Restaurant with tempting meat dishes
Story and photos by CHARLES FERNANDEZ
Metro, 25 Oct 2007

EVER heard of any outlets in the city that serve authentic Brazilian cuisine. If you have not, then head to Damansara Heights and if you look closely along Medan Setia 2, you will find Salvador Restaurant and Bar. 

Step in and you will notice the distinctively informal ambience of the restaurant and you will immediately be greeted with a welcoming mini expresso soup which changes everyday, even before you can make your first order. 

And after you have paid your bills, you will be surprised with another signature drink free of charge as you are about to leave. This is the restaurant's novel way of thanking its customers. 

According to restaurant proprietor P. David, it is the first Salvador restaurant in the country and although it boasts of authentic Brazilian cuisine, it also has a mixture of European, Latin and African touches in the meals served. 

The restaurant also offers 15 types of beer, both from Europe and South America and New World wines (Australia and New Zealand). 

There is no long menu list but Salvador offers great meat dishes. 

However, the restaurant’s true specialty is the imported suckling piglet either served half or whole, braised with lots of herbs and roasted upon order and served with Spanish white wine sauce. 

"We brush the whole piglet with home-made seasonings, panfry them, grill and then salamander before serving it with lots of salads,’’ said David, who has 14 years of kitchen experience gained from several hotels in the city. 

The servings are unique and those who love pork ribs would not want to leave without sampling them. The meat is marinated with a special herb called oregano. 

The meat is first braised for about 30-40 minutes, and then grilled and like the suckling piglet dish, it is also served with Spanish white wine sauce and green salads. 

Surprisingly, the restaurant emphasizes on pork. Alternatively, prawns, which come wrapped with pork bacon, are also available. 

“Six medium sized prawns are first marinated, and then wrapped individually with pork bacon. It can either be consumed as it is or dipped into a variety of sauces provided at the table,’’ added David. 

The Argentinean tenderloin air flown beef, with a serving of between 350-400gms, is only marinated with stone salt to kill the robust aroma that beef sometimes has. 

The meat is marinated with salt, pepper and herbs. Several strands of the meat are tied together and then grilled and served with either mushroom or pepper sauce. 

Salvador Bar and Restaurant is open daily from noon to midnight. Lunch hour is from 12pm-3pm and dinner from 5pm-midnight. Happy hours are from 5pm-8pm and a jug is priced at RM30.