Rock Salt Grill & Coffee @ Setapak

This restaurant is definitely worth a visit with it delish spread of Pakistani cuisines that are set to warm you from the bottom of the heart. The fact is that not many local eatery that actually serves good Middle Eastern fare, let alone those that could actually prepare the dishes deliciously in the authentic way.

It’s pretty quirky from its exterior design, where the restaurant owner who hails from Pakistan, tries to infuse some personal touch alongside some chic décor at his restaurant to cater for the taste bud of the locals here. This can later be seen in the array of food in the menu that offer diners varieties of fusion food. Therefore, at one glance, one might mistaken this restaurant to be one of those big COFFEE shops in town, you know what I mean :D

The setting of its interior is spacious and comfortable, with al fresco section available at your preference. For those who have a sweeh tooth, they do have a dessert corner to satisfy your sweet craving :D

And here is the team of the committed kitchen crew :D

The restaurant owner shares with us his insight and experience prior to the start up of the restaurant.

Shurpa Soup

First to warm up our already hungry tummy is this Shurpa Soup. The specialty of this soup lies in the fresh ingredients used like lamb, carrots, potatoes and some light touches of herbs. The clear soup seems to resemble the usual ABC soup we used to have, but after one sip, it definitely set a higher standard to its camouflage :D It is very rich in herb taste and fragrant, accompanied by the tender lamb meat which is very soft and delish in stimulating your palate. Besides, the carrots also lend a hand in some natural sweetness with the soft boiled potatoes. Worry not as I barely detect any goatish smell in the soup :D  No wonder it is one of the chef recommended dish.

Hummus

Next to join us is Hummus, a signature fare of Arabic starter. It is a smooth paste made of grounded Channa or more friendly known as chickpea, then mashed with garlic, lemon and olive oil. It’s bit of sandy texture, where you get to enjoy the fragrance of chickpea, and then spread the bean paste on a freshly baked piece of Naan. So much so it might appear as an acquired taste for certain people, I do opine that this dish is better than the hummus served at Naab Restaurant, for this fare here also give out some peanut butter-like taste, which I find it pretty interesting and quite healthy too, with fresh olive to accompany. You may try it out yourself :D

Caesar Salad

Guess it’s time to give out little tummy some time-out. And so, we have this refreshing Caesar Salad that comes with lettuce, homemade croutons, Parmesan cheese with egg and garlic naan stick (Yeah, you heard me right, rather than the conventional cheese stick :P ). The salad greens are very fresh and crisp. It is nice to go along with its light dressing which i suppose to be a light mixture of vinegar and also some black pepper. Therefore, giving an aromatic pepperish flavour a rise in wetting your taste bud. It's not overly spiced, so no worry on that. Also, don’t forget to pair it with the accompanied Naan stick for some kick! But when the stick has been exposed to the air, it could be bit hard, if you don't mind then still good to munch on :D Guess this is a pretty cool and creative fusion of salad then.

Lamb Mandi

Our taste buds are surely non-stop being wetted with scrumptious food such as this Lamb Mandi. I must really compliment the Mandi rice, which is especially double thumbs up, apart from its succulent lamb meat. The elongated rice is slightly longer than the usual rice grain, but having a better texture that offers diners a plethora of herb fragrance, even when eaten just like that. This Arabic Mandi is so awesome that you won’t feel oily at all. Oh, not forgetting the next hero which is the Lamb Mandi, where the meat is baked in Yemeni traditional way with Arabic spices till soft and tender, then served with Mandi rice and  garlic mint sauce. The meat has no goatish smell at all. Later do I know that the meat is actually baked on top of rice, using special stove with the inhouse spices, that in a way, allow each grain of rice to be thoroughly infused with the fragrance of herbs as well as the juices of the lamb meat too. Wonderful!

Trust me, this Mandi Rice is REALLL..... GOOD!

Butter Chicken

This is one of my favourite must-pick menu whenever am out for Indian fare. All of the boneless chicken meat is indeed very juicy and tender, well marinated and adequately cooked in the butter curry which I find very creamy and tasty. It is also mild buttery and nearly has the cheesy flavor which amuse me the most. I also enjoy the way they sprinkled it with some coriander for better aroma. This fare is also good to go with either fragrant Mandi rice or the freshly baked naan bread. If compared with the same fare I had at Anjappar Restaurant, which is richer in butter flavor, this is still equally good and mouthwatering. Yummy!

Peshawari Chicken Karahi

Looking fiery good next is another fantabulous fare; Peshawari Chicken Karahi. Its bright hue presentation is already very appetizing, which uses various ingredients comprising of freshly cooked chicken with spices before served with fragrant coriander and slices of ginger. The chicken cutlet is really juicy and tender, fully infused with the herbs gist from the gravy, albeit slightly oily. Astoundingly, the added capsicums of red and yellow variant are still very crisp and sweet to the taste bud. I find myself can’t help but to load in more joyfully :D

Family Mix Kebab

Ensue shortly is the popular Pakistani grilled platters that is agreeably healthy for only low amount of salt and fat ingredients are used in the preparation of this dish; Family Mix Kebab. Besides, it is said that only pure natural meat is used to make the kebab while retaining a small amount of spices. This pick comes in six pieces of succulently grilled kebab that are served with salad, namely Chicken Shangri-La, Chicken Resmi, Chicken Malai Boti, Lamb Tikka, Lamb Reshmi and Lamb Gola Kebab. Most of the grilled meat carry a balmy of yogurt and mild cream spice for the chicken, whereas for the minced lamb would be just some light spice. I personally find the Lamb Gola Kebab to be the juiciest amongst its peers, almost no goatish smell, and that appeals to me most. You may choose this spread to go along with sumptuous Mandi rice or Naan bread. Nom nom all the way :D

Pavlova

Soon to round up our dining on a sweet note would be this alluring Pavlova. I still could recall that funny moment when this dessert is being laid on the table, suddenly, all the foodie especially the fairer sex, gone crazily over admiring this colourful assembly of antioxidants fruits, as though all the nearby macho chaps didn’t exist at all. Hilarious but that’s what happened :D So never underestimate the power of dessert has on the ladies :P The presentation of Pavlava would surely never failed to melt any foodie’s heart. Consist of few layers of meringue-like pastry, it’s already slightly sugary on its own, then it’s further complemented with some cream as well as some fresh berries on the top. It’s light on the palate and best shared with another friend :D

Hot Chocolate

This swirling coffee art design surely will bring some smile to you face the moment you look at it. It’s so adorable with its whimsical spiral presentation that tempts you into stirring it all up :D The hot chocolate served here is quite good indeed. It’s full of chocolate aroma with minimum foam that is just suffice to make way for the ‘chocolate art’ on its top. It’s not too sweet and good to enjoy it while it’s hot. Love it!

Cappucino

As for the Cappucino, the feedback received is merely so-so. It still tastes bit bitter or sour in the more accurate coffee context, and thus you might need to add some brown sugar into it to balance up the cuppa enjoyment to your preference. You could actually see there are some traces of coffee powder surrounding the art design pleasantly. Nevertheless, it is still enjoyable with the minimum requirement for a  good cup of coffee and occasionally amused by the very unique design of the packaging of the sugar. There are many pictures depicting the local heritage buildings including KLCC Twin Towers and many more :D Quite innovative too! ^_^

Latte

The other compatriot  which is equally good is this velvety latte. It also comes in a delightful love design with some light brownish hue as the background. The cuppa is agreeably good, where the content of milk is sufficiently incorporated to create a smooth texture on top of the latte art design by the in house friendly bartender :D It also comes with a good coffee body with appealing aroma to the taste bud. I was thinking if it could be paired with a slice of biscotti, then it would be even greater! ^_^