El Cerdo
I believe every foodie in Malaysia or people who loves eating pork are quite familiar with El Cerdo. It's no secret anymore that El Cerdo serve good pork, in fact all kinds of porky goodness. And they are most famous for their roast Iberico suckling piglet, that's what everyone's going for!
I've heard so many great things about them for so long and that day I was this happy kid, finally to be able to organise this dinner (was screaming out loud inside my heart once i've got the reservation confirm)!
The menu was full of porky goodness, I have to scratch my head in deciding what kind of Pork i want? how i want them cooked? Which part of pork to have? What kind of porky sausage to order? ... and the list goes on. The waitstaff are pretty helpful, even though i have some dishes on my mind that I want. Since I'm the person in charge of ordering for our group, I'll make sure we got the SUCKLING PIGLET!!!
Service was professional, prompt and tidy, 5 minutes later we got our order in, a complimentary Amuse Bouche were served! This is their daily special, and we were lucky enough to get potato & leek soup with smokey panchetta along with some house bread. The soup was tasty, heartwarming and full of smoked porky flavour, the only criticism i had was it is too small!!!
Not long after they clear our empty soup cup, our appetiser was served right up - Spanish Ham Platter to share with Assortment of Jamón Serrano & Jamón Iberico and a Variety of Chorizo Sausages and Condiments. Quality hams airflown from Spain, and some really good marinated goodies and pickles.
Another great dish following is the “One Plate of 4 different Mini Sausages” from Farmer, Thuringer, German Pepper & Spicy Lyonner Sausage with Sauerkraut, potato salad and creamy mash. This is a good dish to share among all, especially for those who can't decide what kind of sausage to go for, although it said 4 different mini sausages on the menu, but there are also one HUGE German sausage and another 2 skewered bacon wrapped sausage for all you pork lovers out there! C'mon, let's face it, who doesn't love bacon + sausage and finish off with creamy mash! Yum~~
Beware of the following dish, it's the Oven Roasted Iberico Spare Ribs served on Pineapple Salsa it's so damn bloody good! When everyone starts to put their finger onto these Iberico ribs, my oh my ... i heard multiple food-gasmic moans around me. Although the fork and knives is just 2 mm away from your finger but you gotta dig it in and use your finger, in fact you MUST/HAVE TO/ IT'S AN ORDER TO USE YOUR FINGER! While one of my dining companion enjoying licking and sucking every corner of the ribs, he screams out in joy saying that this is sinfully delicous. For future patron, YOU MUST GO FOR THIS, IT'S FINGER LICKING GOOD!
The goodness doesn't stop there, the rollercoaster ride continue with El Cerdo's Traditional Paella (RM88) which consists of chorizo, king prawns, chicken, peppers, saffron and the usual suspect. Us being Asian, a rice dish is a must to make you feel like you've been eating. Don't get me wrong, this paella is really good, it is packed full of flavour with a hint of saffron linger on your tongue. Best of all, up til this stage, we don't feel like we've been consuming the whole tank of pork lard. Thanks to the lean and healthy but tender Iberico Pig, they are not the same as the fatty pink pig that we used to here in Malaysia.
Our most awaiting dish of the night is here, “COCHINILLO AL ESTILO SEGOVIANO” - Whole Piglet for 4 persons (RM200++). Throughout the night we have been listening to loud plates breaking, noises of clapping and chatters, it does make you feel like everyone is having a great great time. The suckling piglet was presented on a piglet's shaped wooden plank, together with some flavoursome roasted potato and salad. We were asked to get 2 person from our group to do the honours - to cut the piglet with a ceramic plate (It is to show how crispy the piglet's skin is, you can easily cut it using a ceramic plate). The waitress then showed us the proper way of doing it, you must use the plate and knock the wooden plank 3 times for good luck then proceed to cut the piglet and then make a wish and throw the ceramic plate into a prepared barrel.
After all this "ritual" were performed, we get to try this long waiting dish. To my surprise, I don't hear food-gasmic shoutings, chatters or nods. After a few minutes of awkward silence, someone break the ice saying that the pork smell is way too strong, and everyone starts to agree. I was a tad disappointed with the piglet, especially after all those reviews, recommendations and raves about how good the piglet was, some blogger even said it is the best suckling pig ever! I guess, we might be the unlucky ones not being able to try their best, or possibly there aren't enough marinates. I guess this is somewhat like a rollercoaster experience, we have had the best moment, which is the Iberico Spare Ribs so we can't end the meal with a big bang, cuz that might cause collision!
We were pretty full at this stage, but after consuming 2 bottles of fine wine and some beers, i guess that helps with digestion, we went for just a plate of Churros con Chocolate to share, I have tried some really awesome and also disappointing churros in Australia before, so i don't have high expectation on this dish, i just want my dining companion to try this Spanish delight. To my surprise, it is quite good and different at the same time, i guess they uses wholemeal flour or wheat flour, so the texture is a wee bit different. It's very nice, especially dipping it into the ever heart-warming melted dark chocolate.
We had to ask them to put some leftover piglet into the doggy bag to bring home for our other pork lover to try, and they gave us this very CUTE doggy bag or piggy bag i should say?!
Overall, it is a very nice dining experience with lotsa really good food. The only low point was the suckling piglet, maybe our expectation was too high!
Do visit their website, if you don't mind looking at some very cute piglet! :D
El Cerdo
43&45 Changkat Bukit Bintang
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-21450511
Food Quality: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Ambience: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Service: 4 Iberico Piglet (knowledgeable and helpful staff, points added for plates changing on every course)
Wine List: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Will I be back: Yes, if only i don't have to pay or for some personal reason, as there are a lot more restaurant to try in KL alone!
I've heard so many great things about them for so long and that day I was this happy kid, finally to be able to organise this dinner (was screaming out loud inside my heart once i've got the reservation confirm)!
The menu was full of porky goodness, I have to scratch my head in deciding what kind of Pork i want? how i want them cooked? Which part of pork to have? What kind of porky sausage to order? ... and the list goes on. The waitstaff are pretty helpful, even though i have some dishes on my mind that I want. Since I'm the person in charge of ordering for our group, I'll make sure we got the SUCKLING PIGLET!!!
Service was professional, prompt and tidy, 5 minutes later we got our order in, a complimentary Amuse Bouche were served! This is their daily special, and we were lucky enough to get potato & leek soup with smokey panchetta along with some house bread. The soup was tasty, heartwarming and full of smoked porky flavour, the only criticism i had was it is too small!!!
Not long after they clear our empty soup cup, our appetiser was served right up - Spanish Ham Platter to share with Assortment of Jamón Serrano & Jamón Iberico and a Variety of Chorizo Sausages and Condiments. Quality hams airflown from Spain, and some really good marinated goodies and pickles.
Another great dish following is the “One Plate of 4 different Mini Sausages” from Farmer, Thuringer, German Pepper & Spicy Lyonner Sausage with Sauerkraut, potato salad and creamy mash. This is a good dish to share among all, especially for those who can't decide what kind of sausage to go for, although it said 4 different mini sausages on the menu, but there are also one HUGE German sausage and another 2 skewered bacon wrapped sausage for all you pork lovers out there! C'mon, let's face it, who doesn't love bacon + sausage and finish off with creamy mash! Yum~~
Beware of the following dish, it's the Oven Roasted Iberico Spare Ribs served on Pineapple Salsa it's so damn bloody good! When everyone starts to put their finger onto these Iberico ribs, my oh my ... i heard multiple food-gasmic moans around me. Although the fork and knives is just 2 mm away from your finger but you gotta dig it in and use your finger, in fact you MUST/HAVE TO/ IT'S AN ORDER TO USE YOUR FINGER! While one of my dining companion enjoying licking and sucking every corner of the ribs, he screams out in joy saying that this is sinfully delicous. For future patron, YOU MUST GO FOR THIS, IT'S FINGER LICKING GOOD!
The goodness doesn't stop there, the rollercoaster ride continue with El Cerdo's Traditional Paella (RM88) which consists of chorizo, king prawns, chicken, peppers, saffron and the usual suspect. Us being Asian, a rice dish is a must to make you feel like you've been eating. Don't get me wrong, this paella is really good, it is packed full of flavour with a hint of saffron linger on your tongue. Best of all, up til this stage, we don't feel like we've been consuming the whole tank of pork lard. Thanks to the lean and healthy but tender Iberico Pig, they are not the same as the fatty pink pig that we used to here in Malaysia.
Our most awaiting dish of the night is here, “COCHINILLO AL ESTILO SEGOVIANO” - Whole Piglet for 4 persons (RM200++). Throughout the night we have been listening to loud plates breaking, noises of clapping and chatters, it does make you feel like everyone is having a great great time. The suckling piglet was presented on a piglet's shaped wooden plank, together with some flavoursome roasted potato and salad. We were asked to get 2 person from our group to do the honours - to cut the piglet with a ceramic plate (It is to show how crispy the piglet's skin is, you can easily cut it using a ceramic plate). The waitress then showed us the proper way of doing it, you must use the plate and knock the wooden plank 3 times for good luck then proceed to cut the piglet and then make a wish and throw the ceramic plate into a prepared barrel.
After all this "ritual" were performed, we get to try this long waiting dish. To my surprise, I don't hear food-gasmic shoutings, chatters or nods. After a few minutes of awkward silence, someone break the ice saying that the pork smell is way too strong, and everyone starts to agree. I was a tad disappointed with the piglet, especially after all those reviews, recommendations and raves about how good the piglet was, some blogger even said it is the best suckling pig ever! I guess, we might be the unlucky ones not being able to try their best, or possibly there aren't enough marinates. I guess this is somewhat like a rollercoaster experience, we have had the best moment, which is the Iberico Spare Ribs so we can't end the meal with a big bang, cuz that might cause collision!
We were pretty full at this stage, but after consuming 2 bottles of fine wine and some beers, i guess that helps with digestion, we went for just a plate of Churros con Chocolate to share, I have tried some really awesome and also disappointing churros in Australia before, so i don't have high expectation on this dish, i just want my dining companion to try this Spanish delight. To my surprise, it is quite good and different at the same time, i guess they uses wholemeal flour or wheat flour, so the texture is a wee bit different. It's very nice, especially dipping it into the ever heart-warming melted dark chocolate.
We had to ask them to put some leftover piglet into the doggy bag to bring home for our other pork lover to try, and they gave us this very CUTE doggy bag or piggy bag i should say?!
Overall, it is a very nice dining experience with lotsa really good food. The only low point was the suckling piglet, maybe our expectation was too high!
Do visit their website, if you don't mind looking at some very cute piglet! :D
El Cerdo
43&45 Changkat Bukit Bintang
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-21450511
Food Quality: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Ambience: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Service: 4 Iberico Piglet (knowledgeable and helpful staff, points added for plates changing on every course)
Wine List: 4.5 Iberico Piglet
Will I be back: Yes, if only i don't have to pay or for some personal reason, as there are a lot more restaurant to try in KL alone!
Comments