The Pressroom Bistro got its name from a traditional wine pressing facility and not the press room for news people as most would think so. I was under the latter impression, too.
Would you like sugar with your coffee?
I had a very pleasant initiation of this bistro’s offerings recently. The Pressroom Bistro serves food which are Mediterranean themed with a slant towards Spanish favourites. I was there for brunch on a weekend and was recommended their weekend special – “Good Roast”, a mixed meat board of Angus boneless brisket, roast chicken and lamb cutlet. The Angus brisket was excellent – so tender yet maintaining a firm texture and the lamb cutlet was just as delicious. The only letdown was the roast chicken which was on the hard and dry side.
Just look at that piece of beef brisket!
The Good Roast platter is inclusive of Cafe Gourmand which consists of mini creme brulee, sorbet, chocolate brownie and Illy Espresso.
If you don’t want to make too many decisions, go for this as it is a good showcase of the bistro’s favourites. The Good Roast is available every weekend 12pm to 3pm, priced at RM65++ for 1, RM130++ for 2. Add RM25++ for free-flow of Spanish wine.
While waiting for my next dish, I had their signature Salade Nicoise (RM28) – the bistro’s version had seared tuna, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, french beans, potatoes, black olives, egg, anchovies, capers tossed in lemon vinaigrette and all arranged very prettily on the plate.
The Pressroom Bistro is very proud of its Josper Oven which handles all the baked and roasted items on the menu. It is a traditional Spanish closed indoor barbecue which uses charcoal heat and precision temperature control for cooking everything to absolute perfection. This results in the dish having extracts of the smokey aroma from the oven while retaining all the natural juices.
The meats from the Good Roast had proven the superiority of the Josper oven and I had a few more dishes which bore testament to that awesome oven. Both the Spanish Octopus (RM85) and the Australian grain-fed Angus Tenderloin (RM88) were superb.
Spanish Octopus
A whole octopus tentacle has been grilled in the oven and when I ate a slice of it, I was taken aback by its amazing texture. I had expected it to be somewhat rubbery but I was proven totally wrong. Instead, it was tantalisingly succulent with a nice firm bounciness to it. It’s one of the best grilled octopus I’ve ever eaten. Each precious slice of the tentacle was savoured with much relish together with the buttery paprika mash it was served on.
Next time, I want the entire portion for myself!
I succumbed to the temptation and ordered a serving of the 100% Australian grain-fed Angus Tenderloin (RM88). When my medium-rare steak was cut, it revealed a luscious juicy pink centre, perfectly grilled by that amazing Josper oven.
Isn’t this a beauty?
Not only meats and seafood are handled in the Josper, eggs are given a similar treatment. The Josper Grilled Scrambled Eggs (RM39) is a dish no one can resist. The consistency of the gooey eggs was just right to coat the prawns, onions and tomatoes in a creamy fluffy blanket. The perfect way to enjoy this is to heap spoonfuls of this delightful creaminess onto freshly toasted sourdough slices.
Cheese lovers must order the more wicked version – Oven baked Herbed Provolone Cheese with toasted sourdough (RM26). It’s so good I almost didn’t want to share it.
But then I was told the fresh clams had just arrived and would I like to try their Oven baked Fresh Clams (RM28)? There’s no way I would say No to that as I adore clams! So I had a pot of these sweet clams, tossed in white wine and chilli which were so addictive that I vowed to return for more.
Even though I had a taste of the bistro’s signature sweets earlier with the Good Roast, I just had to have their Chocolate Millefeuille with mixed berries (RM22). It’s a chocolate lover’s dream come true: thin slivers of dark chocolate between layers of cream and mixed berries – heavenly!
The Pressroom Bistro in Pavilion is a great pitstop for your shopping jaunts there. Now I know where to head to whenever I’m in that mall, especially when memories of that octopus tentacle still lingers very strongly in my mind… and my tummy.
The Pressroom Bistro
Lot C3.10.02 Level 3
Connection Precinct
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2148-3889
www.pressroom.com.my