Martha's Kitchen @ Desa Sri Hartamas

Martha's Kitchen @ Desa Sri Hartamas has been a well-known staple for authentic Spanish cuisine here in KL for a good many years.  After all, they received the RFS (Restaurants from Spain) certification from their Spanish government for both their outlets in Desa Sri Hartamas as well as LaLaport in Bukit Bintang.

The place has garnered good reviews on Google and TripAdvisor.  Seeing that my blogger friends had visited this place many times (check them out here, here, here and here.....and also here), it's quite obvious they enjoyed the food.  So, when the opportunity arised, I finally gave it a go just to see how the food stacks up to the other Spanish restaurants that I've tried. 

We got there at dinner time and was surprised to find the place in full swing (even on a weekday night).  First thing I noticed was that the place was rather noisy.  It had little to no noise reduction, so probably not the best option if you're looking for a quiet conversation for date nights.  Then again it might be seeing that you'll have to sit very close to your date to have a proper conversation...lol.

Even with terrible accoustics (not something I expected from a restaurant of this calibre), the place seems popular for eating and drinking with friends and buddies for a fun night out.  The din does get better as the evening wore on when the crowd dwindled down and dispersed.  The interior is comfortable and spacious with both indoor and outdoor seating...and an open kitchen concept.  I especially loved the twinkling ceiling lights.

When we talk about European cuisine, Spanish food ranks among my top favourites...and that of one of my friends too (after we were introduced to the cuisine when we tried it for the first time together).  Tapas is probably the most well-known of Spanish cuisine...and they're made up of small plates of food (hot or cold) that can be shared or combined to make a full meal.  We started with the Boquerones en Vinagre @ RM27 made up of Spanish anchovies marinated in vinegar, garlic, parsley (or chives) and extra virgin olive oil served with green olives and some crusty bread.

This is a dish I'm always tempted to order (when I see it on the menu) since I enjoy fresh, unadulterated flavours (and my friend enjoys them too after being introduced to it).  These fresh, raw, cured, anchovy fillets are tender, juicy and delicate in flavour.

But I detected a spicy (not chilli-spicy) aftertaste when I took a bite of this one.  I thought it was ginger initially (but then ginger is not a Spanish thing) before realising it was the pungency of the raw garlic.  The over harshness of the garlic did ruin the taste of the delicate vinegar-cured fresh anchovies somewhat for me as the taste of the garlic was overpowering.  The one I had at Mercat with roasted red peppers and aioli tasted a lot better.

Our next appetiser was the Champinones con Jamon Iberico @ RM26 which is a tapa of pan-fried mushrooms with garlic and jamon iberico served with more bread to mop up the tasty garlic and iberico-infused olive oil.

The large button mushrooms were cooked whole and they were simply juicy...and they look cute as a button too (pun intended...lol).  The chopped up bits of jamon iberico and fried garlic added further savouriness and fragrance to the mushrooms.  Absolutely delicious. ^o^

A popular and must-have tapa among many is the Spicy Patatas Bravas @ RM19 made up of fried potato chunks served with a creamy aioli and their signature spicy tomato sauce (don't worry, it's anything but spicy).

I remembered the one we had at Mercat where the potatoes (and egg) were served as a side dish to the Iberico ribs we had and that one solicitied a "mmmmm" from my friend coz it was the intensity of the potato flavour that wowed us.  The one here turned out ordinary tasting as I didn't get that intense potato flavour I expected, so the price tag didn't seem worth it for a few chunks of potatoes. >_<

I spotted the Iberico Pork Cheeks (or Carrilleras de Cerdo) @ RM39 listed under tapas in the menu and just had to order it as I've this thing for cheeks (beef or pork) stewed in red wine sauce.  I can still remember a sensational one I had at the now defunct Press Room Bistro but that one was beef cheeks.

This one is pork cheeks and if it's Iberico pork, even better.  No fault in the cooking of the pork cheeks until immaculately fork tender...and it was served with mashed potatoes.  However, it ended up to be quite a heavy tapa (it's good enough as a main dish) as the ratio of potatoes to pork cheeks (2 pcs) was a bit too much (+ the potato mash wasn't particularly smooth either).  Perhaps if there were some vegetables (like juicy tomatoes, lightly tart pearl onions, carrots or even some micro greens) to freshen up the plate, it would had been more successful, in my opinion.

The red wine sauce reminded me of something similar I had with the Bouef Burginon at Yeast Bistronomy but that's where the comparison ends.  That red wine reduction sauce left me wanting as the one in Yeast tasted so much better.  Presentation wise, it wasn't much to look at.  Surely for a dish that price, they can put in a little bit more effort to make it look not so dull. >_<

Well, if one is in a Spanish restaurant, paella is a must, right?  So, we ordered the Paella Valenciana @ RM37 and the first thing to note is that it's served on a plate...and not a traditional paella pan.

The paella was served with (yes) a single prawn (albeit a very large one) and a single mussel with an aioli cream and a wedge of lemon.  There were some chunks of chicken, squid and smaller prawns in there too...maybe some cubes of Iberico ham or even pancetta).

I've to give credit to the single large single prawn as it was super fresh and sweet tasting.  However, I was a bit disappointed with the flavour of the paella rice in general.  It didn't have the aroma, smell nor taste of an intense seafood broth that I was looking for.  In fact, it tasted a bit underseasoned (maybe the chef had an off day) but, more importantly, I found the rice grains not moist enough and didn't appear to have absorbed the flavours of a seafood broth.  The lovely cream sauce that was served alongside the paella did help a little in providing some added moistness to the rice.

I thought the Squid Ink Paella @ RM37 served with the same single large prawn and cream was the better tasting of the two. ^.^

At least in this one, the seafood-infused broth comes through a bit more but the rice could still be a little more moist in my opinion.  I detected some smaller pieces of squid in the rice but don't think I tasted anything else in there (it was also difficult to see in the dark of the night + the squid ink was all black...lol).

I think I'm going to sound like a broken record now but, again, the Paella de Marisco (seafood paella) I had at Mercat tasted better and was far more enjoyable than these two we had here (my Spanish food-loving friend thought so too...I didn't have to ask her coz she didn't go mmmmm, not even once).  The key differences for me was that the rice of this one was less moist with a lesser crustacean undertone and not having it served in a traditional cast iron paella pan (although it was cooked in one based on the reviews I read) meant it lost out on the socarrat....and along with it, a bit of that authenticity! ;)

For dessert, we got a piece of....what else...but the Basque Burnt Cheesecake @ RM18 to share.  Would there have been any other conclusion? ;D

My friends love their cheesecakes and it was undoubtedly creamily cheesy but one commented it was too sweet.  I only had one small bite and the sweetness wasn't apparent to me.  So, the eating was left to my other friend.  In the end, this was the first burnt cheesecake that we left unfinished. >.<

A friend had the Red Sangria @ RM23.  The sangria here is very enjoyable, so much so you'd want a few more.  It's one that I can drink (and enjoy drinking) as I find the alcohol content of this red wine more subdued with more fruitiness and sweetness coming through.  The Passion Peach Iced Tea @ RM13 is as refreshing as it looks.

Another friend, who arrived much later, had a glass of red wine, the El Coto Red Rioja @ RM27.  It's always nice to see wine served in a glass imprinted with the restaurant's name.

I couldn't resist finishing my evening with a shot of coffee and got their Cafe con leche (single shot) @ RM13...basically latte-lah but with a more fancy-schmancy Spanish name.  I told my friends the latte art looked like a ram (or a misguided distortion that made it look like a ram)...they looked at me and laughed and thought I had too much to drink (maybe the barista had too much to drink)...lol!  What does it look like to you? ;D

Service was attentive, communicative and friendly as they're well staffed to take care of your needs.  For added service, the restaurant servers will even help you endorse/settle your parking ticket (RM5 for 3 hours or RM10 for more than 3 hours parking) if you park inside the hotel building (The Signature) itself.

My Personal Opinion

Even though some of the food fell a little short, it's still a wonderful place to chill, wine and dine with friends and family (if you can get pass the poor accoustics).  I say that because, if you've not dined at another Spanish restaurant that's better (like I did at Mercat Barcelona where I thought the food was better on many levels except for maybe the ambience), then this place should satisfy your expectations! :P  In fact, their paella is still worthy (and tasty enough) if you've not had a better paella.

Would I visit again?  I wouldn't mind...for a few tapas and drinks with friends...but will go for different tapas other than the ones we ordered (but the mushrooms with jamon iberico, my favourite dish of the night, certainly warrants a repeat order).  The menu at Martha's is more extensive compared to Mercat, so you have a lot more options to choose from (I see at least 30 different tapas listed).

What can I say...if I've not had a stellar experiece at Mercat before this, Martha's would certainly rank right up there among my favourite Spanish restaurants, but since I did, Mercat would be my pick until such time another one comes along to top that.  But Martha's is by all means still worth your consideration for pleasant Spanish food! ^_~

Martha's Kitchen

The Signature Hotel & Serviced Suites

Jalan Sri Hartamas 22

Desa Sri Hartamas

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6411 0832

Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar @ Mont Kiara

Ever since my first introduction to Spanish food through (the now closed T_T) Ohla Tapas & Cocktails, I've been a fan....and so is one of my friends.  That's why I suggested Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar @ Mont Kiara as the dinner venue for our meet-up.

We were early, so we waited for our friend to show up and when she finally did, the first thing she (the one who is a fan of Spanish food) said to me was that the food here isn't all that great as she's been here before. Oh dear, I immediately regretted my choice and, at the back of my mind, I thought I may have picked the wrong place this time.  

As with any Spanish meal, tapas is at the forefront of any Spanish restaurant's menu.  Tapas is the perfect food if you're planning to enjoy a night out with a bit of drinking as they're small savoury plates of food that won't fill you up too much thereby leaving you room for drinking.  Nice...for my friends. ^_~  These appetisers and snacks are also great for conversations and date nights, I think...light and not too clunky...hah..hah.

The first tapas we had was the Boquerones Vinegar @ RM28, a firm favourite of mine since I first tried it some years back.  For the uniniated, boquerones are actually raw, unsalted white anchovies that have been cured in vinegar (or a mixture of vinegar and olive oil) and seasoned with garlic and parsley.

They tasted absolutely divine with a tender, juicy and delicate flavour that was made even better when accompanied by slivers of roasted red pepper, topped with finely chopped chives (in replacement of parsley?) and served with tiny dollops of aioli.  When eaten with a bit of everything, it was an exquisite bite of freshness which highlights the natural flavours of the boquerones.  So, so good! ^.^

The other tapas we ordered was the Gambas al Ajillo @ RM32, an insanely popular classic Spanish tapas of shrimps sauteed in olive oil, garlic and chillies (and was glad to see all shells removed). ^_~

The Spanish shrimps were immaculately fresh, firm and sweet.  The thinly sliced browned garlic pieces added even more flavour to the shrimps and olive oil when eaten together.  I believe the olive oil used is a good quality one as it tasted really good.  Another outstanding dish.

Some slices of lightly toasted crusty bread were served with the tapas which you would want to mop up every last drop of that wonderful tasting olive oil in the gambas al ajillo.  You can also eat the bread with the boquerones as the bread is a good vehicle to soak up all that olive oil goodness (well, you wouldn't want to waste good and flavourful olive oil, would you?).

For our mains, we settled for Iberico Ribs (1/2 Rack) @ RM114 which is a popular choice with my friends after having sampled them in some of our makan gatherings before (in places like Iberico Kitchen, El Iberico and Curious Kitchen to name a few).

The Iberico ribs were tender, succulent, meaty, lightly fatty with a good spice rub that added even more inviting flavours to the ribs.  Not sure what went into the marination exactly but I'm guessing Spanish paprika is probably in there somewhere. ^_~

A nice surprise was that the ribs were served with a side dish of eggs and potatoes.  It was a poached egg with slices of fried potatoes and slivers of red peppers finished with a sprinkling of chives.

How did such a humble potato dish taste so good?  After all, they were just simple fried potato slices (crowned with an oozy egg yolk!) but one bite and my friend and I looked at each other....and she went "Mmmmm....".  It was the intensity of the potato flavour in the potato that wowed us.

They should offer this as one of their tapas and I'm sure there'll be fans.  This egg and potato dish was far better than a recent patatas bravas we had at another place (but that will be another story for another day). They too have patatas bravas on their menu here, so that will be on our list of must-try if we visit again.

But the piece de resistance had to be our other main...a 2-Pax Paella de Marisco @ RM99 (there's a 4-Pax version for RM192) which was excellent.  Paella de Marisco is essentially a seafood paella and this one was filled with Spanish prawns, mussels, clams and cuttlefish.  It was generously sprinkled with finely chopped chives and finished with a charred lemon.  All the seafood was fresh and tasty beyond mention (pieces of cuttlefish/squid are embedded in the rice).

You can smell the intense seafood aroma as soon as the dish hit the table...and I was pretty stoked to see it served in a traditional paella pan (for a touch of authenticity).  The work that they do to draw out such rich crustacean undertones into the broth is commendable (saw an old copy of the menu online which mentioned the use of a lobster broth).  Lobster broth or not, the intensity of the seafood broth is what makes the whole dish so flavourful...and that's the road map to a truly excellent paella.

A squeeze of lemon and we're ready to eat.  What's better than a squeeze of lemon?  A squeeze of charred lemon, I say...lol! ;)  The rice, enriched by the concentrated seafood stock, not only had tons of flavour but was super moist and uttlerly delicious.  The moment I took a spoonful of that soft, moist, sticky rice grains, it was so full of flavour that it totally took me by surprise.  Even I who prefer lesser robust flavours was very pleased with the big, bold flavours of this paella.  It was just too good to pass up. ^o^

You can see just how moist the rice grains were from the photo.  It might look like the rice was too saucy but it wasn't so coz the sauce will continue to dry up in the residual heat in the paella pan to coat each rice grain lusciously and ultimately give rise to that much sought after crusty crispy rice at the bottom (called socarrat).  That crispy crusty layer of rice at the bottom is the result of the rice being toasted and caramelised during cooking...and it can only happen with the use of a proper paella pan (something similar to what our claypot chicken rice can achieve).

We remember our last meat-up in Cork & Cleaver where we only had the cleaver part (as in meat) but didn't have any of the cork part (as in wine).  Then again, that was lunch and perhaps too early to be drinking...lol. But this was dinner.  Different scenario.  So.  There were only two red wines offered by glass, Segura Viudas Red @ RM28 a glass and Raig de Raim Tinto Red @ RM31 a glass.

As for the Fresh Fruit Juices @ RM18 a glass, there's also only two offered, either watermelon or orange. We had both.  Although the fresh juices weren't a very big glass but I certainly appreciated the concentrated quality of the juices, no diluted stuff here.

My Personal Opinion

The food here may be on the pricier end but I do appreciate that they were made with the best and freshest of ingredients.  Not only that but they back it up with extraordinary flavours as well.  Deserving mention (first and foremost) was their seafood paella which was by far the best paella I've had! ^o^

Even though I've only tried two tapas but both were perfectly done to yield moreish flavours.  Even the most simple accompaniment of eggs and potatoes (with the Iberico ribs) were executed to perfection (they should so include this in their tapas menu!).  They've a lot more tapas I would like to try.  You can combine a few tapas to make a full meal if you want to sample more.

It was certainly a relief (phew!) to know that my friend (the one who likes Spanish food) enjoyed the meal as much as we all did...all's well that ends well...lol.  Looks like I didn't pick the wrong place, my friend's friends (for her earlier visit) may have picked the wrong dishes...kekeke! >.<  As I've always said, not everything is great (at one place) and/or not everything suit our tastebuds.

So, if you're in these parts looking for some authentic Spanish flavours, look no further as this should be in your consideration list. ^.^

Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar

No G-01 Mont Kiara Mall

1 Jalan Kiara

Mont Kiara

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6211 7969

El Iberico @ Pavilion

After reading about the 50% opening promotion of iberico ribs at a newly opened month-old Spanish inspired restaurant, there was no way I'd forego such a great deal, so here we were at El Iberico @ Pavilion.

Since it was just my friend and I, we didn't think we needed to make reservations as we thought it should be pretty easy to get a table for the two of us (and her kid) but when we got their at prime dinner time, we were told they were fully booked.  But that's the beauty of it being in Pavilion, we could always do with a bit more sightseeing shop-seeing first while waiting for a table to free up! ;)  No sooner had we walked away, we got a call that they had a table for us.

Once we made our orders, we were served some complimentary house-made bread with butter or a choice of a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip while we wait for our food to arrive.  The bread had a crisp crust and was soft to soak in the balsamic/olive oil dip.

There's only one pasta on the menu and we ordered the Spaghetti with Clams @ RM29 in white wine sauce with parsley and chillies.  I would say that it was a generous portion (more generous-looking than their promotional photos) as there seemed to be an extra portion of pasta given.

As for the clams, they could be fresher.  They were just ok as they were on the border of being slightly fishy. It definitely cried out for the chillies (to mute the fishiness somewhat) though it was our choice to hold the chillies for the sake of my friend's daughter.

But it's all about the ribs here...and that's exactly what we came for.  We went with their top seller of Beer/Honey Mustard Meaty Ribs @ RM34 (normal price RM68).

It came with three ribs marinated in beer and honey mustard for 24 hours before they're put on the grill (three good-sized ribs are pictured on their Facebook though I've seen four on food blogs and their promotional banner)...???  Maybe you get three ribs if they're substantial enough or four if they're smaller ones...I don't know though I'd suggest they try to keep it standard lest people compare.  They can always offer it by weight (similar to what Iberico Kitchen do for instance) if it's difficult to get the ribs to come in standard portion sizes.

The ribs, with a good charring but lacking a bit of smokiness, were totally tender and succulent...and two of them were rather meaty too.  The lack of smokiness is probably due to the way the ribs are grilled...over a flat top (as seen in their Facebook video) instead of over a direct fire where the ribs can be 'flame-kissed'!

The ribs were served with a side of roasted potatoes and roasted vegetables of baby carrots and cherry tomatoes.  What can I say...the side was baby-sized! :P

The menu says that the ribs are +400g and it's meant for sharing between 2 - 3 persons while a blog mentioned that it's enough for 3 - 4 persons (I'm not sure what sized ribs the blogger got)! @_@  Based on this, my friend and I ordered only one plate but, after we polished off our first plate of ribs (there were only three and they weren't that big), we realised we'd have no problem polishing off another.  So, it's either false advertising or the ribs we got (for the promotion) were really small or they weren't quite 400g...I don't know.  Even us ladies could eat a plate of 3 ribs on our own (and that's after having some pasta as well)!

For our second round, we ordered the Original Spare Ribs @ RM34 (normal price RM68).  The third option would be Spanish Paprika Spare Ribs but seeing that it may have a bit of heat because of the paprika, we opted for a more kid-friendly option of original.

The original ribs, seasoned with just salt and pepper, are actually deep-fried (we were informed beforehand) and served with the same roasted vegetables (only lesser + missing the cherry tomatoes!).  Because the vegetables were so scant, it was very glaring when there were less on the plate! ;P

The ribs of this one were deep-fried, so it was a little on the oily side + the misfortune of getting a rather fatty piece of rib didn't help its cause (though getting one fatty rib out of six was pretty acceptable I think for these discounted ribs).  We need a bit of fat for flavour but too much can also be a put-off, so we had to scrape off some of the fatty bits.

It came with two dips, a herbs dressing with flavours of...like in the song....parsley, sage (maybe), rosemary and thyme (possibly) in olive oil (yikes, adding to the greasiness) and a spicy sauce (that wasn't spicy at all).

Between the two, the beer and honey mustard one, with notes of slight sticky sweetness reflecting the taste of a good BBQ-like sauce, is definitely the better choice.

I was first attracted by the photos of the ribs on a blog and didn't notice (initially) only to realise later (when I compared the shot I took of the banner at the restaurant whilst writing the post) that the photos used in that blog were actually taken from the restaurant's promotional/advertising materials (they were the exact same ones in the banner and menu at the restaurant)! ;P  No wonder all the food photos (especially the ribs) looked so damn good...haiz, how gullible of me! O_o

We finished our meal with the Tarta de Santiago @ RM18 on the recommendation of a blog that it's worth dropping by just for it.  This traditional Spanish almond cake (I googled) is made principally with ground almonds, eggs and sugar.

It looks like a slice of cake but the texture is quite different from a cake since there's no flour involved.  It was delicious (no doubt about that) but some may find it expensive for such a small slice which can be finished in 3 mouthfuls if you really wanted to (but since it's made wholly with almonds, the price tag is more acceptable, I guess)...you decide if it's worth it! ^_*

I was glad I ordered a tangy Fresh Orange Juice @ RM12 to cut through all that meatiness (and some greasiness).  Their coffees like the Iced Cafe Latte @ RM14 my friend ordered ain't their strong suit.

Service was extremely friendly, perhaps a bit over-enthusiastic at times it seems (to some) but probably deemed passionate (to others).  It's nice to see such passion from the restauranteurs who believe in what they're doing wholeheartedly.  I was attended to by two 'retiree-looking' gentlemen (who could be part owners, I may be wrong) and one of them even sang 'happy birthday' to a guest personally (too eager to please?) even after their wait staff had already done so.

My Personal Opinion

Even though I was disappointed that the ribs didn't turn out looking quite as spectacular as the ones I saw online, I wasn't disappointed with the taste.

And because the ribs were half the price, there's definitely no cause for complaint as it's one heck of a deal! Now if I were to pay full price for these ribs (now that the opening promotion is over), I'll probably be more critical in my assessment.  I'd like the ribs to be bigger or longer and I'd want them looking more like the ones from Gourmet Hunter KL's video shown on El Iberico's Facebook.....and with a tad more roasted vegetables! :P

I might return at some point but hopefully by then there'd be better consistency in the size and fattiness of the normal priced ribs.  I'll definitely not be happy if I get even one overly fatty rib.  That isn't too much to ask, is it?  Hope not. ^_~

Update: El Iberico has since relocated to Unit G-1 Seri Bukit Ceylon, No 8 Lorong Ceylon, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

El Iberico

Lot C4.05.01 4th Floor

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur 

168 Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2110 2631