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

Italiano's @ SS2, PJ

Italiano's is somewhat like Pizza Uno, a family Italian restaurant with quality food and affordable pricing. Lots of families dine here at night and while there are some hits and misses in the menu (definitely more hits than misses), I highly recommend you to come and try it out.

Minestrone Soup (RM 6)

The hearty Minestrone Soup comes boiling hot and is chockful of ingredients typical of minestrone. The tomato base is warm and well-seasoned. The slice of baguette accompanying the soup is warmed but not toasted. It is extremely affordable and very yummy on cold rainy days.

We also tried the Mushroom Soup which is creamy and overloaded with chunky mushroom bits. A must order!

Mufaletta Delight Pizza (RM 19)

As can be seen in the above picture, the pizza is laden with lots of ingredients. The crust is thick yet crispy and  fully supports the meaty toppings.

King's Special Pizza (RM 25)

This pizza tasted a bit odd, probably due to the extremely gamey lamb sausages and red chillies. Not really recommended in my opinion.

Italiano's Special Pasta (RM 18)

This pasta is coated in a thick tomato based gravy (I wouldn't call that sauce as I feel the tomato paste was thickened with cornflour rather than loading on the paste). I am not a fan of the lamb sausages as they were quite gamey (and since I do like lamb, this means that it really is gamey!). Think the other pastas would be more recommended as the portions are big and absolutely worth the price.

Braised Lamb Shank (RM 30)

We also had the Braised Lamb Shank as it was so affordable and it came in a really big portion. See the huge lamb shoulder? Admittedly, the meat is somewhat lacking, but what meat there is is very tender and has absorbed the tomato gravy fully. The mashed potatoes, side salad and steamed vegetables were a very good accompaniment to the lamb. Definitely not for small eaters =P

PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Onion

Italiano's
61G, Jalan SS2/75
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7873 9695
Daily: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 10.30pm

J Tean Kitchen @ SStwo Mall, PJ

J Tean Kitchen serves some unique Chinese fusion dishes and its signature dish is its fusion Dry Bak-Kut-Teh and Porky Pie. It's located in the totally deserted SStwo Mall although its plus point would be ample parking.

The J-Ribs (RM 38.90)

The ribs are quite huge and really quite good. The well marinated meat is super tender and falls off the bones so effortlessly. This is apparently due to pre-stewing the meat prior to baking it. It is served with a small portion of coleslaw and potato wedges as well as char siu sauce. Both the coleslaw and potato wedges were really good and comparable to Western restaurants. The char siu sauce tasted good too but the meat itself has plenty of flavour so I left most of the sauce in its container.

Complimentary dessert

Complimentary desserts are always welcome and the one served at J Tean that day happened to be a refreshing chrysanthemum tea jelly. Definitely no complaints there =D

Nice meal but quite pricey for a dish even though it's ribs. I love the chairs and tables there but it really is a shame about its location. I'm sure there would be more patrons if only it was located somewhere more popular.



PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Olive


J Tean Kitchen

Lot G-58, Ground Floor
SStwo Mall
Tel: 03 7954 0819
Daily: 10am - 10pm

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

Wantan Mee with Lard @ Restoran Chan Meng Kee, SS2

This was an accidental find as I was actually heading to Ho Weng Kee for some wantan mee fix after many years of not patronising the famous shop. When I reached, Ho Weng Kee was missing but in its place was this place called Chan Meng Kee O.O It looked exactly the same as Ho Weng Kee used to albeit with newer furniture and since it sold wantan mee, we went in anyway.

   

Shop Front

   

Simple Menu

     
There is a simple menu on the wall with English and Chinese text. Good for bananas like me!

     

Dry Char Siu Wantan Mee (RM 5.50)

       
Do not look down on this plate of normal-looking wantan mee! Once you start mixing the noodles, you will uncover lots of crispy deep-fried lard which adds something extra to common char siu mee. The char siu are barbecued to a nice dark colour with glistening caramelised skin. The char siu here are generally more fatty and the springy noodles are a tad oily so health-activists should stay far, far away from this place...they'll probably get a heart attack just by looking at the cholesterol-laden plate =P The wantans are bite-sized with springy meat. The soup has sufficient flavour instead of being a plain vegetable and pepper stock.

     

Comparison between large and small noodles

     
The only difference between small and large servings is the quantity of noodles. Doesn't look like there are extra slices of char siu =.=

     

Sui Kow (RM 6)

     
The sui kow are springy and "crunchy" and quite plump. Good snack.
   
I know SS2 is notorious for its lack of parking space but do reward yourself after a jog on weekends with a yummy plate of char siu wantan mee infused with pork oil and crunchy lard =)
   

PawPoints: 5 Paws

Pawket: Dough

   
Restoran Chan Meng Kee
32 Jalan SS 2/66
Petaling Jaya

Tel: 012 688 1972
Tue - Sun: 8.30am - 3pm

Roast Pigeon @ Richwell Restaurant, PJ

After our missed opportunity to eat roast pigeon in HK, I started scouting for one in KL. So people, if you want to have a taste of roast pigeon without taking a flight, head over to Richwell Restaurant in PJ.

   

Half a Roast Pigeon (RM 35 for whole pigeon)

    
The tiny little pigeon is deep-fried to perfection, the crispy, well-seasoned skin still glistening with oil. The flesh is smooth and firm and has a slightly gamey, ducky taste to it. It is quite tough eating this with chopsticks so bring out the hidden barbarian in you and tear off the meat with bared teeth =D
   

PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Tomato

  
Richwell Restaurant
24 Jalan 19/3
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7955 5855
Daily: 11am - 3pm, 5.30pm - 11pm