Hey I just came back from a coastal city in Italy – just kidding. But that was how I felt when I was dining at MKT.  My mood lifted and quickly changed to vacation mode. So I want to thank you MKT for bringing this wonderful experience.

MKT just celebrated their one year anniversary not too long ago. The environment is very different from the other restaurants that opened their doors in the recent years, where industrial decor was the most popular choice. I was greeted with vibrant white and turquoise. I felt the sea.

It suited their cuisine very well as they specialize in Italian food, but specifically on seafood. When questioning what does MKT stand for, the owner explained that it is the abbreviations of market. The restaurant has a mini market just in front of the kitchen, where the ingredients are replaced with new ones everyday.

So of course, the freshest ingredients were expected and that were what I got that day!

To begin, the owner agreed to set taster plates for a few appetizers that I had my eyes on – just so I would have enough room for the main meal of course! I had a bit of everything: salmon tartare, snow crab salad, grilled quail and grilled octopus. The most notable had to be the grilled quail. It was incredibly tasty. A bit of spiciness and smokiness. Did I say it was moist too?

For the main course, I had their daily fresh fish of the day, Red Snapper, and also their special of the day, mushroom and pulled duck risotto. Like restaurant name promised, the fish was like fresh from the market. The ingredients used for the risotto were new to me as I was more accustomed to mushroom and creamy risotto. Although this risotto was smooth, it was not heavy and more on the salty side.

I was wonderfully surprised how the desserts were so exquisite! The nutella ricotta pie and the semifreddo were equally delicious. It was actually a great combination to have! When I heard nutella ricotta pie, I was reminded by the recent unfortunate incident at Cacao70. So, I had to see how could MKT make it right. And, they did so quite easily frankly. The semifreddo was like the middle ground between ice cream cake and meringue.

Denoted by their heavy heavy hand on salt, MKT brought out what a coastal dining in Italy could be like.

Zuuchini