Meat me for a square meal

Tender medium rib-eye with a slight pink centre

Rack of grain-fed 60-day lamb if you don’t eat beef

LUNCH at Meatworks? Isn’t that the place also known as Beeftopia? Hey, I don’t eat beef! I feel miserable as I think of nibbling on bread and carrot sticks while Aref Omar and Jehan smack their lips on thick, juicy steaks.

“It’s just not fair,” I complain to restaurateur Izzana Salleh who laughs and assures me of a square meal.

The appearance of a board of flatbread (RM12) with a hot tomato sauce and marinated feta with lemon and black olives is not exactly comforting. Is this what the gorgeous Izzana means?

Not that the bread and dips aren’t scrumptious. In fact, the woodfired bread is such an excellent foil for the dips that we’re tempted to ask for more.

Chef Riz Redzuawan recommends Meatworks Tapas (RM30 per person, minimum two persons) platter with six items on a shared basis. We have tuna nicoise, panfried scallops, quail, pasta, Whitlof Trevisse salad and crab cakes.

I love the blue swimmer crab cakes. Made in house, breaded and fried to a crisp, they are stunning with a creamy crustacean sauce, pink grapefruit and fava beans. The tuna is panfried lightly to leave a pink centre and comes with green beans, tomatoes, new potatoes and kalamata olives while the scallops are given a light hand to retain a translucent, succulent centre.

I like the Whitlof salad — cubes of pear and red apples tossed with a blue cheese and walnut vinaigrette.

The tagliatelle pasta is rich and cheesy, with a citrusy edge while the panroasted quail is earthy with the flavour of shaved truffle and deliciously juicy, with hints of black pepper.

We lick our fingers clean after tearing into the quail and sip steaming mouthfuls of mushroom cappuccino (RM15). Why is it called cappuccino, I wonder aloud. Izzana explains that it used to be served in cappuccino cups but customers wanted bigger portions, so it is now served in bowls.

The restaurant is filling up. Conversation halts as a group of 15 nearby tucks into their set lunches. Meatworks offers a set lunch (RM10) with Asian and Western options.

From a single shoplot, the restaurant has expanded to take over the corner unit next door. The new section is bright and cheerful while romantics can continue to enjoy the soft ambience in the old side. Customers also come in to buy quality cuts of beef that comes from the National Feedlot Corporation’s cattle farm (see story in centrespread).

But beef is what most customers come here for. Meatworks is not called beeftopia for nothing. The 200g rib-eye (RM58) — one medium and one well-done — arrive.

Aref wanted his meat well-done. “From experience, medium had always been a little too rare and bloody.”

But he was persuaded to try a slice of medium, with just a right tinge of pink in the centre and not a drop of blood.

His verdict? “The meat is succulent and tender. Yet it has a slight texture, not just a piece of mush in the mouth. The warm taste goes well with the almost sweet juices, complimented by the delicious sauce,” he says.

His only grouse? “I’d have liked a little more sauce.” Nothing that a quiet word to the staff wouldn’t have fixed.

Other prime beef on the menu are bone in fillet, fillet, sirloin, rib eye on bone and T-bone.

Happily, as Izzana promises, there are lots of other choices. I’m having Castricum grain-fed 60-day lamb (RM55). The four ribs of lamb are spit-roasted to medium and served with sides of carrots, mashed and potato. A sliver of fat on the top seals in the juices.

Not a meat-eater? Try fish. The barramundi (RM48) is excellent if a little pricey. Crisp around the edges, the panroasted fish fillet is flakey and juicy inside. It comes with pearl barley herb risotto and salad.

Pasta is not on the menu but don’t let that stop your cravings. There’s even a lovely mushroom pasta for vegetarians. Meatworks uses Rustichella d’Arbruzzo pasta. Our seafood penne rigate (RM29.90) is doused in a rich tomato sauce with a sprinkle of chili flakes to give it extra oomph. Lots of contrasting textures with large shrimps, fish fillet and whole scallops.

Meatworks opens daily from 8am to midnight.



MEATWORKS (halal)

2G 3A Jalan Solaris 5

Block H, Solaris Mont Kiara

Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-6203 0871