Sanbanto @ SS2, PJ

We first tried Sanbanto SS2 a few years ago when porky restaurants were scarce and thought it a very good concept with good food to boot. We recently made another visit to its Bangsar outlet which is located in the row of shophouses behind TMC.

       

*squeal*

   

Shop Front

        

Interior

      

Menu

       

Anatomy of the pig

         

Tonkatsu (RM 21)

     
I had the deep fried bread pork cutlet which came with tonkatsu sauce, side salad and potato salad. It was actually not too bad as the meat was quite flavourful. The only downside is the panko coating is not super crispy and a wee tiny bit dry. The potato salad was creamy and crunchy with lots of cucumber and carrot strips.

      

Tonkatsu cross section

        

Classic Carbonara (RM 23)

         
The Classic Carbonara was good too with al-dente spaghetti coated in thick creamy carbonara. The plus point is that this is a non-halal place with real bacon topping the noodles.
               
Quite a nice cosy place for an average priced meal. However since the Bangsar outlet has shut down (yes, we are quite backed up on posts =.=), I'll provide the address of the SS2 branch.
         
         
PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
                     
       
Sanbanto

32 Jalan SS2/63

Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7876 1728
Tue - Sun: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Black Forest @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus...things were really busy for us both and I unexpectedly fell sick and we didn't have any ready posts although we have tons of material so here's a review of a great restaurant to kick start December, my favourite month of the year! =D

Black Forest is one of the many restaurants lining Changkat Bukit Bintang and food must certainly be good to ensure a steady stream of customers.

Menu

I really like the different categories in their menu =)

Who got the better deal?

Complimentary bread basket

As usual, there is a complimentary bread basket and here at Black Forest, some wholesome raisin bread is served with spicy chilli tuna paste. The bread was warmed through but I prefer mine to be toasted so no brownie points from me there. I also prefer the usual oil-vinegar dip or even the common butter to spicy chilli tuna that tasted like it came from a can.

Kartoffelpuffer Mit Lachs (RM 26)

This dish of potato pancakes served with marinated salmon and dill mustard is my favourite of the lot. I love the crispy potato pancakes and the very savoury salmon goes extremely well with it. I also love the simple dill mustard which packs in so much flavour.

Black Forest's 1/2 Metre Wurst (RM 36)

We had the black pepper sausage and I must say that this is quite a disappointment =( There was nothing special about the sausage at all and it didn't taste very homemade. I have definitely eaten better sausages from supermarkets. I really like the pickles though =P

Schweinekotlett "Natur" (RM 45)

This juicy pork loin which has been slow roasted to perfection is very well complemented by sauteed pork belly and pepper as well as the special zigeuner sauce. The juicy meat comes with a side salad as well as fluffy and crispy french fries which I love dipping into the appetising zigeuner sauce.

Schnitzel Hawaii Mit Ananas Und Kase Uberbacken (RM 45)

The boneless pork loin cutlets are baked with air dried ham, pineapple and cheese and served with a side salad as well as mashed potatoes. The cutlets were really juicy even after being pan fried and baked and retained its crispiness even when topped with ham and pineapple. I really enjoyed this dish as I love schnizels d^_^b

Bayerische Schweinehaxe (RM 45)

The crispy pork knuckle comes with beer sauce, potato gratin and red cabbage. The knuckle was extremely crispy and tender and juicy, just like siu yuk, but some of our friends found it a tad too fatty. I, of course, found it just nice but it was a shame that this dish arrived last as I was already stuffed from all the food before to truly enjoy this. The beer sauce did not have a strong beer taste but it complemented the knuckle very well anyway.

The potato gratin tasted like creamy potato sandwiched between lasagna sheets which was a nice change from the usual mashed potatoes and fries. The red cabbage was sour and tangy in a good way as I am not a fan of sauerkraut (probably I have not tasted good sauerkraut yet).

Churros 

The Churros was really good and there were lots of thick chocolate sauce to dip the crunchy sticks in.

An Australian Dream (RM 22.80)

The Australian Dream has a nice tart taste from the cherries and lots of cream and chocolate chips to make this concoction truly yummy.

Service was good although the waiters are super busy and may not be able to notice you. There is also some tradition of throwing plates on the ground before starting some pork knuckle dish which can be a tad distracting but the waiters give you ample warning before the patrons attempt such a feat.

All in all, a really good meal and all who went for the meal were really satisfied. Prices are on the high side but would definitely return for the awesome potato pancakes, schnitzel and knuckle =D


PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Cheese


Black Forest

47 Changkat Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2110 3678
Sun - Thu: 4pm - 1am
Fri - Sat: 4pm - 3am

BellyGood @ Sunway Mentari, PJ

I have been to BellyGood several years before when it was operating under a different name and have been wanting to revisit but because it is located at Sunway Mentari, I rarely had an opportunity to do so. However I had been craving for pork schnitzels and once I found out BellyGood does serve it, I wasted no time in dragging JS there d^_^b

         

Two cute piggies

         

Tiger Beer

         

Soup of the Day (RM 9.80)

     
The soup of the day which was mushroom soup came with lots of black pepper - just the way we like it - but may be too overwhelming for some. It has a thin consistency with little salt and therefore tasted quite homemade. The soup came with a slice of crisp buttered garlic bread which was fragrant and well toasted. There were also lots of garlic bits on it.
         

Trio Platter (RM 29.90)

     
This platter consisted of a chorizo sausage, pork belly and pork ribs with a side of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. The meat of the chorizo sausage was very moist but it is not as firm and as grilled as I prefer it to be. The pork ribs, funnily enough, tasted a little bit like Chinese cooking which I guess means that cinnamon and 5 spice was added to the marinade? Not too sure if that's the case but that's what I thought it tasted like. The pork belly was very tender and really good. It also had a hint of Chinese flavour so perhaps that came from the gravy...
       
The coleslaw and mashed potatoes had a homemade taste to it and were very nicely done.
        

Grilled Pork Medallions (RM 25.90)

     
As can be seen from the picture, the pork medallions (probably two combined pieces) were absolutely huge. Its breaded coating which tasted like KFC seasoning was crisp and remained so even with a ladling of thick and creamy mushroom gravy. The meat which was pounded thinly remained moist and it was just absolutely yummy.
   
Overall I would say BellyGood is an absolute steal with its yummy fare and affordable pricing. The owner is really friendly too and loves connecting with his customers. We'll be back! =D
   
   
PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
         
       
BellyGood

20 Jalan PJS 8/18
Dataran Mentari
Bandar Sunway
Tel: 03 5630 1699
Daily: 11am - 11pm

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison @ Isetan Foodmarket, One Utama

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison has finally landed on our shores! <does a tonkatsu dance> Although it's been in business since early of this year, we only managed to sample it recently. It's conveniently located in 1 Utama near the cluster of restaurants within Isetan Foodmarket.

     

Logo

      

Condiments

   
As usual, they've got all the condiments to make your meal taste much better - sweet as well as spicy tonkatsu sauce, salt for purists, toasted sesame seeds, and tamari and sesame sauce to flavour the shredded cabbage. Both the spicy tonkatsu sauce and sesame sauce are a much welcomed addition from the usual condiments which are also found in Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen.
      

Homemade Katsu Curry (RM 25.90)

   
The Homemade Katsu Curry set comes with the usual sides of shredded cabbage, pickles and tonjiru. I like how they serve the katsu and curry sauce separately so that the katsu remains crisp instead of soggy. The fragrant curry had plenty of bite sized chicken meat, onions, potatoes and carrots, and its consistency was just right. The katsu served is rosu katsu aka pork loin and the pork loin at Ma Maison is much better than the one at Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen in my opinion. The ones at Ma Maison have a higher fats to lean meat ratio, rendering the katsu extremely moist and juicy <drool>
   
The red pepper pickles were new to me and they were quite sweet and went surprisingly well with the curry. The refillable shredded cabbage is supposed to be bland and healthy to counteract the cholesterol laden meal but we splashed liberal amounts of sesame sauce to make it much tastier (the tamari sauce had little effect as the taste was quite light).
 
The tonjiru had lots of ingredients like konnyaku, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and even bits of pork loin fats(!) 

     

Tonjiru

       

Rosu Katsu 

      

Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu Set (RM 24.90)

     
The Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu Set looked quite unique plus I thought the grated radish would help alleviate the heatiness of the dish. The set came with a special sauce plate, tonjiru, pickled radish, temari sauce, shredded cabbage and a huge mountain of grated radish and leeks on the katsu.
   
The negioroshi is meant to be added to the temari sauce which is a dipping sauce for the katsu. This unique addition lends a heavy and sharp zing to the katsu which is refreshing in a way but I think I prefer the spicy tonkatsu sauce sprinkled with ground sesame seeds. The white pickled radish was crunchy but tasteless and went better with the curry.
   

Wafu Negioroshi Rosu Katsu

      

Salty, Spicy, Bitter

   
All sets comes with refillable cabbage, rice and soup. For our review on other sets, check out this earlier post which was for the Singapore outlet. I think at this price, dining at Ma Maison is very worth it and we are already planning our next visit =)

     

    

PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
        

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Eat Paradise, Isetan
2nd Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Tel: 03 7727 3337
Daily: 11am - 9.30pm

Grumps Cafe @ SS2 Mall, PJ

A cafe specialising in pork dishes Western style? Naturally, we couldn't resist the temptation and off we went, our stubby noses sniffing the air. Grumps Cafe is located at the newly-opened SStwo Mall which I find quite hard to locate due to the design of the mall itself.

Grumpy not allowed

Garlic bread

The garlic bread was excellent according to JS. It was soft and warm with a crispy exterior. The smell of garlic butter was also heavenly and you can see bits of garlic and parsley dotting the bread. Perfect for garlic lovers.

Mushroom Soup

The mushroom soup here is garnished with toasted almonds - a nice touch. The soup was thick and creamy - no fault there.

Pork Cordon Bleu (RM 24)

The Pork Cordon Bleu is easily my favourite dish out of the lot. The hidden ham is revealed once you cut the crumbed cutlet in half. I love deep-fried breaded cutlets but this was quite dry. The salad was refreshing and the thick-cut fries were pretty good too.

Cheesy Crumbed Pork Loin (RM 24)

The deep-fried pork loin was quite good on its own albeit a bit dry; however I didn't quite like the mushroom sauce as the more pungent-tasting shiitake mushrooms were used instead of the usual button mushrooms. I felt like the Oriental taste of the gravy did not go well with the Western pork cutlet at all.

Roast Pork Roll and Jumbo Sausage (RM 36)

The jumbo sausage was really juicy and the roast pork roll quite succulent. The roast pork roll was also quite fatty and it took me much longer to finish my portion towards the end. I have never been a fan of sauerkraut and this is no different but if you like it, do go ahead and try it as I have no idea what constitutes good sauerkraut. The mashed potatoes were quite good in my opinion.

Grilled Butterfly Steak (RM 24)

The Grilled Butterfly Steak was the driest of the lot. The creamy sauce did little to help ease the meat down my throat > . < The portion of steamed vegetables was definitely not sufficient to counter the fries and meat.

Ice-Cream Delight (RM 10)

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice-cream sundae - what's not to like? Pretty average stuff though.

Chocolate Brownie (RM 10)

Surprisingly, the Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice-cream was good. Hot, chocolatey and gooey, I wouldn't mind coming back just for this.

Grumps Cafe is a great place to meet up and catch up over porky dishes but it definitely needs to improve on its dishes taste-wise. Unless I'm really, really, really craving deep-fried breaded pork that absolutely can't be found anywhere else, I doubt I'll return to Grumps Cafe.

PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

Grumps Cafe

LG-57, Lower Ground Floor
SStwo Mall
Tel: 03 7931 8898

Daily: 10am - 10pm

Hoofed @ Lorong Rahim Kajai 14, TTDI

I was just going through my favourite google searchword "pork KL" when a review of this restaurant popped up in the list =P And what good timing too for the week after we visited Hoofed, a review of it appeared in The Star.
   
The restaurant is located above this pub called Tom, Dick & Harry's in TTDI. There is quite limited space on the 1st floor as you can gauge from the pic below so do make a reservation if you've got a large party.

    

Shop Front

    

Angelic pigs guiding you to heaven

    
Lots of winged piggies greet you as you ascend the stairs to pork heaven...

  

More angels

      

Oink my god!

     

Interior

     
There are high chairs and tables as well as normal height chairs and tables for you to choose...

    

Interior

    
...or you can opt to sit at the sofa and coffee table...

   

Have I?

     
An artwork adorning the restaurant wall...I have no artistic sense, I don't get it =.=

    

Menu

     

Smoked Duck Salad (RM 18)

     
The Smoked Duck Salad has plenty of smoked duck strips, wedges of hard-boiled egg and century egg as well as the usual salad leaves. It was quite nice with a light vinaigrette dressing although the smoked duck tasted like ham to me. Not very outstanding though.

    

Roasted Tomato Soup (RM 7)

      
The Roasted Tomato Soup was extremely rich and creamy with lots of tomato puree. Very nice to drink on a rainy day =)

      

Onion Soup (RM 8)

      
The Onion Soup had all of us going back for second spoonfuls. The cheesy piece of bread bobbing atop the soup gave it an even more homey feel.

     

Bacon Fried Rice (RM 19.60)

      
This was the dish which attracted my attention =P Chinese-style fried rice with bacon and Chinese sausage bits. It was very fragrant and each morsel of rice was light and fluffy. The bacon and Chinese sausage added much flavour to the dish. This is highly recommended.

    

Devil's Hair Pasta (RM 19.90)

       
I was eagerly anticipating the Devil's Hair Pasta with roast pork after reading good reviews about it but I was quite disappointed with it =( It came tasting like wantan mee =.= It would have tasted good if it were like wantan mee but the thick caramelised dark soya sauce coating the roast pork and pasta had a hint of chilli pepper, making the dish slightly peppery. I was the only one who thought the combination of salty savoury and pepperish odd though...my friends were tucking in happily.

      

Roast Pork Belly (RM 17.90)

     
Oh this has got to be one of the best roast pork in town. Moist tender meat with bits of fat and an extremely crispy skin. A dollop of yellow mustard and horseradish each provided an alternative flavour.

     

Pork Shoulder Chops (RM 30.20)

       
The pork shoulder chops were good - moist and flavourful from the garlic and onion sauce most probably made from pork drippings. It is supposedly served on a bed of mash but I must have missed it. Fresh vegetables were served as a side.

     

Pork Ribs (RM 44.40)

      
The Pork Ribs were served dry with a bowl filled with brown sauce and fresh vegetables on the side. I found the meat a little too firm and dry and the cinnamon seasoning rather strong. No complaints from my friends though.

     

Pavlova (RM 7.90)

     
The Pavlova was average, served with fresh kiwi and strawberry slices and a drizzle of maple syrup. Good thing it was not too sweet thanks to the balance provided by the tart fruits.

    

Cold Bananarama (RM 12.30)

     
Oh this was the unexpected surprise of the night. A creamy and chocolatey concoction with banana slices, it was so good we ordered a second serving before we even finished the first =P

    

Shortchanged?

      
Here's our second serving. Don't you feel disappointed seeing it after a comparatively larger serving the first time? =.= Anyway the second serving didn't fare too well with us as it had a sprinkling of chopped nuts ala Cornetto which had a whiff of stale nuts smell =.=

    

Brownies ala Mode (RM 12.90)

      
The piping hot chocolatey brownies were quite good with huge walnuts, strawberry slices and cold vanilla ice-cream. A foolproof (fail-safe =P) dessert,

    

<hoof print>

     
Some hits and misses here and there but I wouldn't mind returning for the Bacon Fried Rice, Roast Pork Belly and the Roasted Suckling Pig which some other patrons ordered and looked so good.
   

PawPoints: 4 Paws

Pawket: Olive

    
Hoofed
18A, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Tel: 03 7728 8567
Daily: 4pm - Late