Tiki Taka.... A Spanish Football Move?

Tiki Taka is actually a Spanish football term, apparently, for short passing movement, and translated into culinary terms, basically it means quick bites, and since there are many movements, quick bites with lots of variety.  Which means Tapas and Pinchos.  What's the difference between the two?  I am not sure how accurate this description is, but thanks to prof McGoogle, apparently pinchos are held together with a toothpick.  Really ah?

Anyway, whatever it is, the two are really like the Spanish dim sum, and TIKI TAKA in Medan Damansara, one of the newest restaurants on that block (Jln Kasah, which used to be Gills), is one of those restaurants that to me, is the PERFECT watering hole, as it has a glorious bar, and well, tapas and pinchos and pizzas really are made for drinkers.

On of the major plus points, in this row that is almost impossible to find parking, is the FREE VALET service...yes, free...but of course, perhaps from the generosity of one's heart one might tip the guy.  Of course, I would avoid bringing a Bentley or Lambo ...if I had either....and would instead bring my Myvi.

We were given the chance to sample almost all their cocktails, this lychee mojitos looked particularly riveting with the two balls of lychee that at a glance look like fish balls...

To start, the Salmon Crema, slices of smoked salmon with blacklumpfish caviar.  RM9 per piece.  Nothing mind blowing, but familiar and very palatable.

This combination of Bacon and Bananas and nutella is pure genius.  RM6 each.  I could easily eat two of these.  There's something indescribable about that saltiness from the bacon upon the caramelised banana...

Just looking at these makes me want to drive over to Tiki Taka now and get some for lunch...  The salted egg crab bun, RM9 and worth every sen.

Singapore Chilli Prawns... Wait, did you say Singapore in a Tapas joint?  Is that like saying British Nasi Lemak?  Actually, part of its charm is, (for us Asians at any rate) is the fact that the menu does seek to incorporate our local favourites into tapas or pintxos form, and they actually have very few selections of "real" Spanish tapas and pintxos per se.  I loved these deep fried mantaos soaked in that chilli prawns gravy, much like the chilli crab we are so familiar with.  RM24

Pork Satay...RM22...pretty good, but if you think about the price of NORMAL satay, hmmm, it seems a bit pricey to be honest.  I mean, usually people dont stop at 1 or 2 sticks of satay right?

Ikan Bakar, RM25, using red snapper.  We found our particular piece a bit on the tough side, which could possibly mean it was overcooked, ...the sambal that goes with it is very good though, which covers a multitude of sins.  However, my personal favourite for ikan bakar is still stingray, (which I hope is not endangered, cos I hardly see them while diving anymore), so it didn't quite do it for me.

Sin Is King RM25.... and

Char Siu Pizzas RM20. both designed for the porcine inclined.  Around 8" diameter, the pizzas are a good size but my comment was that the charsiu could be a little fatter.  This char siu was extremely lean.... Who eats lean char siu, except Singaporeans...

For dessert, nutella wantans, which ironically, I loved the nutella with bacon and bananas, but I didnt particularly like these....

Perhaps its because I am not a nutella fan per se, and whilst the former was masked with bacon and banana, this put the the nutella in forefront.  So if you are a nutella fan, yay for you. RM12

Ice Ice Baby, some new age ice kacang almost, with coconut ice cream, pop corn, toasted coconut, in a combination that works for me.  The crunch of the pop corn gives it that added dimension. RM12.

And of course, which tapas meal is complete without Churros.  RM12.  Pretty good churros.

And now, a whole section dedicated to the Connors Stout. As a Guinness fan, it might be difficult to accept any other stout, so Hans, the owner, decided to "convert" us unbelievers....by using a special technique of pour that he says makes all the difference in the world.

So yeah, basically the three pour pint has that little dimple at the top, and actually, it did taste rather fabulous.

And when you drink it, the "cream" should just line the top of the glass!

Great place for some easy going drinks and tasty variety of food.

And free valet, don't forget.

Thanks to the loveliest cutie couple, broughtuptoshare for the invite.

Address: 138 Jalan Kasah, Medan Damansara
Tel: 016-328-7438
Mon-Fri, 4pm-1am; Sat-Sun, 9am-1am.

The Relaunch Of Cava's Menu

Being the peasant that I am, I always thought Cava meant Cave, in some language.  Maybe it does, but certainly not in Spanish, where it actually is the Spanish sparkling wine of Denominación de Origen (DO) status, most of which is produced in Catalonia, (cut and pasted from Wikileaks Wikipedia), I guess in much the same way sparkling wine from Champagne is called Champagne, and only those from Champagne can be called that.  So if you're going to use grapes from Genting Highlands to make sparkling wine, no, you cannot call it a Cava.  Maybe BatuCaves can la.

An invite from Peter Yew, the high powered fella who is in charge of most of the restaurants along Jln Bangkung, is always a welcome invite, for there is always a promise of good food, wine, and company, not necessarily in that order.  And new menu launches are always exciting, although, truth be told, as I age, I am getting less adventurous, and am happy with half boiled eggs every morning.

We start with their signature red wine Sangria.  I'm not a sangria fan, because I find the whole concoction too sweet.  That's the God honest truth.  We had a choice of red or white sangria.  Unlike the normal stuff you see elsewhere with fruit floating around like flotsam and jetsom from a sunken vessel, this one didn't have any debris that might choke your vocal chords as you imbibe. 

What the Cava management had done was, to get a guest chef from Spain, the very lovely Chef Maria Elena who spent three months training the chefs of Cava KL to produce authentic Spanish cuisine. 

I wonder if her most asked question during her tenure was, HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM, CHEF MARIA? (To the tune of Maria in the SOUND OF MUSIC).  Somelier Jonathan Lim also explains to us the various wines that were to be paired with the dinner.  Meanwhile, Ciki and I were fidgety and couldn't wait to lap up the wine, instead of the sangria.  Shameless we are.

We were seated at this little nook in the restaurant, kind of like a private dining area.  The picture of the wolf on the snow, is topic for discussion...is it dying? Is it napping?  Do wolves (or is it a dingo) sleep with their eyes open? 

The chic and tasteful interior of Cava.  Pictures of various diners, not necessarily celebrities, adorn the walls, across from a well stocked bar. 

Maria says that with our balmy hot weather, the idea of a cold soup shooter would be refreshing.  Of course, cold soup goes against the grain of every Asian, and in particular, Chinese tongue, whereby if the soup doesn't scald your tongues, it needs to be sent back.  But when in Spain, do as the Spanish do.  The wonderfully refreshing carrot tomato soup titillated our palate for more food. 

Pulpa a la Gallega, Spanish octopus with potato, lightly dusted with paprika.  The texture and taste of this Spanish tentacled creature is amazing.  Unlike some of the rubbery stuff that wash up on our local shores, manufactured by Dunlop, this octopus is tender, and flavourful, almost as if it was spawned by abalone and err...very young calamari. 

Patatas Bravas With Cava's Famous Chilli Padi Pesto - For the brave, spicy tomato & Aioli.  I loved the chilli padi pesto, and reckon Cava should bottle and sell it.  The baby potatoes are so flavourful, crunchy yet soft, creamy almost.  Apparently this is a staple tapas in Spain.  I wouldn't know, as the closest I've been to Spain is...Italy.

Grilled Asparagus With Romesco Sauce, a lovely lovely paste almost made from roasted almond, garlic, capsicum, olive oil and paprika.  Simplicity embellished with culinary genius.  The perfect combination. 

Olives Villeroy with Creamy Pesto. Basically breaded olives, which I forgot to take a cross sectional of, but you can see it at CCFOODTRAVEL and BROUGHTUPTOSHARE blogs.

Cava's Specialty Arroz Negro, a squid ink paella with squid and prawns, with garlic aioli. Which begs the question, who first discovered that squid ink is edible? And how did they verify that? Did they test it on an animal first?  Just one in a list of a thousand food questions that constantly run through my head.

Back to the dish at hand, thumbs up for this paella.  Different from the usual ones, which are usually inundated with every imaginable seafood and meats.  Again, the sheer minimalistic-ness of this dish really serves to help the eater focus on the flavours at hand. 

Cava's Specialty Piquillo Peppers, stuffed with seafood, served with creamy piquillo sauce and asparagus.  These unique peppers are found only in the North of Spain, and Peru.  Either way, both a long way from here. The piquillo sauce is such a treat to the palate. 

Saucery, with peppercorn, chimichurri, Gorgonzola, and Mushrooms and Wild Ceps to accompany....

Australia Goulburn Valley Premium Grass Fed Sirloin...after the exotica of the Spanish filled ingredients in the dishes, I'd say the beef was comfort food.  It was nice to try the meats with the different sauces, of which, I loved the gorgonzola.  The beef was seared nicely, and tender enough.

The mains were paired with CVNE Monopole Viura 2011 (Rioja) White or Altanza Le Altanza Crianza 2009 (Rioja) Red.  Riojas hail from the Alta Region in Spain, and are of higher quality than lower lying grapes.  The whites taste much like the Sauvignon Blancs.

Dessert was a simple strawberry with fresh whipped cream, or more exotically, FRESAS Y NATA.  Can't go wrong there, if it's good enough for Wimbledon, it's good enough for me.  Nice to pair with Castillo Perelada CAVA Brut Reservation NV. 

That's us!

Cava Restaurant and Bar
71, Jalan Bangkung,
Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar
59100 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +603 2093 6637
Business Hours:
Mon – Sat: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sun: 6:00 pm – 12:00 am