El Meson – at Telawi, Bangsar

A lot of newly opened food outlets and even food courts, (in the case of Hutong at Lot 10) have chosen to go non-halal lately.
I’m not sure if that shows for anything, for I can only speculate: does that mean F&B proprietors may find the halal market actually negligible to their P&L?

Anyhow, in the case of El Meson in Bangsar, I’m certainly not complaining. The Spaniards are known for their fondness of pork and their Iberico pigs. It would be a shame if this is another pork-free outlet & we are deprived of this “delicacy” again.

el mesonAlign Center

To quote the owner Mr Ek, all their produce are imported, including their Chef, so authenticity is almost guaranteed!
And that sexy limb you see below is the leg of the Iberico pig……

Iberico Leg

………which looked like the below (pic courtesy of the Internet) when it was still alive.

cerdo-iberico-negro

cerdo-iberico-gordo

Mr Ek, who is Thai; owns & runs Planter’s Jim, The Social (both in Bangsar) and now, his latest baby, El Meson.
YogiTree at the Gardens, Mid Valley is also under his realm of restaurants.

A most affable fellow, he graciously shared & explained to us about Spanish food, his experiences & the ingredients that went into our dishes; making our dinner most enjoyable & educational.
The Restaurant Supervisor was the epitome of good service as well.

Below: The master at work, Mr Ek craving the Black Leg for our Cold Platter.

Craving the black Leg

Interior wise, the outlet features dim lighting, comfy chairs and well-spaced tables. I don’t see much memorabilia or Spanish cultural gear here except for a painting or two.

el meson dining

And of course, any self respecting upper- class restaurant now boasts of a fine range of wine & alcohol, more so since this is Telawi, Bangsar.

el meson wines

A bread fan, I grilled Mr Ek and his Chef Fernando on the bread eaten with the tapas. My perception was since tapas is such a staple food, then perhaps the bread is made specially; (techniques or ingredients-wise) to go with it?
Apparently no.
Anyhow, he assured us the bread served here is baked in-house & is very much like the original Spanish bread eaten in Spain, which is slightly alike the Italian Ciabatta in texture, minus the herbs.

Taste-wise? Very plain. But that what makes it perfect with the flavourful tapas.

bread
Starters: Platter of Cold Cuts for 2, RM68.
Clockwise from top left, 2 by 2, separated by the rock melons:
Iberico & chorizo (the round shaped ones).
Serrano (long ones) & Salchichon (the round ones).
Parma & Pancetta; the italian ones.

I stapled a piece for every type, since I’m not a fan of cured meats.
But I must admit, even for an inexperienced gourmet foodie like me, the superiority of taste & texture is prominent, compared to the cured meats one gets at the local deli.
Likewise, I’m pleased that the saltiness level is not as overpowering as I thought it might be.

cold platter

Close-up shots of the Iberico & chorizo (the chorizos are the round ones).

iberico coldcuts

I was wondering what is Salchichon since I have not heard of it. The google results I got was very enlightening. Allow me to share with you the gist of it.

Salchichon sausage is a dry-cured sausage of Spanish origin. It is classically produced on the plains of Spain, where steady breezes permit an even drying period which promotes complete curing in the sausage.
Made with pork from Spanish white pigs, ideally pigs which have foraged in oak forests for their food, developing lean flesh with a slightly nutty flavor.
The meat is coarsely ground and the fat is not separated, leaving distinctive white chunks in the finished sausage, before being blended with pepper, nutmeg, and other spices. It does tends to be very spicy, with a slightly creamy texture from the fat.
After the ingredients have been mixed, they are packed into sausage casings and allowed to dry. Traditionally, salchichon is cured outdoors on large drying racks positioned to take advantage of the breeze, although many modern producers cure in a drying shed to maintain food safety. Although the initial ingredients are raw, the curing process renders salchichon sausage safe to eat as-is once it has finished curing. Curing generally takes around 45 days.

A fully-cured sausage has a white crust and a slightly dry texture. When cut open, it reveals leathery meat speckled with pieces of fat and pepper which can be eaten plain as a snack or combined with bread and cheese in the Spanish style. Salchichon sausage pairs best with hearty red wines which can cope with the spicy flavor and enhance it without becoming overwhelming.

Next was another interesting starter; the Boguerones on Toast, which is slightly pickled Spanish Herrings with garlic confit, RM14.

It was one fishy fish 😉 , & tasted like sardine!
Texture was wonderfully meaty though. Top grade olive oil coated each fish unsparingly and the garlic tomato confit was pleasingly piquant.

Boguerones

Then we tried one of their soups & it happened to be a cold one. While I am not a fan of cold soups (blame it on my Asian roots) the Gazpacho – chilled tomato soup with grated egg and serrano, RM14 was thick, full bodied and slightly grainy. I slurped away unabashedly.

gazpacho

Finally we got on to the HOT dishes!

Hot Tapas: Trotters – Crispy fried and served with apple sauce, RM22.
The skin was crackly crunchy and the meat, though it looked deceptively stringy at 1st, which made me wary; turned out to be fork-tender and disintegrated in the mouth easily enough without much effort.
A bit plain on its own, the accompanying sauce carried its role well.

Tapas - Trotters

Hot Tapas: Berenjenas – aubergines in red pepper sauce, RM14.
I have always loved aubergines, more so when it was done so exceptional well here, with the red pepper sauce not too overpowering and quite flavoursome.
The name & the colour might be mildly misleading, for it was not spicy at all. Apparently, Spanish food doesn’t pack much heat; Chef Fernando had said to us.

el meson7

Mains:
Oxtail braised in Moscatel & Matchstick Potatoes, RM40.
I barely tasted the Moscatel, a type of Spanish wine, & honestly, I felt that this was like a very well done ordinary oxtail soup.
The matchstick potatoes were a delight though, and I had fun chomping away at them, and they were even better soaked in the gravy!

oxtail

Mains:
Linguini with Rabbit, Olives, confit Garlic and Herbs, RM32.
Rabbit meat was something I wanted to try for a long time.
And my verdict? It looks like chicken meat, tasted like chicken meat, albeit slightly more leathery & it gave my partner and I quite an exercise in jaw muscles building.

Linguini Rabbit


Dessert
:
Homemade Spanish Blood Orange Sorbet w Orange Slices and Liquer (Cointreau) RM18.
This was something refreshingly different! Sour with a very sharp bite, I thoroughly enjoyed it, what more when it came swimming in Cointreau!

Spanish Blood Orange Sorbet

Bottom left: Fernando, a Spaniard who loves his chocolates, the chef who prepares everything from scratch and with passion.

Chef & Owner

Just as we are about to leave, Mr Ek treated us to some Smoked & Pickled Herrings, as opposed to the pickled ones we had earlier.
These were saltier, (naturally, since its smoked) and while the entree we had was smoother in texture & easier to melt on the palate; so to speak.
The smoked ones were slightly more leathery, which I speculate could be due to the smoking process that drew out the water.

So here’s another lesson on Spanish food.

Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies. Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat
Like its friend the sardine, the anchovy is an oily fish, packed full of proteins and minerals, protecting against heart disease, and “good” for cholesterol. What´s more, in many areas of Spain -in particular the Mediterranean coast – fresh anchovies are extremely cheap.

Traditional preparation of Boquerones vary slightly from family to family. However, the basic principles are always the same. After cleaning and filleting the fish,soak them, either in white wine vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar and half water. The vinegar will clean and bleach the fish and also soften any remaining little bones. Some may sprinkle the fish with salt; while others feel that the fish is salty enough already.

The fish has to be left for a good few hours soaking in the vinegar. After that, throw away the vinegar, & cover the bleached fillets good quality virgin olive oil, which will preserve them. One can add as much, or as little, sliced garlic as you wish, plus freshly chopped parsley.

Left chilled and completely enveloped in olive oil, these herrings shelve lives can be prolonged for a quite while.

Last but not least, I think I will be spending some idyllic Sundays here soon 😉

brekkie menu

Total bill for the dinner was RM290 incl of service charges & tax.

El Meson,
Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru.



This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Sean

    yeah, i guess it would make no sense to open non-halal outlets in kelantan or terengganu, for example, but here in kl, these outlets can thrive, given the right combo of luck and wisdom 😀

  2. sc

    hmm, i've tried rabbit meat before, but it was juicy and tender.. this was chewy and leathery ka? i love aubergines too and the one you had looks very yummy indeed!

  3. J

    Fernando's side profile looks yummy.
    *blush*

    Oh, I mean the food looks yummy. Yes. The food.
    (Haha…. )

  4. "Joe" who is constantly craving

    must b like a special occasion, tats one heck of an expensive dinner!

    prosciutto ham even in supermarkets r sold at cut throat prices..along the region of rm30 per 100gm..i had my fair share at aud4 per 100gm when i was in aust, i tell ya, ham heaven!

  5. foodbin

    a great Spanish meal esp the cold cut platter.

  6. vialentino

    cold pork meat…safe to eat ah?
    the only raw cold meat i eat is HAM!

  7. worldwindows

    All that pork esp Iberico. Like its texture, reddish meat and chewy goodness.

  8. CURRY OF BEEF – a great PAKISTAN food recipe…try this hot recipe 1INGREDIENTS1 tbsp. flour1 1/8 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. pepper1 lb. lean round steak, cut into 1/2 inch cubes1/4 c. salad oil2 c. sliced onion1/2 minced clove of garlic1 tsp. curry powder

  9. Superb article. I admire the writing style. Been reading through this blog for a couple of weeks now. A lot of excellent tips here. Will pop back again.

  10. Glenn Okitsu

    Thank you so much, this was very interesting. I was actually born in Madrid (I’m not telling when though!) but was moved around various parts of europe and finally settled in Britain when I was 7. I dont remember an awful lot of the few years I was in spain, but the delicious smell of spanish food always seems to ring a bell in me or something. Funny, how I dont remember anything except the smells,isn’t it! I actually found a website dedicated to spanish recipes, which gave me great delight and thought I really should to share with your readers. Anyway, thank you again. I’ll get my son to add your cast to my rss app…

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