MHB and Friends Christmas Lunch 2017 at Cava @ Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar

This Christmas, MHB had our Christmas Lunch 2018 presented by Cava Restaurant & Bar @ The Bangkung Row, and supported by Kronenbourg 1664. Cava is one of the mainstays along Jalan Bangkung in the swanky and upmarket neighbourhood of Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. The pork-free restaurant serves modern and traditional Spanish cuisine – from hot and cold tapas, to mains like paella and baked suckling lamb, to desserts like Creme Catalana, complemented with a variety of wines and of course – cava!

The interior of the restaurant is warm and inviting, with the long wooden shelves showcasing the more rare labels of wines that have been enjoyed there over the years

The walls are lined with awards and photos. The booths are great for a romantic couples’s night out!

The restaurant layout is pretty versatile and is even suitable to host small parties such as ours!

Supporting our event was Kronenbourg 1664

We started off the afternoon with some Vallformosa Classic Brut NV. On the eye, it had a straw colour with greenish shades, with lively bubbles. On the nose, it had aromas of melon, banana, apricot, and apple, while on the palate, it was pleasant, fruity and refreshing!

Mix Tapas Sampler

Baquerones en vinagre, Anchovies, and Pulpo a la Gallega

Starting off lunch was a mixed tapas sampler consisting of anchovies in vinegar, cured anchovies, and Galician style octopus, giving us a taste of the restaurant’s tapas menu. 

Sopa de Mariscos

Traditional Spanish seafood soup loaded with a ton of fresh seafood and finished with a dash of Pernod to add some complexity to the broth. Briny and flavourful, safe to say there wasn’t any left after we were done with it!

Cava’s Famous Sangria

Red Original~ red wine, triple sec, orange juice, lime juice

White Original~ white wine, Black Label, apple juice, lime juice

Cava is well-known for their Sangrias and we have to agree! The red was more complex, with full-bodied flavours while the white was lighter and very refreshing, with a hint of smokiness from the Johnnie Walker Black Label.

 Next up were some sharing platters which exemplified “The Spanish tradition of sharing food”…

Baked Spanish Suckling Lamb Leg

This succulent and tender piece of lamb leg is huge so be sure to share it! It was baked with rosemary, giving it a lovely herb taste, while having a lovely crust on the outside and tender meat underneath. This meat-lover’s dish takes a while to prepare so order it early, then enjoy some drinks or tapas while waiting for it to be cooked.

Slowed Braised Oxtail

Slow cooked for hours, the meat was so tender it didn’t take much to fall off the bone. Slow cooking it for hours also infused it with loads of flavour, when combined with the flavourful sauce, makes this an ideal dish to go with some house bread (order some to go along with this dish)!

Paella Arroz Negro

The final main was a signature Spanish dish – Squid ink paella with squid and prawns, garlic aioli. Incredibly delicious on its own, Cava added an extra dimension (mostly for us Malaysian diners who always love something spicy in a meal) in the form of cili padi pesto (in the little saucer on the top left) which really gave a kick!

Crème Catalana

Finally, a sweet and creamy end to the meal in the form of a creme Catalana which is the Spanish version of creme brulee. Luxuriously creamy with a hard sugar top, this dessert went brilliantly well with the fruity flavours of the Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc.