Thursday, January 28, 2010

Tapas and Silencio, por favor, Pedro's Place, Desa Sri Hartamas

I had my eye set firmly on Pedro's Place since I read from Eat Drink KL a very distant September last year. Took me this long to get around to it, because I'm tragic like that.

Nevertheless, food blogs continue to compel me to eat and live better, albeit at a languid pace. Life seriously is waayyy too short to eat bad food or drink bad wine. Oh and not take care of our bodies too. Moderation moderation, yada yada. We arrived on a weekday night when all was quiet and impulses were under control.

We started with complimentary tortilla chips and salsa on the house. These were just what we needed to ply us through until we had the third member of the party in place.

More compliments from Pedro's - fresh bread dipped in a functional but perfectly forgettable oil and vinegar dressing. Service was enthusiastic for at any one time, one of the three floor staff would check in on us.


Pedro's has a separate menu for tapas from its mains, and we decided that we'd go that route.


Pickled anchovies in ginger and lemon. Crazy salty on its own but worked beautifully with bread.

Black olive pate, served with toasted bread. At this point, bread started to seem omnipresent so we refused a top-up indignantly. I was a fan of the pate - smooth and pungent, and the slightly grainy texture kept things interesting.

We also ordered the Stuffed mushrooms, with crab, on account of my bovine intolerance. We were extremely happy that said crab stuffing did not materialise as canned or crabstick. The fresh crabmeat was subtle and buttery, gorgeous with a squirt of lemon.

Jalapenos stuffed with three cheeses - Cheddar, Mozzarella, Leicester - battered and deep-fried. Didn't touch these but other members of the party were practically moaning in ecstasy.

Another dish I couldn't bring myself to partake in was the trio of Camembert parcels, served with fruit sauce and honey. They sounded stranger than they really were.

I couldn't do without the Flamenca Egg after I'd read about them on Sean's blog. Once we scraped the burnt edges clean, we discussed how easily we could emulate this in our own humble kitchens.

Nett nett, we loved Pedro's Place, for all its homeliness and comfort, both in food and service. However we didn't like the acoustics much, for one loud party basically kills it for anyone else in the restaurant remotely interested in conversation. We recommend basic insulation for Pedro's to contain the jarring echoes. We carried on to nearby Hartamas Square so we could carry on chatting after dinner.

Otherwise, I would totally go back for the Chimichangas. Oh and a pint of something something. Pedro's has a respectable beverages menu including some very alluring Happy Hour prices for Stout and Strongbow cider. Check it!

14 comments:

Bangsar-bAbE said...

I find the Camembert parcels very interesting...wouldn't mind trying that! =)

Fresh bread and chips on the house? I like the sound of that!

Sean said...

thanks for being the only person who seems to have remembered this place! :D i hear they also do cooking classes here, just in case u wanna whip up your own chimichangas at home!

Rebecca Saw said...

Oh? Never heard of tis plc really!
Sometimes Sean blogs too fast for me to catch up! Hahaa..
Hartamas is one area I'm ard for the most 2 times a year! Darn..i shud make more effort....

allie said...

Jalapenos stuffed looks yummy. Agree with Bangsar Babe, fresh bread and chips on the house is thumbs up!

Big Boys Oven said...

WOW this is nice, i saw my jalapenos! nie ler! :)

Li Ann said...

Oh, I still have a precious few cans of UK strongbow n guiness draught in the fridge! Ah, spanish food is the best

Paranoid Android said...

Most importantly, did the food make you want to do a spontaneous impromptu flamenco performance? Loud conversations are a definite no no for me. There people lack courtesy and consideration and deserve to be bashed with a shoulder of Iberico.

minchow said...

Bangsar Babe, I love them complimentary stuff too! And they're so generous, checking in to see if we needed top ups very often!

Sean, yes I do make a LOT of mental notes from yr blog! Getting around to actually visiting them however is another story altogether!

TNG, yeah very hard to keep up with him! Hartamas is a bit of a dive now these days.. or at least the Desa side. I think the HSC side is more relaxing.

Allie, all that cheese got me a lil frightened, haha. Can't help it, too much dairy is horror!

BBO, yes the girls sang praises... I'll just have to take their word for them and say to you: Go get the jalapenos!!

Li Ann, ahhh chuck a can or two over and I'll make sure they're best appreciated! :-P

PA, I couldn't begin to figure out how to flamenco but yes wrestling with the loud talkers armed with ham sounds more like my sport! :-P

qwazymonkey said...

That reminds me, I've not been there yet. Another one on the list

Kenny Mah said...

"Life seriously is waayyy too short to eat bad food or drink bad wine."

Amen, sister! I'm totally with you on that one. I wonder when we would next meet for a bite or two though... :)

choi yen said...

all those food so new to me!!!!

backStreetGluttons said...

functional , enthusiastic and decent , thats the place we want 2 b ! always ! (ya must be talking bout us or issit him ?)

Ciki said...

i love the way you 'take care' of your body.. mwuahahaha! tapas looks excellent but erm, Pickled anchovies..? i think I'll pass LOL ( u so brave girl;P)

Anonymous said...

thanks for the post. anywhere else you'd recommend for nice food/mexican food, nice environment with live performance or something of the sort? :)