Makan Review: Qba, Westin KL

Not to be confused with Q-bar in Sunway, this Qba is located on the lower ground floor of Westin Hotel, along Jln Bukit Bintang. Unfamiliar with the hotel, I had to ask a hotel staff to locate the restaurant. Once I stepped in, I was impressed. Very classy setting, Spanish kind of deco, with latino music playing in the background. Waitresses in short flair Spanish skirts with generous smile. Nice.

Sat down, ordered a bottle of Australian wine (RM140++). We were served some garlic breads, which were soft and taste really good (not those cheap crispy, hard like rock garlic breads you get from Pizza Hut). Good start. Then proceed with a starter, which is a plate of soft shell crab (RM25++). It was delicious. Although I personally still prefer the soft shell crab from Genki. As for main course, I ordered a Argentinian steak (RM70++), while my dinner mate had a lobster meal (RM70++). Both dishes looked really good, and my steak was just perfect, juicy and succulent. Topped up with dessert. We had a Casonade Catalana (some dessert like jell-o) and a Mud Pie (RM15++ each). Satisfying. Great meal, nice ambience.

Qba is actually made up of 2 levels. The upper level is the Latin restaurant, while the downstairs is a bar/lounge area with a live band. By the time we finished our dinner, the band has not started yet (supposed to start at 10.30pm... on a weekday night which I feel is a little too late). But there are indeed some crowd already lounging around. Not sure if I am already kinda tipsy, but I do get some looks from some of the older women there (well, most of the women there are older). Ah, even better. But we didn't stayed on. We went over to Planet Hollywood for a drink. That's another review later on. Apparently Qba gets pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights. So, I guess it warrants another visit someday, just to see whether I still get the looks from the ladies there. Hmmm.

Overall, it is a classy (also very expensive) place to dine and wine. Especially good if you are out to impress a girl (or if you are girl, get your guy to bring you there so you can see him cringe as he pays the bill). Make reservation on weekends, preferably. Ask for table #8 or #10. Perfect privacy.

Qba Latin Restaurant
Food: 4 of 5
Service: 3 of 5 (friendly, but not intrusive)
Ambience: 4 of 5
Overall: 4 of 5