For some, making pasta may sound like an easy job due to its basic formula and simple ingredients like water, flour or egg, but it is actually difficult to produce an ideal pasta.
“The simpler the food is the harder to master,” said Head Chef Tan Xing Yu at the MoodMood, a contemporary casual dining restaurant which opened last November at Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur.
“The most simple pasta is quite hard to master. In fact, we don’t say we master it, rather we say we are still practising to do better everyday,” said Tan.
There is so much to consider. Water ratio in the dough, kneading techniques, cooking time depending on the size of pasta, and all the small details that contribute to the perfect taste and texture.
Tan explained the differences, saying: “We really go into details. We can make pasta using a machine, but the dough will not be airy like handmade pasta. Machine-made dough is more dense.
“If you use hands to make the dough, then you would do more kneading and this gives more elasticity and airyness.”
Pastas are versatile and it comes in numerous sizes and shapes. MoodMood serves up a total of six different varieties, none of the usual spaghetti, penne and fettucine that you can find everywhere else.
MoodMood co-founder Miki Lie explained: “These are [Italian] regional pasta that is not known or very popular. Malaysians probably know a few types, but actually, there are so many varieties that are interesting.
“This is why we want to bring awareness about a new kind of pasta at MoodMood. Each time we change or update our menu, we introduce at least one new pasta variety.”
A plate of refined pasta
Among these are Paccheri, a long tube-shaped pasta originating from Campania in Italy, and Agnolotti, originally from the Piedmont region, which resembles ravioli and is made from a single sheet.
Pappardelle, originally from Tuscany, hass a flat and ribbon shape similar to fettucine but is much wider. Silk blanket, their signature pasta, is a sheet-shaped ravioli.
The least known Sa Fregula pasta, originally from Sardinia region, has a round shape, a bit like cous-cous.
Tan creates mouth-watering dishes with these pastas, such as Paccheri lamb ragu diavolo sauce with dipping bread, veal bacon pappardelle zuchini in butter sauce, and Tiger Prawn Sa Fregula with tomato capers.
Then, there is tempting Turkey Ham Mousse Agnolotti pea in butter sauce, Lobster Tail Spaghetti Tomato Capers, Meatballs Pappardelle Grana Padano, Anchovies Pappardelle with capers and others.
Vegetarians are not left out in their menu, which is updated from time to time. Their vegetarian signature dishes are Silk Blanket Truffle Mushroom sauce with shaved truffle and Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti.
Italian-inspired, infused with Asia
The idea to create a pasta-based menu started during the MCO. Tan explored with this with ingredients from various Asian cultures like Japanese and Chinese, and added his own creativity into the pasta, filling and the sauce.
The key factor of making unique dishes comes down to the selection of unique ingredients.
“For spaghetti and pappardelle, we use eggs from Japan that can be eaten raw. This particular egg gives a bit of texture to the pasta, making it more richer,” revealed Tan.
“We try to incorporate a bit of new flavours, as well. Usually you would find mushroom puree or meat filling inside Agnolotti in other places but here, we have black garlic which is used in Chinese cooking.”
The unique ingredients quite unexpectedly go well with the pasta due to their umami taste. The rich taste of fermented black garlic in the filling is balanced with hazelnut, mint and lemon zest juice.
Hazelnut, lemon zest and mint not only add a balanced taste and acidity but also ‘mellow’ or ‘tone down’ the overpowering taste of fermented black garlic in the filling.
Other than picking good quality ingredients, Tan infuses Asian flavours and strikes a balance in the combination of taste, and each element in a plate of pasta comes together, harmoniously.
Savouring signature dishes
Tiger Prawns in Sa Fregula with tomato and capers is their signature dish, and is enjoyed the most by their customers.
“Sa Fregula served with local tiger prawn has a sour taste from capers, lemon juice and heat from Toragashi (Japanese chilli threads). It has very rich buttery and creamy taste from the cheese.”
When the waiter placed the bright red dish on the table, the natural aroma could be felt and tempted my appetite.
The colour came from Chill Prawn Oil while Sa Fregula looked like risotto, presented with Tiger Prawn neatly arranged and garnished with sprinkling of Toragashi, which appeared like saffron threads, on the top.
Sa Freguela tastes soft and creamy, while the Tiger Prawn was fresh and melted in the mouth, and the subtle heat from Toragashi tantalised my taste buds.
Another signature dish is Turkey Ham Mousse Agnolotti with pea in butter sauce, which is served in small bites.
I could taste the delicious flavour, sweet and yet subtle taste inside, and the buttery juice bursting into mouth left a wonderful aftertaste.
The pea and toasted nuts were crunchy, perfectly paired with the taste of soft and smooth textured Agnolotti. The pasta was fresh, tasty and so different from any other pasta I had tasted before.
The starter – Buratta Cheese, Figs Mostarda with herb salad – is presented with the salad at the base of the plate with the cheese stacked on top, and garnished with edible flower petals and nuts.
The cloud-like Buratta tasted fresh and simply luxurious with every bite, and was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the figs and crunchy pine nuts in the herb salad. It was simple, but felt decadent.
I also tried their Tiramisu. The dessert had a strong coffee flavour balanced with Kahlua, rum and Mascarpone cream. Overall, the food at MoodMood had great, memorable flavours.
For a new experience in terms of taste, Tan recommends starters like Wagyu Tartar with Squid Ink Flatbread and pickled Jalapeno (from Cameron Highlands) and Crepe with local Herring sausage and bonito caramel.
Tan also suggested to try their signature dessert Warm Apple Tarte Tatin. It comes Shio Kombu (salted Japanese seaweed) served with Oolong or Vanilla ice cream.
Co-founder Lie said: “If you really want to taste top quality handmade pasta that are not so familiar, you can come here.
“It’s a good sharing pasta place to have a casual dinner and share over conversation with family and friends. We want to emphasise good food in a casual setting. So, come and chill.”
