Eat Drink KL: La Boca Latino Bar @ Pavilion

Friday, September 14, 2012

La Boca Latino Bar @ Pavilion

La Boca: Round Three. Earlier entries: Sept. 10 and Sept. 13.

Empanadas here are excellent, with buttery pastry and creamy filling (seafood, beef or chicken). Served with a chunky tomato dip that packs a fiery wallop.

Uruguayan salad of mixed greens, onions, tomatoes and carrots, topped with pomegranates to turn a trite recipe into something sparkling in both flavor and appearance.

Pastel de choclo: fantastic Argentinean comfort food of spiced ground beef, butternut squash, black olives and sliced hard-boiled eggs, covered in a melt-in-the-mouth cornmeal crust and served with tomato-garlic crostini. Better than shepherd's pie.

 Cassava and corn tortilla chips keep things cracking.

Lime-cured salmon ceviche, elegant and delicate, with fresh coriander, corn and chili.

Argentinean folded pizza, stuffed with turkey ham, mozzarella, kalamata olives and basil. Essentially like a calzone, expertly executed.

Flour tortillas wrapped around refried beans, guacamole, romaine, semi-dried tomatoes, celery and shaved manchego cheese. Not exactly a salad, not quite a sandwich, but totally tasty.

Going bananas: caramelized and flambeed with creme de banane and grand marnier. 

Churros here come with two gloriously rich dips: the familiar-in-KL Argentinean dulce de leche and the less-often-seen Brazilian Brigadeiro chocolate cream.

La Boca's desserts are sumptuous: try the Alfajores cookies, made luxurious with a stuffing of dulce de leche and almond flakes, served with a kahlua-infused shot of milk. 

Venezuelan hot chocolate. Delicious, with a nice balance of cocoa and milky notes. 

Can't leave with cocktails, whether Mojitos or Palmeras (light rum, white wine, pineapple juice).

 Mambo King (dark rum, cognac, cointreau) and milk-laced Cachaca Margarita. 


La Boca Latino Bar,
Level Three, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.