El Cerdo @ Changkat Bukit Bintang KL - Great German Food Great Experience

Dining at El Cerdo was a savoir-faire for me. Merely over a night of dining experience, I learnt something new and was intrigued by the cultural norms of dining the European way. Be it the breaking of plates for good luck, the cutting of roast pork with a plate, or the uncountable happy birthday tunes I heard throughout my meal. One thing's for sure, you wouldn't get bored in El Cerdo.

El Cerdo

If you'd frequent the area often enough, you'd know that El Cerdo is one of the busiest restaurant along the bustling street of Changkat Bukit Bintang.

There's always a crowd outside the restaurant, waiting for their turns to devour some of El Cerdo's legendary home-cooked pork dishes, mainly inspired by European recipes. Nose to tail eating they call it. On that note, bookings are absolutely essential.

As you go through this write up, you may notice some dimly-lit outdoor pictures and some brighter indoor ones.

There were 8 of us there that evening, but we arrived in phases, and we did not make any prior booking. Hence, we were given a table of 4 outside in the beginning but was then swapped to a bigger table inside when all of us arrived.

Before I start my review, some pictures of us first.

Uncountable drinks and multiple refills - I lost count of what we had. The drinks menu consist mostly of alcoholic beverages.

Complimentary Bread with Steak Tartar.

As appetizer, breads here are served with two dipping pots of steak tartar. In other words, minced raw beef.

Spanish Ham Platter. Rm48.

What great-great way to kick start our meal! Nibbling on an assortment of Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico, cheese and some greens, before our mains arrived.

Grilled Vegetables. Rm38.

A simple platter of grilled vegetables, yet so perfectly done. Grilled capsicum, eggplants, zucchini and tomatoes served with romesco sauce.

Garlic Prawn. Rm18.

I was expecting a bit more of the garlic prawn tapas that we had. Larger serving of prawns perhaps. 

Bacon Boquerones. Rm26.

Love-Hate relationship with this dish. Love the juicy and flavorsome bacon rolls stuffed with wine marinated anchovies. Didn't like the sweeping rich pork aftertaste. Girls - you may find this a little overwhelming.

Pasta Cavatelli. Rm35.

The pasta's texture and taste reminded me of gnocchi. Served with cheese and smoked pork shoulder ham on a savory cream sauce. Great dish - but not my cup of tea.

German Crispy Knuckle. Rm99.

When this was placed on the table, I thought - woah, that's a pretty humongous portion for two!

Seasoned with herbs and garlic, the pork was very tender and bursting with flavors; the skin was a crackling excitement to the taste buds; the mustard beer sauce and apple mousse complimented the pork; the sauerkraut and potato dumpling at the side were conventional but great condiments. Withal, this could easily feed 4 pork lovers. You have to order this!

Birthday tunes were sang from table to table throughout the night. Led by the many servers and friends of friends who sang along. From what I know, if your birthday happened to fall on the month of the current date, you are entitled to a tray of alcoholic shots. Talk about free drinks on the house!

Cheers to the freakin' weekend
I drink to that, yeah yeah
Oh let the Jameson sink in
I drink to that, yeah yeah

El Cerdo menu Here.

Overall Rating: 8/10. For me, dining here was an experience of it's own. The pork dishes lived up to it's standards and camaraderie of the crowd added good vibes to the overall experience. It was memorable no doubt, but it could also easily set you back about 100 bucks per person at least to sample any one of their signature mains. On that note, I regretted not ordering the infamous suckling roast pig.

El Cerdo is located at:

Address: 43 & 45, Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Phone: +603 2145 0511 / +6013 309 4197