Have a beef steak @ La Vacas in Mont Kiara

Perhaps one of the most unusual places that I would like to have a piece of good steak and wines is under a shade with no air condition. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with al-fresco dining and my heat tolerance levels but sometimes with the heat wave in KL, you wished you can dine comfortably under the cool breeze.

Las Vacas is "The Cows" in Spanish terms. And there is no surprise what type of food they will be serving here. The difference is, this is more like a no frill dining place where there's a simple menu consisting of beef and lamb in different cuts, some burgers and also light food like bruschetta, soup, beef wrap and also salads. It's also a meat shop where you can buy your meat and cook it at home like a Master Chef!



The different types of beef available are - Wagyu, Angus (grain/grass fed) or normal beef and you can choose your cuts - ribeye, striploin, tenderloin and also rump. Prices range from RM15 - RM60 per 100gm.

The ordering process is very easy : you either choose the cuts from the menu or you can walk over to their chiller to choose the meat on display and then choose how you want it to be prepared. The styles are quite standard - rare, medium rare, medium or medium well... The beef steak comes with a side dish of garden salad and also a slice of garlic baguette. And if you think it's too plain, they have a few sauces on the table for you to compliment the steak such as the HP sauce, Dijon mustard and seed mustard if you prefer.



I had a mushroom soup (RM5.50) that night. It seemed like most of the nights, their soup of the day would be the mushroom soup. It's not the best tasting mushroom soup but at that price, it tasted pretty good but it's not thick enough and the flavours are not very distinctive either. But hey, it' still better than some out-of-can soup!

Angus Ribeye Grass Fed Steak

I had a Angus Grass Fed steak of 260g done medium rare. I didn't have it with any sauce as I've always like a plain steak where you can taste the flavours of the meat better. Actually I'm not a fan of mustard either...

Pardon me for the bad quality of pictures. I have a crappy point & shoot camera and under dark conditions like this, I had to use the candle to lit up the picture as the flash was too harsh. The meat was prepared medium rare, the way I wanted it but as you can see, this is also a thin steak of about an inch thick. The outside layer is grilled very well and it secured the juiciness of the steak within. Not much chewing needed as I'm always afraid I get a piece of steak that has the texture of a chewing gum! It was a very good tasting steak and I must say, it's worth another visit.

Brunello di Montalcino 1995 Riserva Poggio All'Oro

To compliment the steak, I had a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 1995 from Castello Banfi. courtesy of my dining partner. Rated 91 points by Wine Spectator. Using the sangiovese (pronounced "sahn-joh-veh-zeh") grapes, this wine from the Tuscany is really good! It's actually a semi-classic grape grown in the Tuscany region of Italy which is also used to produce the Chianti and other Tuscan red wines. It has a very nice tobacco and earthy nose and lots of black cherries and plums on the palate. It's really a nice brunello, medium-bodied and firm tanins. I would say it's drinking very well now!



The dinner for two costs RM200 with 2 soups of the day, 2 Angus grass fed beef steak @RM28/100g and RM30 for the corkage charge. You can bring your own wines here as they do not sell any. It's about RM100 per person which I think it's not cheap but not too expensive either. There's only 2 tables in the air conditioned area but it's too smoky inside. There are only a few tables and therefore you might want to make a reservation ahead of your visit and bring cash because sometimes their credit card system is down.

We were lucky as it has just rained and it wasn't too hot while dining there. I would say the beef is worth coming back but the ambiance might not be that great. After that, we adjourned for a cup of double ristretto latte at Ristretto @ 10 Mont Kiara. The coffee still tasted great and Julian is still a good barista!

Las Vacas @ Shoplex, Mont Kiara, KL
LG, Lot 1A, New Wing Mont Kiara Shoplex,
Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara,
50480 Kuala Lumpur
(Beside Baskin Robbins & opposite Plaza Mont Kiara)
Telephone No.: 603-6205 2258
Opening Hours: 10am - late (Closed on Mondays)

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