Ad: Food Review: La Gomera Restaurant @ Damansara Perdana

Hey all! I know it's been a super long time since my last update. Sorry sorry sorry sangat, was way too busy! However, in my absence I, of course, had to eat so I have a couple of food reviews (or more) up my sleeves ;) Just recently, I went to a lunch buffet with my boyfriend at La Gomera Restaurant at NEO Damansara in Damansara Perdana. I had never heard of this restaurant before to be honest, and I only knew about it when I saw it on Groupon. I thought that it was a good deal; only RM21 for a lunch buffet at a Spanish restaurant. Neither of us had tried Spanish food before, nor did we know much about it, so we thought a buffet would be the perfect introduction to the cuisine!

First, let's talk about the location. Location-wise it's awesome in my opinion. Awesome in the sense that it's easy to find! For someone like me, who isn't used to driving in areas that I'm not familiar with, it was still easy to find. I took the Penchala Link to get to Damansara Perdana, and right as I was entering the area, I could see the restaurant's signboard. Thumbs up for that! However, NEO Damansara is a relatively new area, so there is nothing to see there; no other shops were open and there was a lot of construction going on. Still, there was plenty of parking and it was easy to find :)


Next up is the decor. It was simple and pleasant. The decor really gave a warm and cozy vibe. The little details like the wall-mounted flowers gave it a more Mediterranean feel. 

 



The service was efficient and the staff were friendly and helpful too. They worked with smiles on their faces and didn't let the plates pile up on the customers' tables. However, there is one thing they can improve on. They should have someone waiting at the entrance; when we entered the restaurant, we were lost and had no idea where to go or what to do. Other than that, the service was good though. 


And finally, let's talk about the FOOD! There was a wide selection of food. Tapas, pasta, pizza, grills, stews, salads...you name it! It was a lunch buffet, so we had from noon to 3pm to eat to our hearts' content. Our goal was to try a little bit of everything (keyword: try) and to eat as slowly as possible so that we wouldn't feel too full too quickly.

The Salad Bar

Left: Baked sausages; Right: Sauteed potatoes

Beef Tripe

Grill Selection

 We started off with some paella, baked chicken, different types of salads, baked sausages, and tapas. The paella accompanied with the baked chicken was just...a lethal combination. They tasted so good! We wanted to get more but by the time we tried everything else, there were none left :( The different salads were good, though we did not had a chance to try them all. We did not like the mushroom salad though. They used oyster mushrooms for that particular dish and the taste was overwhelming; but, both of us are not big fans of mushrooms, so maybe others may like it. The baked sausages were good too; they were baked with cheese and cream. Yum! As for the tapas, they were great too, depending on which ones you take. Most of them were really nice. I think they would have tasted much better if they were hot.

Baked Chicken

Paella

Then, we tried more tapas and salad along with pasta and mushroom soup. The pasta we tried were spaghetti La Gomera and creamy mushroom pasta. The tapas were great and I really loved the spaghetti. It was a tomato-based seafood pasta. It was rich in flavour and mostly had clams, (lala) squid and prawns. I did not like the creamy pasta because it was rather bland. Perhaps a dash of salt may  improve its taste, but still, it was bland. The soup was unfortunately not nice. It tasted exactly like the one from Shakey's Pizza & Chicken, so maybe it was from a can. Wherever it came from, it was disappointing. I could barely taste the mushroom. The restaurant also served pumpkin soup but we did not get to try it. 

Spaghetti La Gomera

Then, we tried the stews, the grilled selection, pizza, onion rings and some cheese balls. For the stews, we tried the beef tripe, lamb and meatballs. The beef tripe had rather unusual taste to it - perhaps there were too many herbs and spices from what we are used to. The meatballs were delicious; they were soft, juicy, had a hint of spices and the sauce was great too. But, I must say, the lamb stole the show this time. The lamb was soft, juicy and succulent. It wasn't the melt-in-your-mouth soft as is usually the case especially for lamb shanks, but it was just right. Perfect. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed that mouth-watering dish. The grilled food included chicken, beef, lamb, cod, salmon, squid and prawn. We were spoilt for choice! We had the chicken, beef, lamb and cod. They were all amazing. Everything was grilled to perfection; the chicken and lamb were juicy and oozed with so much flavour, the beef was tender and the cod was cooked just right. Can you imagine having a free flow of cod fish?! Of course the cod was the first from the grilled selection to finish. No surprise there lol. The pizza did not look great, and we really did not expect much from it, but oh we were so wrong, and glad to be wrong too. The sauce on the pizza was responsible for its great taste, along with the choices of topping. Loved them. The onion rings were ok but the onions themselves were a little too sweet. However, my review may be bias because I initially thought they were calamari rings! Imagine my disappointment when I had my first bite hahah. Anyway, the cheese balls were pretty good. Luckily they were made small. Cheese to me should be enjoyed in small portions because it is easy to get sick of it. Still, we loved those fried cheese balls. 

Lamb

   

Finally, it was time for dessert. We didn't have much room left in our stomachs, but there wasn't much anyway. There were danish pastry, cake, mango pudding, ice cream and fruits. We tried them all except for the cake. The danish pastry was terrible. I think it was probably the most horrible thing we had there. It was hard, thick, chewy and barely had any taste. I don't know if the chefs made a mistake only on that day, but we certainly were not fans of it. The pudding was alright, not fantastic, but still good. The ice-cream was ok too. It was probably store-bought but we didn't mind. There were nicely-arranged fruits next to the beverage section. We had some papaya and honey dew. 

Mango Pudding

The beverages served were like other buffets'. There were soft drinks, cordial orange juice and iced lemon and peach tea. There was also cold and hot water, and a selection of hot drinks like milo, nescafe, teh tarik (milk tea) and so on. 





Oh and before I conclude this review, I would just like to share some photos of the tapas selection. 

Yes, this was in the Tapas section too

I also loved the open kitchen concept where we can see the chefs preparing the food.





Okay so overall, we really enjoyed the food at La Gomera. There were just sooo much food to choose from and most of them were really delicious. My favourites were definitely the lamb stew, paella, baked chicken, grilled lamb, grilled chicken, grilled cod and the tapas (I know, I know..a lot of favourites right?) Even though the dessert wasn't great, but they were still ok excluding the danish pastry or whatever it was. Anyway, I definitely did not come to the buffet for the desserts, so I really wasn't bothered much by them. The atmosphere is good too. I would definitely love to go there again. RM21 per person was definitely a steal on this buffet; I'm so glad we bought this groupon lol. The regular price for the lunch buffet is around RM37.50 per head. Currently there is a promotion going on where the second person gets to dine at RM17.90. I would be more than happy to pay the full price for this buffet, no doubt. I would definitely come back! Recommended to all :)


Verdict: 4 out of 5


Operating hours: 12pm to 11pm
Halal certified.


P.S.


Here's the view from our table!

Hope you readers are drooling by now! ;)

Cheers,

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All these photos belong to me unless otherwise stated.