The octopus is very tender and offers silken bites of the sea that tick all the right boxes. — Photos: Bocado KL
Growing up in Galicia, Spain, 24-year-old Victor Santos was a hair’s breadth away from the Atlantic Ocean. As a consequence, the meals of his childhood were moulded and framed around the bounty of the sea.
“In Galicia, we are like the seafood suppliers for the rest of Spain,” he says, laughing.
Santos says that his own mother wasn’t a very good cook, which is what spurred his adventures in the kitchen from the age of 12, as he wanted his family to enjoy good home-cooked meals.
“My mum didn’t cook very well so that is why I tried to improve our meals. Even when we went out to restaurants, I would eat something and be like ‘This dish is nice. Maybe I can try (making) it at home’. My efforts may not have borne the same quality, but I kept trying,” he says.
As a young adult, Santos decided to pursue a culinary arts education and eventually ended up travelling and working all over Spain. Once he had figured out the ins and outs of Spanish cuisine, he worked in Switzerland before eventually ending up in Bali, Indonesia where he was then offered the opportunity to head a Spanish restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
Santos is the passionate young chef behind Bocado’s interesting new array of Spanish dishes.
And that is how Santos ended up helming the kitchen of Bocado, a sprawling, sun-dappled Spanish restaurant in KL’s affluent Damansara Heights.
Since he has taken over, Santos has gone about adding his own Galician touches to the menu, which was previously more Mediterranean-influenced.
“Before, the food was reflective of the cuisine of the Mediterranean coast, but Galicia is off the Atlantic coast, so now I try to mix both cuisine styles at the restaurant. I know Mediterranean food is more popular but Galician cuisine is important to me, because I grew up there,” he says.
The new menu includes plenty of traditional tapas, pinchos and main meals as well as items that are reflective of Santos’ own familial background and lineage.
The gambas al ajillo features voluptuous prawns coated in a garlicky olive oil bath.
To start, you could opt to have the Anchoas & Boquerones (RM42), a new northern Spanish addition to the menu that sees two different kinds of anchovies – one cured in salt and one cured in vinegar, alongside cream cheese on toast. This is a meal that offers aquatic undertones heightened by both a perky tang as well as a briny underbelly. All of this is tied together by the toast, which has a slight crispness but is otherwise soft and doughy.
Next, have a go at the selection of tapas on offer. You could opt to start with something more classic like the perennial favourite Gambas Al Ajillo (RM52). This evergreen Spanish stalwart is made up sizzling prawns drenched in olive oil, garlic, chilli and parsley in what proves to be an immutably addictive combination.
The prawns are fat and fluffy and the oil is suffused with garlicky nuances and a slightly fiery underbelly and all this goodness can be mopped up with the bread provided on the side, which is the ideal receptacle for soaking up all this oil-laden witchery.
Seafood is a huge part of the menu now that Santos is at the helm, so do yourself a favour and indulge in the Vieras en Crema de Puerro (RM68) which is essentially pan-seared scallops heaped atop a roasted leek cream. The scallops are fat and perfectly cooked – a slightly blistered surface gives way to pillowy soft, sweet flesh within and this oceanic simplicity is buoyed by the leek cream – which is smooth with lightly vegetal undertones. It’s a meal that celebrates the beauty of good ingredients in a wonderfully unabashed way.
The new anchoas & boquerones dish pays homage to anchovies cured two ways.
Continue plunging through underwater territory with the Pulpa a la Gallega (RM88) which is essentially Atlantic octopus on a bed of potato chiffon mousse with paprika and aioli. The highlight here is the octopus, which is incredibly pliant and devoid of that dreaded chewiness so often associated with cephalopods. This is further enhanced by the potato mousse which offers silken spuds that are creamy to the touch.
Moving on to more substantial fare, try the Paella de Marisco (RM142 for two people) which is the quintessential Spanish seafood rice meal.
“In Spain, families across the country have this over the weekends – it is served in a large pan and everybody digs in and shares the meal,” says Santos.
In this iteration, the rice is drier and is surrounded with large prawns, mussels, clams and squid in what proves to be a rich exploration of the bounty of the sea. The rice itself is packed with aquatic flavours (although perhaps a little lacking in depth) while the seafood is very fresh. It is a meal that is underscored by the provenance of the seafood elements in the meal.
The lamb has been slow-cooked for 16 hours and is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Bocado also has a Spanish Josper oven (a specialised charcoal grilling oven) and an array of steaks and other meats that are charcoal grilled to perfection. But if you’re looking to deviate from the standard cattle on offer, definitely try the Paletillia de Cabrito (RM325) which is a 16-hour slow-cooked Spanish suckling lamb shoulder.
The lamb is fall-off-the bone tender and has retained a slightly crispy skin that quickly segues into incredibly juicy meat that has a lovely succulence and plenty of flavour. It’s the sort of meat that gives rise to rapturous exclamations of joy.
End your meal with the Churros (RM45) which is served with chocolate sauce, pistachio crème anglaise and a berry marmalade. Churros are a Spanish dessert that are essentially long, ridged dough batons fried to crisp perfection. Here, the churros are slightly thinner but no less delicious and this fried doughy goodness tastes even better when it is dredged in the chocolate sauce or even the pistachio crème, which is a surprising sleeper hit.
Moving forward, Santos says he hopes to pepper the menu with more Galician delights in time to come and is hopeful that an increasing number of Malaysians will embrace the beauty of Spanish cuisine.
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the churros are a delight from start to finish.
“I think it is a challenge because we are really far from Spain, so it is hard to get good quality products because we don’t have a lot of suppliers. Also we do have to adapt the flavours a bit for the Malaysian palate.
“And in Malaysia, Italian and French cuisine is more well-known, because it has also been around for longer. Spanish food is only starting to gain traction here, so that is why I want to introduce more Spanish meals and spread awareness about the cuisine,” says Santos.
Bocado KL
Ground Floor, Bangunan ECM Libra
8 Jalan Damansara Endah
Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-923 3206
Open daily: Noon to midnight
