BrowsingRome Blogging about my experiences and sharing my thoughts about Rome, Italy and beyond
On Friday, a friend invited us to dinner to celebrate her husband’s birthday. The restaurant is called Ketumbar in Testaccio. We were told that it was a Mediterranean restaurant which definitely caught my attention because this could cover anything from Italian to Moroccan food. As we got there early, we took a look at the menu which was posted outside. That’s the good thing about Rome restaurants as you can take a look at the menu before deciding to dine there.
What’s on the menu. On the same page, you have Japanese vegetable tempura, to nasi goreng (Malaysian fried rice) to Italian pasta dishes such as carbonara. I guess it’s the Italian version of a fusion restaurant just that the menu is fusion but not the food.
I was really curious about the nasi goreng and satay, first because there are very few restaurants in Rome which serve Malaysian food and secondly, there prices were quite expensive. The nasi goreng was €10 and the satay €12. A shocker for me actually but maybe if it good, it’s worth it!
I ordered a pizza rossa but it was a special order and had to be done 1 day in advance. Honestly, it is not the typical pizza you get in Rome. It was thick crust and cake-like so definitely not like the pizza from Naples. It’s more like a pizza you would get outside of Italy (no offense). It wasn’t bad just not Italian pizza.
My friends ordered nasi goreng and it was just a small portion just with vegetables and a lot of soya sauce. It wasn’t impressive and for €10, I could make nasi goreng for an army!
I took the courage to order satay because I was simply curious. When it came it looked more like a yakitori. Check it out for yourself. What do you think? The sauce was not peanut sauce but sweet soya sauce. It comes with some mix vegetables of zucchine and eggplants. My verdict: It was good but not satay and for €12 it is not worth it.
For a Friday night in Rome, Ketumbar was very quiet with only 3 tables occupied. Actually, 2 tables and another party of 3 were at the bar. I guess that was good as if we had the place to ourselves and were able to have a decent conversation. It was a very nice night with friends and a different experience but food-wise, it’s not my type of place.
KetumBar
Via Galvani, 24
00153, Roma
Telefono: 0657305338