[Penang, Malaysia] Asian-Western fusion options at Cueva, Gurney Walk

Lunch today was at ๐—–๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ, a newish 20-day-old casual eatery at Gurney Walk. It was surprisingly good, displaying some very proficient cooking by its multinational kitchen crew of 6 which seemed to transcend cultural boundaries.

๐—–๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ is Spanish for โ€˜caveโ€™, but here, the well-balanced flavours and textures in the dishes we had pointed to a higher level of culinary competency. No Paleo or caveman diet here, but a well-paced parade of tasty dishes that emerged from their kitchen to satisfy our hungry appetites.

We wanted a quick lunch, so opted for a set of 6 tapas items (RM168), where we were allowed to choose two tapas dishes from each of its three categories: ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ณ (seafood), ๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ณ (meats) and ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป (vegetables).

  1. Garlic Prawns โ€“ shades of Spanish ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ซ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ, but its generous scattering of sliced garlic leant more towards the Asian. Generous, bouncy-fresh prawns.

  1. Clams in White Sauce โ€“ more a clear โ€œwhite wine sauceโ€ than the creamy, bechamel โ€œwhite sauceโ€ weโ€™d imagined when we read the menu. We enjoyed it all the same โ€“ deep flavours from the clams that I always enjoyed, think the soup from Italian ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ.

  1. Beef Tenderloin Cubes โ€“ nothing beats a well-seared piece of steak. The one here was charred on the outside, pink & medium-rare inside. It cuts like butter, perfectly toothsome on the palate. Cubed, the meaty morsels formed a delicious ring around a cloud-like poached egg, dusted with paprika. Spear one of the cubed steak-let and dip into the poached egg, letting the molten yolk impart an added richness to the meat.

  1. Chicken Meatballs โ€“ another Spanish staple: ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ด, given an Asian makeover (no European spicing detected, i.e., fennel seeds, oregano, bay leaves). This is a pork-less eatery, so I rather miss the richness and sweetness which pork could have imparted on the meatballs.

  1. Brussels Sprouts โ€“ the simplest side here, halved Brussels sprouts given a thorough sautรฉing in the pan, then served with a sweetish creamy dip (mayo?).

  2. Vegetarian Tacos โ€“ very nice vegetarian rendition, with chopped tomatoes, onions, corn & cilantro.

Very simple but enjoyable meal โ€“ weโ€™d only explored the tapas menu, so will need to return to try the main dishes which Cuevas offers.

Address
Cueva
G7, Gurney Walk, 18 Persiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive), 10250 George Town, Penang
Tel: +6011-8888 0079
Opening hours: 11am-11pm Mon-Thu, Sat & Sun.
11am-1am Fri.

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