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Serious about steak

The mighty T-bone sends diners to steak heavencan

Nothing compares to the taste of grass-fed beef. It can transport you from restaurant to the Argentinian Pampas with just one bite, writes THERESA MANAVALAN.

The calamari was crunchy with an almond coat

THE Gaucho Grill has enough rusticity to welcome people in jeans and checked shirts as it has mid-town mojo to warm up to the suits from the nearby steel and glass towers of Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang.

Its casual ambience with lots and lots of timber is easy to settle into. Think of it as a surrogate ranch with a charcoal grill for a shrine. There’s Latin flavoured music so deep in the background that you might not even notice it. What you will notice, though, are the other customers — they’re all serious about steak.

Argentinian beef is an acquired taste. Steaks from the Pampas separate the men from the boys by a kind of natural culinary law that distinguishes grass-fed beef from grain-fed. Alpha steak eaters choose Argentinian.

Grass-fed beef has a particular taste, texture and tenacity on the tongue that makes it particularly appealing to carnivores. It’s as if you can taste the animal and the environment where it was raised. So not like grain-fed.

Chef Kamaruddin Ahmad has been listening to the hoof beats of customer feedback at the Gaucho Grill, part of the group that owns the Maredo Steakhouse and Deutches Haus restaurants. He’s introduced some international dishes but mainly, he’s amp-ed the flavours. “We’ve got some new rubs that really launch the taste of meat and make them true partners of potatoes and vegetables,” he says with pride about the menu revamp.

Clearly, he’s on to something. Kamaruddin has a three stage cooking show for steaks, starting with the charcoal grill. Before that, he’s worked a rub on every piece of meat and has complex configurations of marination times. His attention to these details has attracted a number of VIPs (some roll up with police escort), a regular following of steak lovers who know their meat, and a community of meat-and-potato mat sallehs whose orders can be stunning. “Like triple portion tenderloin,” says Kamaruddin.

That’s 750g of pure meat. It can be done because his prime steer tenderloin is fresh-cut, meaning he cuts it from a long piece upon order. Called the Pueblo (RM86), the standard 250g piece is exceptionally tender, juicy and, needless to say, the best-seller of the house. It comes with crunchy yellow and green zucchini and a mountain of fries, which can be swapped for potato variations.

It is without hesitation that the garlicky mashed potatoes are strongly recommended. It doesn’t ooze with fat or look like slush. Instead, it stays on the fork and delivers taste with the fluffy texture.

The Bife de Chorizo (RM79) is 450g of prime rib chargrilled with a brown sauce and whole roasted garlic. Born for meat eaters, it is tender with enough of chew factor to relish the texture of meat. The garlic works like magic. It comes with sautéed potatoes and beef bacon. The mouthfeel of all three is something else.

When the La Boca (RM79), a 450g T-bone steak, lands on the table, the smell of charred beef rises direct from plate to nose. Steak lovers live for this exact moment, an out-of-this-world sensation that transports you from restaurant to wild country. Nothing compares. Comes with a mighty jacket potato and rosemary butter.

For my party of five, Kamaruddin rolls out an evening in three acts. Long before the red meat, there are soups and starters.

We start with Escargots Baked In Garlic Butter (RM30). The Garlic Bread (RM8) looks so green with its unique parsley topping. The Sauteed Button Mushrooms (RM13) has a delightful thyme scent and is highly recommended. Among these, it’s the Crispy Almond Coated Calamari with Garlic Mayo (RM15) that steals the show. Ground almond is different.

We share the Sopa Oceano (RM21) — prawns, mussels and scallops soaking in a basil-scented tomato broth — and the Sopa de Montega (RM21), a soup that’s really a stew of oxtail and root vegetables. The oxtail is so good for dipping bread and the gravy has authentic beef bone flavour. But, beware, this is nearly a meal for light eaters.

For dessert, Panna Cotta (RM16) arrives light, not so sweet and is served on an almond crumble with stewed cherries and raspberries. It feels so dainty after a steak. There’s more adventure. Ask for the Choc Madeleine (RM16), a trio of moist chocolate cake, choc fudge and rum and raisin ice cream. Or swap that for banana and strawberry ice cream – white with tiny red spots.

Skipping beef? The El Codero (RM75) lamb rack has an altogether Mediterranean feel, grilled with pesto on top and comes with a generous serve of ratatouille. There’s a delightful pedas factor in the El Ray del Mar (RM79). Half an Australian lobster baked with a chipotle-tomato dressing that leaves a rather nice lingering burn. So different from the Asian chili sting. The lobster comes with a pan-roasted salmon chop. Looks light but fills you up.

All main courses come with soup and salad. Look out for lunch and dinner specials at under RM50. September’s special is grass-fed Angus rib eye that will arrive chilled from the Pampas. Kamaruddin suggests you bring along a big appetite.

GAUCHO GRILL

Block B, Lot 5 Chulan Square

92 Jalan Raja Chulan, KL

Tel: 03-2145 4268

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