Sometimes you’re in the mood for a fancy dinner at the mall and Chili’s just won’t cut it. D’Italiane, in my opinion, is the nicest establishment at Paradigm Mall.
Ambience & Amenities
D’Italiane is located in the oft-forgotten wing that is separated from the main mall. When you take the central escalators up to level G, turn right and take the exit doors that lead to the Escape Challenge Park. Walk past the Chili’s and under the outdoor bridge, and the restaurant will be there.
The indoor dining room at D’Italiane has brick walls and warm, cosy tones. This space will be better lit, especially during dinnertime. Outside the front of the restaurant are squashy leather armchairs set up around coffee tables. This “patio” is open-air so it feels like you’re sitting outdoors but you’re still under the mall roof. If you go around the corner, there are additional couches and bar tables set up here. If you choose to have your meal out here, you’ll have entertainment right before your eyes in the form of thrill-seekers tackling the Escape Challenge Park. The patio is better if you intend to quietly enjoy the ambience rather than chit-chat throughout your meal, but the service was poor out here. The server only came out here to deliver food, and trying to get someone’s attention through the window over a crowded interior took multiple tries.
D’Italiane does not have an in-house toilet, so guests must use the mall facilities. The nearest one is next to Seoul Garden closeby. Exit onto the patio, turn right and walk toward this restaurant.
Menu
D’Italiane’s menu is quite extensive with pages of all the usual Italian courses. Unconventionally for an Italian restaurant, there is a short sandwich section after the pizzas, but many of these options don’t sound Italian-y at all.
There are almost as many pages of drinks as there is for food. There are coffees, smoothies and fruit juices for those not imbibing; cocktails, beers and a wide variety of liqueurs for those who need something to forget the five hours of shopping they just did where everything fit terribly. Do note that some alcoholic coffee-based drinks are placed under the “Granita” section instead of under “Coffee.” If you live the clean life but want to feel sophisticated by drinking out of a martini glass, D’Italiane’s signature cocktails can be made non-alcoholic.
Filtered water is listed at RM1 per glass on the menu, but D’Italiane gave it to us free of charge on our bill. My guess is that if you spend money on any drink with your meal, you will get free water if you ask for it. It would be cheeky to charge RM36 for a drink and still have the balls to demand money for something as paltry as water.
Food
The Dewy Rose Marries (RM36), despite the lemon juice, is a very sweet cocktail. It tastes like Maynard’s Swedish Berries in liquid form, but I still enjoyed it. The Clove Encounter (RM36) has a flavour profile that’s leagues more interesting. When you sip this, the sweet and tart pineapple juice hits you first, followed by a reprieve of blueberry, then finishes with the warmth of clove syrup to linger on your tongue.
The Crispy Chopped Olive Garlic Basket (RM18) comes with four generously sized triangles of ciabatta as big as a proper sandwich. The bread is so good – so soft and chewy with none of the sharp edges that can develop on baked bread. The olive tapenade is not overwhelming and there is just enough cheese to get some stringiness when you bite into this.
The four quarters of the Quattro Stagione Pizza (RM31) consist of beef pepperoni, mushroom, tuna & onion, and turkey ham & pineapple. Whoever assembled this didn’t have OCD as the ingredients often overlapped into the adjacent quarter. The layer of cheese is very thick compared to pizzas I’ve had in other Italian restaurants. The crust is true Italian thin-style, but way too thin in some areas. The crust was nonexistent in the centre of the pizza, so the first corner bites of our slices were entirely cheese and toppings. For this thickness of crust, D’Italiane went a little too hard on the toppings. Since the base is so precarious, this is a fork and knife kind of pizza.
Zealous pineapple-on-pizza haters will go all Gordon Ramsay on me for this, but the turkey & pineapple was the best quarter in my opinion. The quarter I was least excited to eat was tuna & onion. The large rings of raw onion were simply too overpowering. This could have been better if they were chopped into small cubes instead.
Many of the desserts sounded tantalising, but the Triple Chocolate Banana with Ice Cream (RM23) had the most intriguing description, even if it had a dull name. This dessert is big enough for two. A large square of dark chocolate sponge cake is crowned with banana slices, a scoop of homemade Madagascar vanilla gelato and drizzled generously with chocolate sauce and cream. The cake is dense and has more of a brownie texture rather than a cake. As you eat toward the centre of this, you’ll eventually get bites of the zabaglione, chunks of solid custard with a touch of sweet wine flavour. Every bite of this dessert was divine, but the gelato was a noteworthy standout.
Saturday Worthy?
D’Italiane is a classy place to eat after a long mall day with your sweetie. Everything we ate here was delectable and some exceeded our expectations in taste or volume. Italian food is never cheap, so expect to open your wallet a little wider here.
Price for 2 Pax: RM167.05
Dewy Rose Marries: RM36.00
Clove Encounter: RM36.00
Crispy Olive Garlic Basket: RM18.00
Quatro Stagione Pizza: RM31.00
Triple Chocolate Banana: RM23.00
Kangen Water x 2: RM0.00
6% SST: RM8.64
10% Service: RM14.40
Rounding: RM0.01
D’Italiane
Lot GB-03A & 05 (Ground Level), Paradigm Mall, No. 1, Jalan SS7/26A, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Selangor
Opening Hours: Daily, 10am – 10pm
Alcohol Served: Yes
