Las Comidas de España

Simple Spanish dessert that ends our meal on the sweet note. Love how the flan is not cloyingly sweet and instead accompanied by slightly citrusy berries and light chantilly cream. It’s simple but executed well. My friends thought there was nothing special in this dish, but I like it nonetheless for the warm familiarity that it brings to the table.

Seems that the cheesecake craze isn’t going away anytime soon. Here, it’s made of Idiazabal cheese that has buttery and subtly acidic taste profile. On the side is quince ice cream. Now, this was my first time trying quince and I must say it tastes like strawberries but on the citrusy side rather than the sweet side. I also find the ice cream a tad milky to my liking- it tastes more like froyo to me, which after a while felt a bit too much to handle especially with the buttery cheesy tart. Good to share but won’t be able to finish it myself.

Didn’t expect myself to like this as much as I do. It’s a familiar flavour of caramel, peanut and chocolate but in a more elevated way. While the usual snickers are cloyingly sweet, these are ice cream encased by thin cubes of 70% chocolate . Oh and of course, a touch of Frangelico to give that boozy hazelnut flavour.

I have a soft spot for squid (and octopus!) so I might be biased towards this dish. Soft tender squid cooked just right. The black ink is kinda curdly which I’m not entirely sure why. The parsley picada is light and refreshing though, providing a nice balance of acidity and briny flavour profile to the dish.

Basque-style deshelled spider crab. Don’t ask me to guess what’s inside but lemme tell you this is delicious. Briny with lots of crab meat and it goes really well with the toast on the side.

Oozy cheese cake just like how I like my burnt cheese cake to be, but what stands out from this rendition is how savoury the cheese cake is. That pairs really well with the sweet tangy wildberry sorbet. My only gripe is the thick crust base because obviously I want more of the super delicious cheese filling!

I have a soft spot for roasted brussel sprouts, so this caught my eyes. The brussel sprouts are on the crunchier, harder side but they have very good char. The chicken itself is juicy and tender with lovely smokey flavour. Enjoyed this!

Absolute favourite! Soft tender sliced octopus tentacle on top of a thin layer of smooth mashed potato. I haven’t had pulpo gallego with mashed potato before but their mashed potato is sooo good that I’d gladly have it again. The olive oil and sweet paprika also add more subtle flavours to the salty goodness, making this the best dish I had in Kulto.

Super smooth, fragrant tahini sauce for the soft roasted cauliflower. Couldn’t really taste any char from the cauliflower. The sauce is addictive and the added hazelnut just elevate the nutty flavour further. Such a hefty price tag for the dish though, so I was expecting sth mindblowing only to be disappointed. Overall a great dish, just not at the price point.

My least favourite of the lot. It’s pretty underwhelming and I don’t appreciate the soft cannelloni (prefer something more al dente). The oxtail filling is generous but doesnt pack much flavours (in fact, it’s quite gamey? not sure if that’s the intention here). The bechamel and porcini sauce is good but not solid enough to give some characters to the overall dish.

Local twist to the usual croquettes. The croquettes has slightly crispy skin with generous filling of crab and bechamel sauce. The chilli crab sauce was surprisingly alright (I am apprehensive of anything chilli crab)- not too sweet nor sour, but not spicy either. Great start to the meal!

My favourite since my first visit to Esquina. Yeap, it doesn’t come with typical skillet but imo that’s what makes it great. Rice is cooked just nice with just the right ratio of rice and crispy bits. Dollops of bafun uni and saffron allioli help to coat the rice with creamy sweetness and umami. Seriously cannot get tired of this dish!