Mon, 2010-05-24 12:23 — admin

Have you ever had Croatian food? No? Well, no worries, because after this review, you're going to want to - and you should, because Croatian food is nothing like you'd ever expect... in a very good way.

By Pauline Wong
Photos by ARIS ZARIL

If you've never ever heard of Croatian food, you are in for a very pleasant surprise. Although initially a colleague and I had figured Croatian for stew-like, hearty and meaty food, what was presented to us by Dubrovnik dashed our illusions. Not that we minded!
We were greeted by hot cups of tea and gracious hospitality, courtesy of General Manager Dina Djumic, whose father opened the restaurant some two years ago out of his love and passion for cooking.

Having lived in Malaysia for 12 years now, Dina is clearly proud of the restaurant, which is beautifully decorated with a rustic feel, to evoke the stoned walls and raw beauty of Croatia.

The food is all at once simple and rich, the cuisine is heavily influenced by Italian flavours and comes with a light, sour-ish palate that will be familiar and foreign to Malaysian tongues.

We began the meal with starters: The delicious Strukli (RM15) and Kozice (RM15).  Strukli is (how do I put this?) friggin' amazing. It is hand-rolled, home-made cheese, lightly fried with fine breadcrumbs that give a mind-blowingly nice crunch to the cheese, which is firm in texture, with a light, unique taste. There is a hint of mustiness, but it is not in the slightest overpowering. The Kozice, which is a cold appetiser, is a dish of fresh prawns and a tangy tomato-based salsa-like sauce. Two words: absolutely delicious.

While we polished the rest of the appetisers, the entrées arrived - first, the Sarma (RM38), which is a special winter dish in Croatia, and second, the Kobase (RM35) which is a meat-and-potato meal with a twist. Sarma is an odd but very pleasing combination of minced beef and rice, rolled in sour pickled cabbage and served with mashed potatoes, all topped off with thick, meaty gravy. It is a one-of-a-kind dish that would warm one down to the toes with its' wholesome goodness.

As for the Kobase, well, I should move to Croatia. Right now. The hand-made sausage and lightly browned potatoes with a cold side of grilled and marinated capsicum (red and green) was an incredibly satisfying and special offering.

To finish everything off, we had Mille Foglie (RM18), which is a wafer-thin, crispy, and multi-layered crepe with creamy custard between each tantalising layer, dusted with icing sugar, set off with just a sharp zing of lemon. If that doesn't get you drooling, I don't know what does.
All in all, excellent food, great ambience and a 'treat yourself' meal is what you will get at Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik
J-0G-14, Solaris Mont Kiara,
No.2 Jalan Solaris,
50480 Kuala Lumpur