COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Located in the quiet suburb of Medan Damansara, La Risata has garnered a legion of fans since it opened in 1999, judging from how busy the restaurant is, on a week day.
The familiar red bricks and raw cement walls exude a nice warm rustic ambience – perfect for chilling out over drinks and just as good for a family meal.
The appeal of La Risata lies mainly in its offerings of hearty authentic Italian dishes. The wood fire oven is constantly busy churning out delicious thin and crispy pizzas and seriously, La Risata’s pizzas are simply some of the best I’ve had.
They are absolute must-have’s if you are ever in this restaurant. The toppings are just divine and sometimes it’s difficult to pick one. Some of my personal favourites are:
Pizza D’Anatra (RM36) – smoked duck, rocket, anchovies, caramelised onions and mozzarella
Pizza D’Anatra
Pizza Fruittì Di Mare (RM31) – mixed seafood, garlic, basil, tomato and mozzarella
Pizza Fruittì Di Mare
Pizza Pera Gorgonzola (RM30) – pear shavings, rocket salad, gorgonzola, mozzarella and walnuts
Pizza Pera Gorgonzola
Sometimes after a long day, pizza and pasta would just end the day perfectly. Looking at the long list of pasta items in La Risata’s menu, I chose their Capellini Al Nero Con Fruittì Di Mare (RM35) – angelhair pasta with prawns, squids and roasted cherry tomatoes in squid ink sauce.
Capellini Al Nero Con Fruittì Di Mare
The pasta’s nicely al dente, just the way I like it and the combination of lightly-cooked seafood works wonders with this delicate pasta.
The Pesce Alle Melanzañe Piccante (RM38) – Pan-fried Barramundi Fillet topped with saute’ed eggplant, anchovy, garlic, chilli flakes and pine nuts served with julien’ed vegetables is simply good. The fish’s cooked just right, rendering the sweet fillet with a soft bouncy flaky texture that’s hard to resist.
Pesce Alle Melanzañe Piccante
The unusual pairing of eggplant and anchovy is a genius touch as the flavours balance out very nicely.
Agnello Alla Griglia (lamb tenderloin) (RM56) – Grilled chilled Australian lamb tenderloin with fennel and black pepper crust, served with mashed chickpea and vegetable caponata finished with red wine reduction.
Agnello Alla Griglia
This is a meat dish that’s easy to love – juicy tender meat eaten with a tasty grainy mash of chickpea.
My favourite dessert in La Risata is their Zucotto (RM18). It’s a liquer dome cake filled with chocolate and vanilla cream with almonds, hazelnuts and chocolate bits. The liquer makes all the difference, just for that nice little kick.
La Risata is their Zucotto
Cannoli
Their Cannoli (RM16) is also very popular. The Sicilian fried pastry shell is filled with sweet ricotta cream dipped in chocolate and pistachio bits. Initially I found this rather strange but after one bite, I can understand what the fuss is all about.
La Risata
128 Jalan Kasah
Medan Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2095-9572
Lunch: 12.00pm – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm
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