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