San Telmo, CBD MELB

I have been wanting to dine here since last year but never did find time to initiate an outing here. I do appreciate a good piece of steak and coupled by the fact that it's part of my post birthday celebration, it was the perfect excuse to brave Melbourne's downpour on a Thursday evening.

Service was not very attentive as the restaurant was fairly busy and overall, the atmosphere could have been better if not for the loud music.

Lamb and mushroom empanada - Akin Malaysia's version of curry puff. Filling was yummy but at $6, it was a little too dear to have ordered more.

Calamar - char grilled cuttlefish with tomatoes, almond hummus and watercress. Light and refreshing best describes this dish, a perfect entree before we commence on the heartier plates.

Mejilla de Cerdo - braised Berkshire pork jowl with crackling. Again, another delicious number that had been well seasoned and marinated, paired well with crispy crackling. I would happily order this dish if it came in a main size. It was that good.

For our mains, I opted to try the juicier cuts of steak such as the hanger and flank parts as it would truly reflect how well a chef can perform with the un-premium cuts of meat. And yes, I was very impressed with both dishes. Seasoned perfectly, with a slight caramelised, salty exterior made all the more tempting by a char grilled aroma. No sauce needed at all.

Tarta de chocolate - what appears to be a seemingly ordinary chocolate tart was actually one of the better ones that I have tasted. The tart's filling was warm and gooey whilst the shell enclosing it was rich and firm, providing good coverage for it. Ice cream was equally delicious but could not out match the delicious filling.

Flan: dulce de leche creme caramel with salted peanut praline. I absolutely loved this piece as well. The small but potent scoop of dulce de leche on top of the creme caramel was incredibly yummy and I was begging for more after each bite. Salted peanut praline was generous in terms of the amount of nuts used but again, there can only be one star of the dish and this was sitting on top of the creme caramel.