House Pasta

First published in Options, The Edge Malaysia, 16 July 2018

Recently-opened Grano Pasta Bar specializes in pastas, and the menu comprises a few appetisers, a variety of pasta dishes and wine.  Housed in the trendy APW complex, it occupies a narrow space with upstairs and downstairs next to Proof Pizza + Wine, (same owner) with a minimalist approach to décor. 

The pastas are produced in-house with an industrial Italian-made pasta machine.  Freshly-made pastas, produced from Italian wheat and eggs, are showcased in a display case in the kitchen, where a window allows diners to see pasta dishes being prepared.  The restaurant produces a number of regional, unusual and little-encountered pasta types.

With a square, instead of a round cross-section, Spaghetti Alla Chittara (Rm38) was saute’d in a white-wine, seafood sauce with smoked salmon, baby octopi, prawns and herbs. The freshly-made, egg pasta had a rich mouth feel, good body, and lustre, with the dish taking on a lively, wholesome personality.  The pairing was elegant, with a thick sauce coating the pasta, for an awesome seafood pasta.

Reginette (Rm34), a wavy-edged koaw-teow type pasta, was saute’d in a chicken and white wine broth, with bits of pork pancetta adding a little spice to the mix. The pasta had character, a good bite and absorbed the rich broth mixture, making for a buttery, full-flavoured blend, to showcase the qualities of the pasta.

Little-known Gnochetti Sardi originates from Sardinia and are seashell-shaped pasta, presented vegetarian style (Rm29) in a rich, thick mix of herb pesto, mushroom, capers and sun-dried tomato, and flavoured with shaved cheese and chili flakes. The seashell-pasta were little pearls, firm, precious and overflowing with flavor, a tribute to the kitchen’s creativity and pairing.  

Trendy and stylish, the pastas are interesting and excellent, and likely to spoil you the next time you step into a lesser Italian restaurant and encounter the store-purchased, dried pasta, which is vapid and dull by comparison.

Grano Pasta Bar,

Lot 29-2, APW Bangsar,

Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-27883595

FB: granoapw

Business Hours:  12.15pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.00pm daily, closed on Mondays