The Butcher’s Table @ Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

 

Meat-ing Expectation

 

Talk about a blast from the past… somethings should always make a comeback! In this case, it did… The Butcher’s Table is the newer offspring of Mr. Ho Kim Loon, who was more renowned with his first offspring of Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods. Back in late 1990s, foodies know where to go for exceptional roast pork and premium sausages and that is at Mr. Ho.

 

After a hiatus from the food scene, the Ho family decided to make their comeback with The Butcher’s Table first outlet in SS2 few years ago. Roping in his kids now, they have recently opened a new outlet in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in late February this year but had to close due to the recent pandemic situation.

 

The Butcher’s Table is now open, and diners are in for a meaty treat. Talk about meat-ing expectation… the restaurant is located on level 7 and offer diners several section of dining areas along with a private room as well. We like the simplicity and modern ambiance where smart casual vibes allow diners to enjoy a hearty meal from this delicatessen.

 

The menu is filled with lots of choices of meat and poultry with a few seafood thrown in for good measure. Most of Mr. Ho’s signatures are present along with a few newbies. Add-on a very affordable wine list, diners are set for an unforgettable dining experience of beefy and swine-ful dishes!

 

Perhaps the Crispy Roast Pork (RM17.50 | RM25.00 with one side) would be the perfect choice of appetizer to kick off here. After all, Mr. Ho’s legendary Siew Yuk is what most of us remembered him for. And disappoint us it did not after a decade… the crispy roast pork is still fabulously yummy.

Anne Elizabeth The Deli Restaurant @ Taman Segar Cheras

Meat Up at Anne Elizabeth!

Tucked away in the bustling area of Cheras is Anne Elizabeth The Deli Restaurant. A truly hidden foodie gem, I wasn’t even sure how this restaurant never got on to my radar for the last five years since its opening. Perhaps Cheras was never my usual food haunt but then again, I would have gone to the end of the earth for food that is worthy of travel.

Anne Elizabeth, owned by a dynamic duo husband and wife team, Jacob Fong and Sandra Lee had the foresight to take a chance with introducing ‘Select and Order from The Deli’ concept to diners five years ago in the location where they lived. Jacob hails from Brunei and has been a chef for more than 20 years specializing in European cuisine. When asked to elaborate, he specifically named British, Italian, Spanish and French as some of his main signatures.

Parking can be a problem in that area as it is located on one of the rows near Cheras Leisure Mall. However, this has never deterred the restaurant’s loyal fans from dining at Anne Elizabeth as it is always crowded throughout the day and especially on weekends.

The two-storey restaurant is located on a corner lot, catering up to 80 pax of diners per floor. One simply cannot miss the bold black and white signage of Anne Elizabeth. The owners decided to use their favorite religious names of Anne and Elizabeth simply because it felt more personal while echoing a lovely name together.

The restaurant décor is rather simple as the owners wanted the food to speak for themselves. A minimalist décor that echoes European minimalist with a deli counter and a bar, Anne Elizabeth has an easy-going vibe that makes dining casual and comfortable.

Sandra admitted that she enjoys running the front dining space while Jacob handles the kitchen and the deli. Both shared that their concept truly allows them to always have a personalized service with every customer and made sure that their staffs are trained well on this concept too. Business is brisk and constantly heavy during the day and so the owners have lots of staff trained to provide solid and fast service to customers.

Full Swine Affair at Skippys Pizza, Damansara Uptown

The Real Pork Pizza Co

When they first started out on home delivery, they made headlines in the foodie world. Known for their enticing fully loaded porky pizzas, Skippys Pizza has been delivering their signature porky pizzas to many happy porky fans since a few years ago. Back then, it was nearly impossible to find pizzas with pork so when Skippys Pizza open, hardcore porky fans couldn’t wait to dive straight into these swine-laden pizzas.

Skippys Pizza now has a new branch open recently in Damansara Uptown a few months ago. Diners can now enjoy a dine-in in their new extended menu of porky goodies. The eatery is located just a few doors from the Damansara Uptown branch of The Ship. The eatery is casual in décor. Long benches, high tables and high chairs, black and wood theme plus a long bar sums up the place. It can be quite dark in the eatery but it has a sense of cozy atmosphere.

The menu is quite extensive, offering diners lots of choice. Pizza takes center stage with over 25 choices of toppings and sauces. If you have been to Skippys Pizza, you would know that their pizzas are over-the-top filled with lots of ingredients. Since pork is their focus, diners are going to have to make some decisions here with their long list of porky fillings. Besides pizza, there are plenty of pasta, ribs, meaty dishes, soup and salad and more.

We started off with comfort food of Goulash (RM12). Definitely comfort food with its rich thick and tasty flavours of tomatoey beef stew filled with soft chunks of meat and root vegetables. I really enjoyed the smoky paprika notes in the stew. A good choice to order when one is seeking comfort food.

Salads are definitely made better here with lots of bacon in the Skippys’ Salad with Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, Anchovies & Bacon (RM19.50). I enjoyed the creamy and zesty dressing and all the robust flavours of the ingredients.

Pork Ribs in 7 Sauces (RM25 for 10pcs) are another must order here at Skippys Pizza. Who would have thought that this pizza joint also has such lip-smacking delicious ribs in their menu? 10 pieces of tender and tasty ribs smothered with house made sauce that is pretty similar to a barbecue one had all of us happily tucking into the ribs with great gusto. The balance of savory sweet with light tang works for me so I am pretty satiated with this dish.

German Sausages with Salad & Fries (RM23.00) may not be anything special but it is still yummy since I cannot really resist a good thick sausage cooked with crispy skin and smothered in a barbecue sauce.

The next dish of Meatloaf with Fried Potatoes and Salad (RM25) looked greasy at sight. Nevertheless, the meatloaf tasted delish and resembled our spam in a way but not as salty. The blackened hash of potato and bacon looked unappetizing at sight but surprisingly tasted good with lots of moreish flavours from bacon. Not a healthy dish but flavours are good and I do enjoy the meatloaf.

It’s all about the pizza at Skippys Pizza! We had their Marc’s Special Pizza (RM26 for 9” | RM32 for 12”), a concoction of ham, baby spinach, mushrooms, onion, garlic and egg. No wonder many have been raving about their pizzas. The fully loaded pizza is very delicious. To me, it has just the right thickness of pizza base and they are very generous with the toppings. The flavours are a hodgepodge of yumminess. The pizza base has a good crisp outside and fluffy inside. It’s got all the check marks of a great pizza so I am sure any filling would be great, especially when they are so generous with the toppings.

What I thought that really made my day was that Skippys has this Homemade Chili Sauce and Garlic Oil that you can add to your pizza to amp it up. I added the chili oil and was very pleased as it was spicy in heat and very aromatic.

They also serve Pork Knuckle (RM70). Carnivores would be pleased with this mega knuckle served with potatoes and gravy. Tasty and the meat is quite tender. There are also cracklings on this dish though it’s not as crispy as I would like it to be.

We didn’t expect this but one of the best dish we had that night was this awesome Skippy’s Glutton Pork Burger (RM24.50). The burger is again a solid portion for big eaters. The pork patty is lusciously thick, juicy and very well-seasoned. Toasted sesame buns, crispy bacon and fried egg completed the burger. They are serious with their burger here so it’s a pure glutton burger sans the usual vegetables. I highly recommend this burger because its very satisfying for a porky fan like me!

For pasta lovers, there is also a few selections of pasta available. We tried their Spaghetti Bolognese (RM16.90). It was hearty and delish with lots of thick meaty texture, making the pasta very enjoyable.

Overall, Skippys Pizza warrants a visit or maybe even a few. Must-order signatures are their Pizzas, Goulash, Ribs in 7 sauces and Skippy’s Glutton Pork Burger. They definitely hit a lot of high notes with their swine dishes with decent prices and yet, there are also some for vegetarian and seafood pizzas available if you are not fond of their porky fare. I, on the other hand, would just go for their porky fare….

SKIPPYS PIZZA

Jalan 16/11,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Tel: +603 7931 2555

Website: www.skippyspizza.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SkippysPizza

Piggy Tail @ Bangsar Baru

Hogging the Limelight in Bangsar!

If you have not heard about Piggy Tail, you should, especially if you are a lover of porky dishes! The bistro and bar is located in the bustling area of Bangsar. Though the area is literally swarmed with lots of eateries, porcine lovers are rest-assured that Piggy Tail is worth a visit. Serving up a full swine-laden menu, the bistro has got some attractive and scrumptious dishes aim to please all porky fans out there.

The bistro has a casual and stylish laid-back ambiance. Using lots of natural wood with a mix of steel, it has the feel of the much seen industrial raw appeal theme here. Lots of tables with benches added a casual vibe as the bistro wants its diners to just enjoy their delicious porky fare as the highlight. There is a long bar in the bistro too, serving up lots of beers and cocktails to go with the menu. It’s a near-perfect combo of bar and porky fare!

The menu is filled with choices of piggy breakfast dishes, salad, soup, pasta, burgers, snacks, rice, main porky and non-porky dishes, set platters and desserts. The beverage list is just as long as the food menu with list of wines, beers, liquor, cocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages plus coffee and tea too.

Since it was a weekday we were there, we were pretty good and had Virgin Piggies or mocktails… from Piggy Surprise (RM18.00) to Virgin Pink Lady (RM15.00) and Mango Mock-O-Lada (RM15), these beverages were deliciously refreshing and fruity. 

My other half also had a Kirin Ichiban Beer (RM22.00 for half pint).

Since there were four of us that evening, we had a taste of their Mega Piggy Platter (RM268.00) together with some other dishes. The enormous platter is served on a large wooden board. Our eyes, well at least mine, sparkled at the sight of this gargantuan platter of heavenly dishes on this board. The Mega Piggy Platter has Piggy Signature Pork Knuckles, Pork Burger, Pork Franks, BBQ Pork Chops, BBQ Pork Ribs and BBQ Beef Ribs served with gravy, coleslaw and salad. Of course one can order all these separately but if you are going to go full-force with a group of buddies, this platter is right up your alley.

There are two kinds of ribs served at Piggy Tail. Both BBQ Short Pork Rib and BBQ Long Pork Rib are very scrumptious in flavours. Both are finger-licking awesome as well. While the BBQ Short Pork Rib has a fall-off-the-bone texture, the BBQ Long Pork Rib has a good bite in the well balanced lean and fat belly meat. The BBQ sauce is delish with its balance of tangy piquant sweet note that suited my palate really well.

The BBQ Pork Shoulder Steak is nicely tender too despite it being so lean and has a very tasty note. There were two Pork Franks with one being spicier than the order. These were nicely juicy and tasty too.

Our platter was a little different and we had their Signature Lamb Chops (RM45.00 a la carte) which we really enjoy too. The grilled marinated New Zealand lamb chops are smothered in a robust Mongolian sauce and was nicely chargrilled on the edges while tender and juicy on the inside.

The Piggy Pork Burger (RM28.00 a la carte) is a towering height of porky goodness. A generously bulky piece of pork patty is sandwiched with cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, fried onion rings and toasted sesame seed bun showed how every pork burger should be. The patty is has a good bouncy texture with a juicy note. I also really enjoyed the crispy well-battered onion rings. Go ahead and sink your teeth into this sizeable pork burger if you can…

The next dish of Signature Pork Knuckle (RM86.00) was indeed another beauty! Just check out how evenly golden and crispy the whole pork knuckle looked. Propped on mashed potato, the pork knuckle looked every inch poise and divine. Served on the side was a mug of gravy, coleslaw and salad.

The pork knuckle is one of the best pork knuckle I had so far. The even crispiness of the skin coupled with the tender and succulent dark meat was just damn delicious in every bite. The bits of gelatinous tendon and fat gave the dish a moreish sensation of indulgence. Must-order at Piggy Tail!

Premium Pork Aglio Olio (RM25.00) was our only carb dish and even this one had the hog. Grilled Sakura pork neck fillet is paired with a classic aglio olio spaghetti of chili flakes, garlic, olive oil and bacon. I was really loving the grilled pork neck filter because it was so tender and well-seasoned.

Piggy Tail uses Sakura Pork which is organic and has better flavour and textures!

Curiosity got the better of us and we also snacked on Piggy Pork Corn (RM16.00). Inspired from the popcorn chicken, this one was luxe up with Sakura pork chunks nicely seasoned and deep fried till golden brown. The meat and bits of tendon texture in the Pork Corn was a plus point factor that had us keep going back for more… it is a great snack with beer…

Dessert was our least expected dish of the night. Piggy Tail goes all out and serves up their Signature Truffle Ice Cream (RM18.00). As soon as the dessert was placed on our table, the intense earthy truffle aroma hit our senses like a ton of bricks… in a luscious way of course! What a treat… pairing the high-prized white truffle with ice cream certainly works for me in flavours and aromas. That’s not all, the dessert comes with chocolate sauce and crispy bacon bits… oo la la!!

Battling the area traffic and parking is worth it. Piggy Tail is a pure haven of porcine glory. The bistro has got all the markings of an awesome porky place to indulge in porky dishes. If this were to be my last meal on earth, I would be satisfied and happy. Whether one just wants to unwind the day or have a party with friends and family, one thing’s for sure, Piggy Tail is The Porky place to be seen, heard and yes… Eat!  

PIGGY TAIL

39 Jalan Telawi 3,

Bangsar Baru,

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Facebook: www.facebook.com/piggytailkl

Website: www.piggytail.webs.com

Business Hour: 11am to 1am

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