La Risata, the laughter

La Risata is one of those restaurants that have faded into memory vaults. You remember it was good but you can’t remember why you stopped going. When La Risata first started, the average Malaysian’s knowledge on Italian food didn’t expand further from spaghetti bolognese and pizza; pronounced speh-gedi and pee-sa respectively back in a day. Today people say foie gras as easily as they say Planta. I remember cashiering in Damansara when they first opened. Sean, Yuen’s son, was only a couple of months old. He is 8 this year. How time flies.

I visit Laris regularly, obviously. I still prefer the Ampang branch over Damansara. For sentimental reasons because it was the first. The pizzas are still fantastic. Crispy and thin. There was a point in time when the dough got so thin you’d swear you were eating popiah! But overall, it has been pretty consistent. More than most restaurants that have been around for the same amount of time. Now they have a new look and new menu. Reinventing old recipes for the more sophisticated Malaysian. If I could sum it up in a dress code it would be casual but smart.

I predict the squid ink spaghetti with grilled prawns, calamari and roasted tomatoes are going to be a hit. As will the pizza carbonara. Cream base pizza with lots of onions, mushrooms, bacon bits and cheese. Mmmm! I’m getting hungry talking about it. Oh, there are also a couple of new desserts like meringue nest with fresh cream & raspberries, banana & butterscotch cream pie and zucotto. New mains for Atkinians. Delicious, melt-in-the-mouth pan-grilled cod and T-bone steak!

Above:spaghetti carbonara and four cheese pizza