That blessed day of the year has come again!

Wow, looking back… how I spent this last year’s as well as this year’s birthday has been a vast difference from my insane party-hard birthdays of my much younger days.

I guess when we grow up, we tend to want to spend our special day in the comfort of our loved ones and enjoying quality conversations… instead of banging it out hard at the clubs/raves. (Save that for the weekends instead! 😛 )

This year, I’m lucky enough to spend it with the love of my life again – for the second time!

Last year, he surprised me to our city’s Helipad to enjoy the wondrous sky-high view and the delicious meal at Heli Lounge Bar.

Just a little throwback before we start with this year’s birthday celebration.

(Terrible low-light photo quality – forgot to bring my camera!)

Moo brought me to enjoy a rather different cuisine for our dinner date this time round.

As we’re so used to the likes of Italian, Arabic, North Indian, American and local food already, we decided to check out what Spanish cuisine has in store for us.

(Do I hear a hola!?) So off we adjourned to Estilo in Publika KL. 

Beautiful, authentic setting.

The view from our seat

The interior decor was a pretty interesting one – it had wooden arches partitioning different sections of the restaurant, with standard dining tables and seats, with the option of sofa seating (like ours!) and a bar-top area with high chairs. 

There’s also the alfresco area – but we’ll get to that later. 

Handpainted Spanish crockery

The waiter who attended to us was anything we’d want a waiter to be: knowledgeable, friendly and polite.

To manage expectations, he explained what the dishes were, its main ingredients and how it will look like – trust me, reading the menu in Spanish proves to be an arduous task!

We appreciated the gesture and placed our orders.

His and hers (for sharing): Chocolate Milkshake & Freshly Squeezed Watermelon Juice.

Yeah, yeah… kids’ drinks. Don’t chide us! We would’ve gotten wine but it was a weekday and since our weekends are usually full of that, we’d thought we’d play it down a little.

Plus, my guilty pleasure has always been fruit juices and anything chocolate/milk based 😀

While waiting for our sumptuous feast to arrive.

We were half worried that we wouldn’t be able to finish all the dishes we ordered. We hear they come in huge portions! 

Table talks. Let the quality conversations ensue!

We were served fluffy house bread and butter as we await our entrées & main course

Berenjenas 

This tapas appetizer had aubergine crisps, chickpea mash and mostillo reduction. We loved how crispy and tasty this was. I’m a huge fan of aubergine so I was naturally thrilled!

Costillas de Cordero

This dish of whole rack baby lamb ribs was flavourful, and very well-done! 

You know how fat lambs usually are, right? But this one was hardly considered fat, in comparison. It was also served with baked potatoes in their skins, homemade french fries and a delicious triple delight of Estilo signature sauces – Mojo Green, Peri Peri & Piquillo.

Go taste them for yourself and find out what they are made of!

We couldn’t decide which was our fave as all three complemented the ribs perfectly. 

We made sure to make space in our stomachs for the main event… *drumroll*

It’s finally here! The glorious, glorious Paella Estilo 

Strictly for sharing! Unless well, you have an appetite of an entire starving population.

I’ve only eaten Paella once in my life – at a Carlsberg event 2 years ago in La Bodega, Pavilion KL. It was seafood paella and to my best memory, I distinctly remember how delicious and hearty it was.

Moo giving it a good mix before we dug in!

This one surpassed expectations too. With chicken chorizo, chicken & green beans in rich chicken stock, this giant hotplate was certainly a reason to revel in delight.

Largely filling, bursting with flavour and yummy to every bite, I’m glad moo’s first time with Paella was a good experience!

Don’t forget a selfie with the Paella!

 As expected, we weren’t able to finish the entire portion.

We ended up packing the remaining away for brunch the next day. Moo excused himself to wash his hands – at this point, I was thinking to myself, “Wash hands? For? We didn’t even eat with our hands – full on cutlery till the end!”

But as he returned with a smirk on his face, I knew he was up to something. 

Thanks dearest!!

You never cease to surprise me!

Right from the lovely bouquet of pink roses delivered to my office desk this morning to this enjoyable birthday dinner date.

Thank you for the tiramisu birthday cake surprise. Time to make a wish!

Here’s to many more birthdays with you.

We decided to catch a breather and headed to the alfresco area for some fresh air – also to finish up our drinks and dessert.

So full to the brim! 

T’was a lovely end to an awesome dinner date

Our view of Estilo, from the alfresco area.

For the awesome dinner, surprise bouquet at my office this morning and for making my birthday a memorable one yet again, I owe it to you.

Thanks a bunch, moo!

Now, just wait and see what I have up my sleeve for your birthday this time round.

 Also, thumbs up to Estilo for making our night and my birthday one to remember.

Viva la Espana! 

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For reservations and more details on this restaurant:

Check out their website at: www.estilo.com.my

LIKE them on Facebook at: fb.com/estilo.my

Call them at their contact number: +603-62039883

Drop by this address: 

Estilo Tapas Bar & Charcoal Grill
No 34, Level G2 Block C5,
Publika Solaris Dutamas,
Jln Dutamas 1,
50480, Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours: Monday – Sunday (11am – 1am)