For several years whenever I drove from my home in Petaling Jaya to visit a friend in Bandar Utama, along the Sprint Highway, I would see a restaurant with the signboard “Restoran Itali : Antonio’s Trattoria Calabria”.
My curiosity piqued I went online to check the meaning of the words. I discovered that in Italian, Trattoria means “small Italian restaurant” and Calabria is the geographical name of a southern part of Italy. Being conservative in my culinary tastes and always suspicious that anything not Asian would cause my tongue to revolt, I always gave European Restaurants a wide berth.
It was going to be a few years before my wife and I plucked up our courage and walked into Antonios to try what was on their menu. From that day, we were hooked. The family (Malaysian Indian) run restaurant with its very genial and friendly owner and staff quickly became one of our favorite food places which we have visited countless times, bringing family and friends from near and far to celebrate reunions and occasions.
All our guests comprising Malaysians and foreigners have nothing but words of praise for the food that was served. Our impression must be shared by many Malaysians because any time we visit we would see guests comprising of all the races in our country tucking into the food offered by Antonios. Over the years the quality and taste of the food have remained very good – very different from our experience in other places we have visited and stopped going to. In spite of inflation, Antonios has maintained their prices, and corkage is not charged for alcohol that you bring along so long as your food bill exceeds a certain limit.
Some of our favorite dishes include Mozzarella Carrozza, a winner starter each time - crispy fried mozzarella sandwiches infused with cheese and served with thick spicy sauce and fresh crispy salad. The mushroom soup is a must-have. It is delicious, fresh, homemade, thick, and creamy with Italian herbs; the portions are big and we have found that sharing one serving between two people would be more than enough.
There was a time when we were busy and decided to go to another Italian Restaurant nearer our home. The mushroom soup here was so thin and flat to the taste, that we felt that we were being punished for not being loyal to Antonio’s. Another Antonio winner is the Spaghetti Arrabbiata with its fresh pasta served with generous amounts of homemade spicy tomato sauce and sliced olives, which is simply delicious and nutritious. My reading tells me that the Arrabbiata is a spicy Italian sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. I also like the Chicken Arrabbiata served at Antonios – the sauce contains generous amounts of minced chicken meat; this dish makes me feel very full every time I have it.
My trick is to make sure that I go for a good walking exercise in the evening before heading out to the restaurant when I plan to order the dish. This seems to create the extra space in the stomach needed to accommodate the Chicken Arrabbiata. On days that I want a light meal, I would order the Aglio Olio. This is a conventional Italian pasta dish. The version I like is spaghetti prepared with olive oil, garlic, and cheese. You are left satisfied and do not feel stuffed. My wife loves the Pizza Vegetariana – this is a homemade thin-crust pizza topped with assorted vegetables including fresh basil and mozzarella cheese. Quite crunchy to the bite and at the same time chewy because of the cheese. For dessert one must try their Tiramisu – one of the best I have had.
Antonios tends to get very busy on Saturdays and public holidays. It would be safer to make reservations before going on these days. Go early and you get served fast ; if you go later in the evening you will have to be prepared to wait.
We have never been dissatisfied every time we visit Antonios.
Antonios is open for lunch and dinner daily except for Mondays. They are just below the MRT station at Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
Address : 32A, Jalan Wan Kadir 4, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
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