La Festa della Mamma at IL Forno turned Kuala Lumpur into the Amalfi Coast

1) Long Crostini

2) Seafood Salad

We began at the antipasti spread, and I was immediately drawn to the Long Crostini — mortadella layered with rocket, silky stracciatella, and a whisper of pesto. It was the kind of bite you close your eyes for. Unassuming on the surface, deeply satisfying the moment it meets your palate. I had three. Possibly four. I stopped counting after the second glass of the Amalfi Spritz arrived, fizzing with Prosecco and limoncello like bottled coastal sunshine.

Then came the Mushroom Risotto. This is where the afternoon shifted from lovely to genuinely moving. The Executive Chef Vincenzo Carbone, a southerner from Italy who carries the flavours of his homeland in every gesture, prepared it right before us. There is something about watching a chef work with quiet mastery, ladling stock by instinct, folding in the risotto with a patience that cannot be faked, that makes the eventual taste feel almost sacred. The result was deeply earthy, gloriously creamy, and entirely unforgettable.

1) Artisanal Casarecce Pasta alla Nerano

2) Artisanal Scialatielli Pasta, Squid, Prawn, Black Mussel

The Slow-Cooked Black Angus Strip Loin at the carving station was another centrepiece worth lingering over. Carved tableside with ceremony and precision, it arrived perfectly rested — yielding, richly flavoured, and tender in the way only genuinely slow-cooked beef can be. And then the Salt-Crusted Salmon, which I approached with the mild scepticism of someone who has been burned by overcooked fish at many a brunch. One bite was all it took. The salt crust had sealed everything in — the moisture, the delicacy, the natural sweetness of good salmon. It was immaculate.

But the moment that truly undid me? The Sicilian Cannoli.

I hadn't expected to find them here, tucked among the dolci alongside the ruby chocolate fountain and the live Zabaione station. Yet there they were — crisp pastry shells, filled to order, precisely as they should be. I took one bite and immediately turned to my husband, eyes wide. "This is it," I said. "This is exactly what I plan in Rome." He nodded, and we sat there for a moment in the kind of quiet that only shared memory can produce. The Executive Chef's southern Italian roots were palpable in that cannoli — the recipe is not invented, it is inherited, and you can taste the difference.

Lemon sorbet.

The afternoon drew to a close the way the best Italian meals do. Slowly, with one lemon sorbet and a lingering look at the dessert table. Each mother present received a chef-crafted fresh handmade pasta to take home, which I found extraordinarily touching. A gift of craft, not commerce.

I left IL Forno not merely fed, but genuinely restored. My husband had given me Italy. Not a flight itinerary, but something perhaps more enduring: the flavour, the warmth, and the spirit of a place that still holds a piece of our story. On this Mother's Day, I am grateful beyond words for this extraordinary meal, for the hands that prepared it, and for a husband who remembered a promise made at the edge of ancient ruins, and quietly kept it.

Selamat Hari Ibu. To every mother, you deserve the whole feast.

For reservations, book via TableCheck: https://www.tablecheck.com/en/hyatt-centric-city-centre-kuala-lumpur-il-forno/reserve/experience/69ec5a50b2274c01b353c678. Stay connected and explore the latest menus and updates on Instagram at @ilforno_kl, or contact via call or WhatsApp at +60 12-628 9421.