Jalan Bangkung in Bangsar houses a row of quality restaurants quietly serving the foodies for a number of years now. But did you know that most of the restaurants are actually owned by the same people? Peter, the man behind Cava (Spanish/Mediterranean), Opus Bistro (Italian), Lucky Bo (Wagyu Steakhouse), Leonardo’s (International) and Bobo KL (Mod European and Piano Lounge) has definitely found a winning formula to keep this part of Bangsar alive, covering a wide variety of cuisines to keep the diners excited and satiated.

The Malaysia’s Hottest Bloggers recently had our Christmas Party at Cava, a Spanish Restaurant, supported by Kronenbourg 1664. Spanish cuisine is right up my alley as I love the vibrancy and its spirit of respecting fresh produce, enhanced by just the right amount of spices. The restaurant has a relaxed and casual vibe yet is formal enough for most occasions. One thing for sure, you’ll never run out of drinking options here!

Inspired by the land and sea and its bouncy, Cava sources the freshest ingredients locally, and serves up a great selection of tapas, meat and seafood dishes. Though the restaurant is pork free, your palate will still be kept busy. We had a trio of tapas platter to start our lunch.

Boquerones en vinagre: Fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar and olive oil, a slight umaminess balanced by the peppery arugula. We also had the cured version of anchovies which is a lot saltier and goes great with wine. The Pulpo a la Gallega, Galician style octopus has a slight lick of paprika, love the textural contrast between the bouncy octopus and waxy potato.

Sopa de Mariscos, Traditional Spanish seafood broth with a dash of pernod is an excellent choice of soup with super fresh seafood cooked just right, and delicious briny broth which is light and tangy. I polished it clean!

During our meal we also had some Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc for extra merry making!

We then moved on to the meat dishes and everyone’s face lit up upon seeing the Baked Suckling Lamb. What a glorious plate of meat! Baked with rosemary herb, this dish is served with mashed potato, vegetables and lamb jus. The lamb comes with just the right amount of fat (read: a lot) and the meat is perfectly tender. Be sure to get those crispy bits too for layers of texture. Not gamey at all, which is important for me. Definitely the crowd favourite!

The Slow Braised Oxtail is fabulous too, cooked for hours for extreme tenderness and great depth of flavours in the gravy. I couldn’t help but had a second serving and extra helping of the gravy. So good!

A Spanish feast would not be complete without a theatrical serving of Paella. Cava’s Specialty Arroz Negro: Squid ink paella with squid and prawns, comes with garlic aioli for that extra decadence. The rice is a mixture of fluff, crisp (from the bottom) and definitely plenty of umaminess from the Squid Ink. The prawns is very well executed with some part of shell nice and crisp, while keeping the flesh juicy. But I’ve like to draw your attention to the top left corner, because that chili padi pesto is the bomb! Packed with a punch, its so tasty I had to order extra baguette to soak it up. If they bottle this I would buy it for sure!

Cava is quite well-known for their Sangria and I can easily see why. The red Sangria is truly delicious with addition of Triple Sec on top of usual concoction of Red wine and fruits.

Well after all that meat, it’s time to end the feast on a sweet note. And there’s nothing better than a Creme Catalana, Spanish version of Creme Brulee. The delightful sugar crust, light custard which melts upon contact just provided a much needed closure to this hearty meal.

Thank you so much for the great hospitality and I hope I’ll be back here soon for another serving of Spanish delights!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYBODY!

Cava at Bangkung Row
Tel# +603-20936637
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CavaRestaurant
Web: http://www.cava.my
71, Jalan Bangkung,
Bukit Bandaraya,
59100 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia