Natalina Italian Kitchen's summer specials: A seasonal sojourn through salmon, saffron and sunshine

Natalina Italian Kitchen is head chef Stefano Maria La Penna's kitchen in Kuala Lumpur, part of the Cinnamon Group, cooking regional Italian rather than a single house style.

Its summer menu is the seasonal showcase, and it moves around the map: basil from near the Ligurian coast, saffron out of the Abruzzese highlands, Roman tomatoes, ricotta in Sicilian pastry shells.

What to Order at Natalina

Start with Battuto di Gamberi Rossi — red prawn flesh and head butter worked into a supple mince, perfumed with pesto so the marine sweetness meets a basil herb garden, with a Parmesan tuile for saline snap. Capesante, Zucchine e Zafferano brings Hokkaido scallops with courgette and saffron.

The rest of the seasonal run covers salmon ravioli, hand-cut pasta, charred lamb, pistachio cannoli and bomboloni with lemon custard.

These are summer specials, so the exact list changes with the season — check what is on before booking around a particular dish.

For Italian in Kuala Lumpur or a seasonal Mediterranean menu in KL, Natalina is the one following the calendar properly.