Nero Nero: Chef Mattia Fois brings irresistible Italian flavours of Sardinia to KL

Nero Nero is where chef Mattia Fois cooks the food of Sardinia in Kuala Lumpur — and it is the first Malaysian restaurant to serve su filindeu, one of the rarest pasta shapes in the world.

Fois is 25 and has been cooking since he was eight, learning from grandparents and parents before stints in Michelin-starred kitchens in Barcelona. The menu runs regional Italian tradition through reformist European technique rather than treating the two as opposites.

What to Order at Nero Nero

Besides the su filindeu, the handmade pastas to look for are malloreddus and culurgiones, with bottarga pizza and pardula pastries rounding out the Sardinian side.

Start with the Tagliatella di Seppia con Gamberi: cuttlefish sliced into supple ribbons taking the shape of tagliatelle, with sweet prawns and citrus-cured onions over a clear lettuce emulsion, sharpened with leche de tigre and scattered with fried fregola for a nutty crunch.

For Sardinian food in Kuala Lumpur or handmade pasta in KL, Nero Nero is cooking something nobody else in the city is.