Today, as a birthday treat, we went to a Spanish restaurant on Cangkat Bukit Bintang called 'El Cerdo'. Their tagline is, 'Head to tail eating'. And in that sense, they mean pork. Every dish on the menu was made with pork.*brother smiles gleefully*. Located on the busy end of Cangkat Bukit Bintang, this restaurant is owned by a Mr. Werner, who coincidentally also owns the El Cerdo Spanish Tapas Bar and Werner's pub and lounge down the street. The design of the restaurant itself was not particularly outstanding, deciding on being more mellow with small accents here and there. But one interesting feature of the restaurant were their pictures of pigs. Which I found quite cute and amazing. Did I mention their head Sommelier is a woman? Anyway, on to our menu. I'm quoting the names I gave them, since I didn't really get a chance to read the menu.
Appetisers:
1. Potato and ham soup - Pureed potatoes, regular stock, ham chunks and parsley made this quite a familiar yet interesting start to the meal.
2. Cured ham platter - Thin slices of ham (I don't think they were proschuitto) served with boiled white asparagus and salad with an olive oil, parsley and balsamic dressing.
Main course:
3. Sausage platter - 4 different types of sausages, freshly made. Each was different, having individual spices and herbs added. The sausages sat on top of a bed of sweet sauerkraut (with tomatoes)
4. Viennese sausage - Long reddish sausages with potato fritters
5. Braised pork cheek - Served with shredded spring onions, carrots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mash and parsley. The spring onions were a nice touch because they gave a nice crunch and spiciness to the otherwise gravy-filled dish.
6. The one that we've all been waiting for, flaming roast pig - Now this was interesting. The pig was previously soaked in vodka (apparently) and then slow roasted until it was soft enough to be cut with a plate. Before that happened, the chef would douse it with vodka once again and light it. Hence a flaming pig. The final result was tender pork with crispy skin and a little hint of alcohol. The price was scary too, RM220 for a piglet.
~ After the plates were used to cut the pig, they are broken into a large wooden paid with a granite stone in the middle. Its for good luck.~
Desserts:
7. Spanish cherries served in a wine glass on a bed of ice. Simple, but coool.
8. Green tea and red bean cake
9. Margherita shots with salted rim - this was a bit hard to drink down.
And to top it all off, my uncle ordered some Stella Arnois beer. It was... as with my general reaction with beers, unsavoury. But an amazing dinner, nonetheless.
