn’t go to waste.

Dessert – Poached Pears with Saffron, Dried Pomegranate, Cinnamon Crumble and Blackberry Panna Cotta

Paired with Barolo Grappa Marolo

The pears were fragrant, beautifully poached and so sweet and juicy! Although I’m not much of a dessert person, I really enjoyed every element of this dish. The panna cotta was lovely and creamy and contrasted against the cinnamon crumble. I’m not much of a fan of grappa though which is an Italian digestif (supposed to aid in the digestion of the meal).

The dessert was parolo Grappa Marolo which is a digestif (an alcoholic drink which is supposed to aid digestion). That’s a (complimentary) limoncello in the shot glass beside it.

Full Festival Menu Price

Without Wines: RM118.00 nett per person; RM218.00 nett for 2 pax; RM388.00 nett for 4 pax (booking required)

With Wines: RM218.00 nett per person; RM380.00 nett for 2 pax; RM720.00 nett for 4 pax (booking required)

Honestly, looking at the dishes and the quality of ingredients, this MIGF menu is a STEAL especially the 4 pax package. I highly recommend you to try this menu if you haven’t tried a MIGF menu previously. It is the most value for money offering of all the restaurants participating this year. The special MIGF menu runs until 31 October 2015 but don’t wait till the last minute.

Chef Joao also gave us a little preview of the upcoming new menu items at Nerovivo

At first glance I thought it was a squid ink pasta until Chef Joao told us that it was a cocoa pasta dish (with a huge prawn on top). So you’d think that it would taste like chocolate right? Wrong! We totally couldn’t make out any chocolate taste but there was a nice texture to the pasta as well as a slight bitter aftertaste which added some contrast to the tomato based sauce! I look forward to trying out more unusual pasta dishes in the future!

We also got to try an all time favourite Italian dessert - tiramisu. Creamy and flavourul and Regina polished up most of it.

We also got to try an all time favourite Italian dessert – tiramisu. Creamy and flavourful and Regina polished up most of it.

You will find Chef Joao running around the front of house checking and chatting with customers to ensure everything is fine if he’s not busy in the kitchen. I find this very rare actually but I think it’s a gesture that can endear customers to an outlet.