Rediscovering Modesto's

We haven't been to Modesto's for a long time. For some reasons, I got reminded of them and decided to eat there. But before heading down, I Googled it and for the first time, found out a little about the person who opened the place (a real Italian by the way) and how the restaurant was formerly started in Kuala Lumpur. That guy, Modesto Marini, has sold off this chain and is apparently running some pretty spiffy (read expensive) fine dining places in KL.

The restaurant hasn't changed very much. They're still using those plates lipped with leopard skin designs. But it seems they don't serve their focaccia anymore.

I kinda remembered that their mushroom soup was pretty okay. It still is, blended bits of real mushroom with a token drizzle of cream which failed to achieve much beyond presentation. To think that these guys were way ahead many of the competition of their era when they first opened.

I've never recalled ordering any melanzane alla parmigiana. This could be my first! And as wary of tomato sauces as I generally am, this was quite enjoyable. Those eggplants were soft and well..... one cannot really taste much of eggplants buried in flavours like these. Not complaining at all though. 

I got suckered into ordering their beer risotto which was this month's special. I was initially thinking that the rice could have been a bit more cooked, the cheeses could have been Parmigiano Reggiano instead of whatever light and mildly bitter one that they used and more salt would have been great for the stock. They used Tiger by the way. But on hindsight, all those heavier flavours would have drowned out the mild beery (I meant hoppy) bitter. Their home made sausages could also do with more salt.

What kinda rocked, unexpectedly, was their puttanesca which we got with their house made squid ink tagliatelle. The pasta was firm with bite (again, a shade.....just a tiny shade under what would be ideal for me). The sauce was delicious. There's the garlic, tomatoes, some heat and olives with the pungent and salty anchovies. Served piping hot.

Portions here are still pretty generous. We didn't have space for desserts. The atmosphere was old school, like Pete's Place. There's no fancy plating or puny portions. But I think I'm not going to be discounting them so readily in the future. By the way, OCBC cards gets 30% off the bill on Tuesdays.