Gourmet Malaysia HALAL Family Restaurant

First of all I just want to say 20,000 hits and counting for 18 months of blogging is not too shabby.  Thank you to all of my readers for taking some time out of your busy schedules to read my food blog.  Well now that I am done London and Barcelona it’s time to get back to some local food.  When we got back, we decided to head out and try some real authentic curry.  We decided to give the Gourmet Malaysia HALAL Family restaurant a try.  They specialized in a lot of authentic curry dishes from Malaysia and Singapore.  It was a good thing we got reservations to the place as it was lined up all the way outside the door on a Saturday evening. 

Roti Cannai

 There were about 5 of us so we decided to order a bunch of dishes.  This evening we went with their Curry Chicken, Tong Choi Vegetables, Penang Char Kwei Teow, Roti Cannai, Assam Fish Head, Nonya King Prawns, and their Special Gourmet Malaysia Platter. 

Special Gourmet Malaysia Platter

First to arrive was the Curry Chicken and the Roti Cannai, which was basically Roti with Curry Chicken.  Since there were five of us, one serving of Curry Chicken was not going to do the trick so we figured we get the Roti Cannai to help get us a few extra pieces of chicken.  The curry sauce was very good.  It was not overly spicy but just enough to get your tongue curled up as you taste it.  The chicken was soft and absorbed most of the curry sauce.  The standout however was the roti.  I’ve tasted quite a bit of roti during my time but this was one of the best rotis ever. The bread was extra fluff however it was strong enough to hold all the curry juices.  It was freshly baked and the aroma of it was amazing. We actually ordered an extra couple of roti orders because it was just that good and it was amazing to use to soak up all the curry. 

Penang Char Kwei Teow

The Penang Char Kwei Teow arrived soon afterwards and it was basically in my mind a “gong chow ngau hor” or “Chinese Beef Chow Fun” except the different between the two was that in their dish they would use seafood including shrimp to use as an ingredient as opposed to using beef.  The taste of the noodles was exactly the same as a beef chow fun.  There was no difference at all in my mind.  If you were a huge fan of the Chinese “gong chow ngau hor” then give this one a try as well.  You might like the seafood edition of it. 

Nonya King Prawns

 The Assam Fish head came next.  The curry had a bit of sweet taste to it so I suspect that they might have used a bit of mango in their curry sauce for this dish.  The fish head itself was good and in this instance, they went with a salmon fish head.  Although the entire dish was nicely made, I wasn’t too sure if it was well worth the overall price.  When you think about it, it’s the head of a fish so there really wasn’t a whole lot of meat to it. However I do know some people could just eat fish heads all day so it really depends on what your likes and dislikes are.  For me, for the small amount of meat available and that there was only one head served I thought the price of this dish might have been slightly overvalued. 

Tong Choi Vegetables

The Nonya King Prawns arrived next and this dish was delicious.  The prawns were cooked in a sour and spicy type of.  The shells were still on the shrimp but they were nicely fried.  The sauce itself was a little thick and gooey but the spiciness of it and the taste of it made you wanting for more.  It was actually quite spicy. It doesn’t hit you right away but it’s one of those delayed spiciness.  The prawns themselves were quite fresh and tender.  My suggestion is to lick the sauce off the prawns, peel away the shell and then re-dip the shrimp into the sauce. You certainly won’t be disappointed with this dish at all.

Last but not least was the Special Malaysian Gourmet platter.  It had some skewers with beef on it, some spring rolls, mango and pepper slices, and battered shrimp.  There were about 3-4 pieces to each one and although each one tasted up to standards, it was to me another dish that I thought was slight overvalued.  For the amount of food one is getting and for the price one was paying ($19.99 for this platter), I thought there wasn’t enough substance in it to warrant the price.  It was not entirely filling and to me it was more of a sampler, albeit an expensive sampler.

Assam Fish Head

Despite having a couple of dishes being slightly more overvalued than what I thought they were worth, the restaurant still boasted some exceptional cuisine.  Most dishes were under ten dollars with the platter being more.  All the dishes however tasted great so I can’t complain there.  Parking was a little bit of a pain as one might have to park at a supermarket in the back in order to get to the space.  Service was fairly decent although some of the food took a while to arrive.  This could have been due to the large number of people there although our first dishes really didn’t arrive until 30 minutes into service time and overall time was like two hours.  What I would suggest is trying going there for lunch where it might be less busy and try out one of their lunch courses.  It’s more or less the same stuff and it will give you a preview of what could be a much bigger selection in the dinner selection.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Gourmet Malaysian Restaurant

4466 Sheppard East E101

Scarborough Ontario

647-764-1188

Montiel Restaurant

Well as they always say, save the best for last.  Barcelona was a blast even if it was my second go around.  This final posting of a Barcelona restaurant was by far one of the best restaurants I had ever been to.  Oddly, this restaurant has no Michelin stars next to its name however its décor, its presentation, its staff and its food were all comparable to the 3-star Michelin restaurant of Gordon Ramsay’s.  Equally as odd, one of the waiters actually came from Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant and he was actually one of the people who served us for the evening. 

Raw Oyster

Vegetable Chips, Olives and Sticks

Warm Fine Cream of Grilled Leaks

We had reservations for this wonderful restaurant and upon arrival we were led upstairs to our table.  They offered us water, gave us our menu, showed us the washrooms and proceeded to explain in great detail of both their a la carte menus and set menus.  Looking at all their great foods and being our last night in Barcelona we decided to go with two orders of each of their set menu.  The differences between the two were the prices and the number of courses served which was 8 and 10. One was called the Tasting Menu while the other was G Astronomic Menu. On their set menus, there was no need to choose.  They gave you a little bit of everything on the menu so all we had to do was sit back and eat.

Assorted Lettuce with Crayfish

Scallops Carpaccio

Tuna Tartar

I will try to go through each meal.  I apologize in advance as some of the pictures were slightly darkened or blurred.  We avoided using our flashes that evening, as there would have been a lot of flashing going on so we kept it to a bare minimum.   Even though there was a different number of dishes served for each menu, the waiter did give us a warning on it but since we were planning to share all of our foods anyways, it didn’t really matter. 

Foie Gras Mi Cuit and Duck

Glazed Peats Raviolis

First to arrive were the Vegetable Chips, Olives and Sticks.  Olives were in huge quantity in Spain and the ones served tonight were nice and fresh.  I’m not a huge fan of olives however my wife said they were perfect.  The G Astronomic menu also came with Iberian Ham and Oysters.  The ham was thin and tasty while each person also got a large oyster to eat.  The oyster was chucked nicely and it was served on its own individual bowl covered in ice.  It was a delightful way to start the evening. 

Suckling Pig

Beef Filet

The Starters Menu is where things start to divert quite a bit.  For the Tasting Menu, one would get the Warm Fine Cream of Grilled Leaks, Scallops Carpaccio and Poached Egg.  My favorite had to have been the perfectly done scallops and the poached egg.  The scallops were done with some apples and vinaigrette sauce which gave the dish a certain tang to it.  It was not sour but it gave the entire dish a different pizzazz to it. On a separate plate, the poached egg was equally as good.  With a small pieces of asparagus, bacon and mushrooms on the bottom, the combination of all of those ingredients provided a great mixture in one whole bite. 

Catch of the Day

Catch of the Day with Shrimp

Poached Egg

The G Astronomic Menu had Assorted Lettuce with Crayfish, Tuna Tartar, Foie Gras Mi Cuit and Duck and Glazed Peats Raviolis.  All of them were equally well made and just seeing on paper made my mouth salivate.  The crayfish tasted as if it was dancing in your mouth.  The mixture of mangos, mushrooms and other herbs provided a sweet, sour and salty taste all at once.  The crayfish was fresh and meaty and nicely de-shelled. The tuna tarter also tasted as if it was dancing in one’s mouth.  Not only was it nicely seared on the outside but the mixture of mustard ice cream, soya sauce and pine nuts also gave it that “craziness” when one was chewing on it.  The home made fois gras came with quince jelly and pistachios and it was amazing!! Some foie gras can be a little bit greasy or dry but this one was nice and moist and so tasty.  Last but not least was the ravioli. Truthfully I’m not a huge fan of ravioli but they made it so that it is not filling but more like craving.  It’s a small piece and with the duck mixed with mushrooms and port reduction sauce, it left one wanting for more. 

Each menus consisted of two different types of Entrees.  The Tasting Menu had the Fish of the Day and the Beef Filet.  The fish came with quail eggs which made tastier.  The beef filet however was truly a standout on this side of the menu.  The meat was seasoned with truffle oil and was still sizzling hot when it was presented to us .  The meat sliced well and the insides were of the medium rare variety.  It was delicious and it was able to retain all the meat juices enabling the meat to be moist and highly favorable. The G Astronomic Menu contained a Catch of the Day as well and a Suckling Pig from Segovia.  The fish was beautifully seasoned and beautifully cooked.  The fish was placed inside peas stew that was mixed with sage and mint leaves and a large shrimp.  The combination inside the soup alone was extraordinary.  The suckling pig was nicely done with its crispy skin and thick piece of meat.  However, coming from a country that has lots of suckling pig everywhere, I didn’t find it to be remarkably fascinating having just one piece of suckling pig.  Still it was worth mentioning that it was still prepared in the most qualitative way. 

Catalan Cheese

Strawberries Caipitinha

Bonus Desert

The Tasting Menu came with 2 desserts while the G Astronomic Menu had 3 although that will be debated later on.  The Tasting Menu came with the Strawberries Caipitinha and Cream Caramel while the other menu had the Raspberries Caipitinha and Cream Cheese Coulant.  All the dishes were ultra sweet and beautifully done.  Three of the dishes contained caramel in it which contributed to the ultra sweet taste while the cream cheese coulant had a small portion of apple jam ice cream in it which in itself was radical yet delicious tasting.  The cream caramel actually hit you even more as it was a mixture of orange sorbet and ice cream mixed together.  The extra dessert on the Astronomic Menu was the Catalan Cheese which was more or less the same type of smelly, wet-sock tasting cheese as the one we had at Gordon Ramsay’s.  It’s a delicacy as the waiter would say although I have to admit whoever thought of that must have been crazy.  Oddly the four of us were able to consume almost a quarter of it which make one wonder whether we were starting to get use to the taste of it?

Cream Caramel

Cream Cheese Coulant

In the end, it was simply a fantastic restaurant to go to.  There were almost 10,000 reviews on Trip Advisor alone and the greater majority were positive.  Why this restaurant doesn’t have any Michelin stars is beyond me.  Service was great and if you were thinking this was an ultra expensive place, think again.  The Tasting Menu was only 50 Euros per person while the G Astronomic Menu was 65 Euros.  This place is a definitely a must-go and definite 5 out of 5 in my books. Go give it a try, I’m sure you will enjoy because we sure did.

Montiel Restaurant

c/ Flassanders 19, Born

08003

+34 932 683 729

Mixtel-la Restaurant

The last two restaurants that we had gone to in Barcelona were by far two of the best ones there.  We were very lucky on the first choice as we had literally just strolled into the restaurant without any research or reservations and had done so just before lunch time on a weekday.  We knew nothing about this place but their menu posted outdoors, clean décor and the fact that it was packed prior to noon hour on a weekday was what attracted us to enter in the first place.  

Caesar Salad with Marianated Chicken

Mixtel-la restaurant, as we found out when we got back to the hotel, was actually one of the highest rated restaurants in all of Barcelona and it is where we decided to have lunch on that particular day.

Common Salad

The restaurant was located on a street that was parallel to the famous Passeig de Gracia shopping street and one block east of it.  Once there you will also notice a ramp going down into the restaurant which I thought was quite unique in itself.  Looking at their menu, we noticed that they served mostly Mediterranean fusion foods.  They had a couple of lunch menus to choose from ranging from 16 to 25 Euros.  We decided to go with a couple of the 16 Euros menus as we were planning to have a fulsome meal in the evening and didn’t want to overeat during lunch time.  There were about three to four choices to choose from in each of the appetizer, entrée and dessert sections.  I went with the Caesar salad, the Butter Salmon and crème brulee.  We also had orders of the Garden Salad, the Veal Steak with Argentinian Oregano, Pasta Philo Rolls and Cod fish on that afternoon.

Fresh Salmon Cooked in Butter

While we waited, the waitress came by and gave us a few pieces of fresh bread and butter to chew on.  As we sat there, we couldn’t help but notice what nice décor they had and as I strolled towards the back, they actually had plenty of seats in the back and another room to accommodate all their patrons.  Despite all the extra tables, three quarters of it was full and by the time I strolled back to my seat shortly afterwards, people were lined up all the way outside the door. 

Veal Steak with Argentinian Oregano Dressing

Our food arrived and appearance wise, it had a bit of high class look to it.  The Caesar salad had its usual crutons and romaine salad but it also had small pieces of sweet tasting cherry tomatoes in it as well.  The dressing they used was fantastic.  It was neither fattening, thick or creamy but rather it was very light, almost seamless and blended very well with the rest of salad.  When I say seamless, I meant you could barely see in the dressing once it was mixed in however once could still taste the richness of it.  The chicken was marinated with an unknown sauce and it was delicious.  I was actually very surprised by the overall taste as it was probably one of the purest Caesar salads I have ever had. 

Pasta Philo Rolls

My butter grilled salmon arrived next and it was still sizzling when it was set on the table. Small pieces of frisee were placed beside it but one can tell this was going to be a great piece of salmon no matter what.  Salivating over the aroma of the buttery salmon, I knew I could not wait to eat this piece of fish.  The salmon meat itself was a little fatty and once it was mixed with the butter it was more fatty but wow was the salmon ever amazing!!!  I couldn’t believe how good it was.  The salmon felt like it was melting in my mouth.  There were no other words to describe the taste of such a wonderful dish.  All I can say is if you go to Barcelona, you have to go to Mixtel-la Restaurant and try for yourself. 

One of my other friends had the veal and it too was very, very good.  The meat was not rough, was well marinated and nice and soft.  The soft juicy meat was mixed with the Argentinian oregano dressing which left a bit of tingle as you ate it.  A beautifully cooked piece of meat and a dish that any meat lovers would love should they order one from there. 

Cod Fish

The cod too was sizzling when it reached our table.  Although the seasoning was pretty good, I thought the buttery salmon tasted better than the cod.  There was nothing wrong with the cod however the buttery salmon was too much of a home run on that day. 

The crème brulee arrived last and by tilting the bowl one can see that the crème brulee was glazed to perfection.  The middle was soft but the top was crispy sweet.  No complaints here at all as the dessert was icing on the cake. 

Creme Cremada

Overall, the service was magnificent.  They even gave us a complimentary drink to have while in between entrée and dessert.  With all of this being 16 euros, one certainly got a good bang for their dollar.  I would highly recommend anyone in Barcelona to give this place a try.  One thing to remember however is that this place is closed on Sundays.  If I ever go to Barcelona again, I would certainly give this place a try once again.  Overall, I would give this place a 4.75 out of 5.

Mixtel-la Restaurant

Carrer de Pau Claris, 155

Barcelona Spain

933 300 303