Earlier this month I went on a bit of a food review streak. First was Iketeru at KL Hilton, then the Wine dinner at Opus Bistro, followed by Leonardo’s, and then Mandarin Grill, and I think there’s one more before the conclusion of this week.
I usually don’t go to as many review sessions, but the invitations from this month were all too tempting to refuse (though I did forgo a wine dinner in favor of futsal). Leonardo’s stand out in the list for that it is the only one that serves one of my favorite meats – pork.
Leonardo’s Dining Room, Concha Y Toro Sauvignan Blanc 2008
Tucked at a little row of shops by Jalan Bangkung at Bukit Bandaraya, Laonardo’s is run by the same people that brought you Opus, Cava, and Moxie (I haven’t been to the latter two).
While the name might have an Italian origin, the food is more fusion than anything: from pizza, pork knuckle, to bak kut teh and hokkien mee, the menu cuts across different cuisines but with a distinctly pork centric theme. A theme the invited guests in this session agreed whole heartedly.
crispy bacon lollipop, Belgian black mussels, Kentucky fried frog
We had three appetizers to start the night, crispy bacon lollipop was this cute dish with breaded pork balls on satay sticks served in a glass of salt, a mayo based sauce accompany the dish just to make it even more sinful. The balls had cheese and pork in it, I didn’t pace myself and had more than a couple.
The Belgian black mussels (RM 55) were cooked in a savory white wine and cream broth, from fresh and not frozen seafood, with of parsley and onion to add to the flavor.
My favorite appetizer out of the three must be the Kentucky fried frog, and I’m sure Kim would kill for this. Deep fried in a very light batter, the freshness of the frog legs perfectly intact. I’m amazed how well it goes with the tartar sauce (if I get it right). Perfect beer snack.
Italian Cippino, Spanish black pig shoulder loin steak, mama mia pizza
The Italian Cippino (RM 46) is, I supposed, a dish Leonardo himself would be quite familiar with. Plenty of seafood in tomato broth, served with foccacia bread. There’re fish, mussels, prawns, and squid too.
The Spanish black pig shoulder loin steak (RM 55) is served medium well with picon blue risotto mustard sauce. The meat was as tender as any top grade steak but with a hint of pork texture and taste, no wonder it is also known as the wagyu of pork world. Delicious!
The rectangular mama mia pizza (RM 35) is a thin crust pizza cut in six pieces and precariously topped with jamon serrano (similar to parma ham), rocket, and mozzarella cheese
ciki serving Leo’s pork knuckle platter, I licked the bone clean
My favorite main dish of the night has got to be their signature Leo’s pork knuckle platter (RM 75). The pork knuckle is perfect, with the meat super tender you could tear em clean from the bone (as I demonstrate) while the skin roasted till super crispy.
There were red sauerkraut & garlic herb roasted potatoes to balance the taste too, it couldn’t have been better. I absolutely love it.
pork chorizo sausage, grilled pork neck, hokkien mee with giant prawns
Pork chorizo sausage (RM 38) is served with bacon, potato, and apple rosti with chunky tomato relish. A pretty hearty meal by itself, I’d have this with some Guinness.
Another unique dish at Leonardo’s is their grilled pork neck (RM 25) with spicy mango. I like the cilantro salsa that comes with it, but to be honest I personally didn’t like the pork neck much, the texture’s a bit too soft and oily for my liking.
Edward, the part owner, insisted that we try their fried hokkien mee. Served with some seriously huge prawns, I must say that it didn’t disappoint if only it’s a tad too sweet for me. Then again, perhaps my taste bud was tainted with the previous nine dishes I tried?
banana bread n butter pudding, grilled mango w pink peppercorn & cardamom,
baked apple with fillo pastry, chocolate seduction
Then of course, the desserts have to come when I’m already absolutely full to the brim. However, I find that this is generally not a problem with girls, they seem to have a separate stomach reserved just for dessert. Call me sexist, but it is absolutely true!
The banana bread and butter pudding (RM 18) served with vanilla ice cream was my favorite among the desserts. Grilled mango with pink peppercorn and cardamom (RM 18) was a bit strange, the baked apple with fillo pastry (RM 18) sweet and savory, and the chocolate seduction (RM 22) was absolutely rich and flavorful I don’t know how anyone could actually finish it right after a big meal.
Then again, I don’t have that spare dessert stomach.
we had a whole lot of food and fun at Leonardo’s
It was a very satisfying review session. Cumi & Ciki, Fatboybakes, Eiling, A Lil Fat Monkey, Nigel & Allan from Just Heavenly, and Li Zhi were among the people that made up the great company.
Fadlin also got us some lovely wines sponsored by Magnum to go with all these food. We had Villa Girardi Soave 2007 (Italian) , Concha Y Toro Sauvignon Blanc (Chile), Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir 2006 (U.S), and James Irvine Barossa Merlot 2006 (Australia).
Address:
Leonardo’s
61-1 and 61-2, Jalan Bangkung,
Bukit Bandaraya,
59100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.138116, 101.669197
Tel: 03-2096 2226
oh man.
pork knuckles !!
Nice post KY 🙂 Great seeing you that nite. See you round 🙂
Yes. Mork porky place.
Genova,
Yess!
Nigel,
Thanks, see you again soon! 😀
Simon Seow,
yaa, awesomesauce 😉
yes the chocolate is damn seductive!!!
Great post! Now nobody’s gonna read mine when it’s up. Think I’d let mine sit for a little while more.
🙂
Haha.. Look at you attacking that pork knuckle! 🙂
lilbunny,
Except when you’re way too full!
A Lil Fat Monkey,
what sort of nonsense is that! 😛
J,
Hahah I love it!
When I saw the shop below Leonardo’s – Suanson, I immediately thought of SUANIE and SUANIE’s son. Hahaha…
ericyong77,
LOL I thought so too!
Your pics put mine to shame! I hate u!! and your camera of course!
porky oh porky… I shall forget about you until I trim 2″ off my waist!
ciki likes this;)
eiling,
Why hates me! Buy a flash and you’ll be fine 😀
Leo,
Hahhaa, eating pork has never made anyone fat! You just need to stop eating everything else.
Wah, the food looks really good! Have heard good things about them all this while, so maybe it’s time to make a dinner reservation.
JD,
Yah, make it happen 😀
All the pork dishes looks awesome! 🙂
That really does look like some good food.
Huai Bin,
Yah they’re awesomesauce!
ShaolinTiger,
definitely one of the better reviews I went to. 😀
Nampak sedap….
Xiaopei,
memang sedap 😀
Greaaat post bro!
Jo – waiting anxiously for your post pulak..haha!
See you guys soon! Cava’s re-launch!
Fadlin Johan,
Thank you thank y ou. Cava? OK!
“separate stomach reserved just for dessert”
i always tell my gf tis line when she says she is too full for dessert..
why do you make food look so delicious.. im definitely heading there once salary is out..
stephan,
hahah very true right? They can always have dessert. The food is delicious, I didn’t “make it so delicious” all by myself and the camera 😛
havent see Nigel and Allen for ages. .
foodcrazee,
cos you’ve been hiding on top of the mountain 😛
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omg…. chef victor! i adopted his dog 2yrs ago 😉
Oh man…I’m 5 months late for this comment! 🙄 Thats becos I’m no longer at Leos and i’m now working in China. Works busy-busy…and in China..I thot this blog’s blocked too…till I thot I try my luck to open it..and Hey Presto!
So mousey…my beloved Cheusi’s guardian…how are you, bro??! Never thot I’d meet you here. Drop me a line sometime…readyvic2u@yahoo.com and post me some pics of Cheusi too…darn…I miss her! Thanks KY for hooking us up again..yup..darn small world! cheers…vic
Victor: you’re welcome 😀
mousey,
waa, small world!