In an age of instant gratification, José Gordón champions slowness. On Spain’s windswept northwestern plains, he raises cattle the old way, letting them graze freely for over a decade so that the rhythm of nature permeates every fibre.
For steak devotees, tasting Gordón’s work typically requires a pilgrimage to El Capricho, his famed restaurant-bodega in Jiménez de Jamuz, three hours from Madrid.
But now, his prized Rubia Gallega, Galicia’s indigenous blonde cattle, has crossed continents to Desa Sri Hartamas’ Vantador, the first Malaysian restaurant to collaborate with Gordón.
This beef bears the weight of time, dry-aged in El Capricho’s caves for 50 days, then up to two weeks in Kuala Lumpur.
At Vantador, chef Emir and his team take the reins, finishing the steaks for half an hour on an asado-inspired grill fired with acacia, rubber wood, and binchotan.
The reward is fragrantly marbled, faintly nutty beef, nurtured for years, not months, resulting in crimson-centred steaks for patrons who prize craft and provenance.
Each firm slice releases a primal perfume with layered flavours underlying creamy fat, including hints of a mineral essence with subtle blue cheese and roasted hazelnut, in a testament to a life lived under open skies.
Vantador makes it a full journey. Beyond Gordón’s beef, expect modern sophistication: Tasting flights of beef raw, roasted and cured; surf-and-turf skewers of Australian wagyu and Argentinian prawn; dry-aged turken chicken and coral trout; and a sensory finale in the Lemon Mirage dessert.
Vantador
38, Jalan 25/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 6pm-12am. Tel: 012-675-5868
