The Fellowship of the Pigs... at Chef Choi(the sequel to Hairy Crabs)

This is the 2nd part of the same dinner....Read the prequel HERE.

In the previous episode of Hairy & Available, (in that deep narrator tone you get on TV Series), Hairy Crabs and their questionable sexuality....







Now here's a tail of the little pig, who built his house with straw.


I'm exhausted, he proclaims, from all that hard work......


Friends, Chinamen, Countrymen, lend me your ears...it's apparently the best part, after the tail.


Glorious glorious iberico suckling pig, crispy crackling, roasted over a spit for hours. This little pig, weighing 4.5kg, cost RM1,100-00. It may sound shocking, but don't forget, the Iberian Pig is the Wagyu equivalent of pigs.... they feed on gold lined acorns, from the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. How will we ever go back to eating the common pig after feasting on such porcine paradise. Melt in the mouth goodness.


Barbeque baby back ribs, from another Iberian pig. Now, at first sight, it might look bony and not much flesh, but boy, can looks deceive. The meat is sublimely tender, and just the right amount of fat, and with Chef Choi's (actually its Chef Thye Seng) amazing barbecue skills and seasoning, this is one of the nicest barbeque ribs I've ever sampled.


A luxurious take on a wholesome home made favourite, steamed mince pork. Everyone asked, "with ham yue ah?" (with salted fish?). But that would have been sacrilegous. The pure flavour of the pork, with a little added crunch from the water chestnuts, is simply beyond description. I could just eat this, with a bowl of good rice, and be in 7th heaven.


To break the piggy routine, Chef Thye Seng threw in some pigeon for us. I'm not sure if these were flown in (as in, after they were killed), or local, or flown in and then slaughtered here, but whatever its origins, it was delicious. Pigeon actually tastes more like tender duck than chicken, to me.


Braised pork with asparagus and XO Sauce. Simple, effective and gorgeous. You can't seem to go wrong with this pork, but I think the Chef's vision really amplifies the unique texture and taste of the Iberico black pig.





A few things sprang to mind, when we saw this:
Hey chicks, don't lose your heads
Let them eat cake, Marie says to Anne


When I first saw sweet and sour Iberico pork, my first thought was, ARGH, what a travesty! But I tell you, this is one bomb of a sweet and sour pork. Excellent, and I wish I could have more.


The most amazing tou miew. Cooked to perfection, and so plump. One excellent reason to dine here is the passion into which the owners pour into sourcing the best of ingredients. They themselves love food, so even down to the minutest detail, such as vegetables, the choicest pick of the crop.


And finally (bear in mind we also had the Hairy Crabs in the same meal, so I was really slipping into a food coma by now), red bean paste with 18 Yr old mandarin peel. What? 18 yr old? Apparently, people keep mandarin peel as old as 60 years, but those are for medicinal purposes. 18 years is still a long time, ours doesnt even last 18 days before its all gone. So take note, start keeping your mandarin peel from the next Chinese Year, and it'll be good to go in....2029. I will be 63. I hope I can sell off my stock for retirement.

So what exactly does the 18 Yr Old Mandarin Peel do? I am not quite sure really, but there is a very subtle, yet definitive taste of the peel, a bit bitterish, which complements the smooth sweet red bean paste. Definitely something for the connoiseurs to savour.

I cannot thank CS & TS enough for their kind invitation. The food at Chef Choi from the few times I've been has always been par excellence! What a privilege!

Chef Choi Restaurant
159 Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2163 5866

El Meson, Lots of Pork, No Bull

I'm not entirely sure what El Meson means, but a google search said it means The Inn. Maybe, but their logo is of a bull, I presume one that killed a matador. Or got killed by one. Strangely, I have always had the mental picture that the logo was a pig.





But as you can see, this is no pig. Though at first glance, and bad eyesight, I thought it was. Then it dawned on me that pigs are not horny. (Though having said that, a pig's big O supposedly lasts for a few minutes....or maybe that was an urban legend circulated on the internet)


The Makan Fairy Godmother had invited me to join her and Pureglutton at El Meson, on Jln Telawi 3 for dinner. And knowing its reputation as a Porcine Paradise, I could not resist, despite knowing the potential damage to an expanding waistline. There is something about a beer and babi combination that makes it right.


We started off with a tapas of grilled prawns in olio. Gambas Al Ajillo. The prawns were fresh, and crunchy, naturally. (as opposed to being made crunchy with sodium bicarb)


It's like looking at a rainbow. Such divine colors, of different types of pork. Serrano, iberico, chorizo, salami (ooh, it doesnt end with an "O"), proscuitto, and a couple of other meats. I loved the olives that came along with the meat, and chomped on it with the futile hope that the redeeming properties of olive oil would seep through my veins from the olive, to ameliorate the ill effects of consuming so much piggy. And that was only the 2nd course.


Note to self: DO NOT EAT BREAD DURING FOOD TASTINGS, no matter how good the bread is.


Piquillos Renellos, spanish peppers stuffed with mince pork. Spanish yong tau fu? Very good.





Paella, with pork ribs and chicken. Now, to be honest, I have not eaten paella in Spain, or anything else in Spain for that matter, so I have no idea WHAT a real paella is or isnt supposed to be like, but I'm sure just like Yong Chow Fried rice, everyone has their own preference, so we go by gut feel, and tongue feel. I enjoyed this rendition of the dish, but mainly because the rice wasn't soggy and there were pork ribs.


Carilla De Iberico Estofada - such a mouthful. Basically Iberico cheeks. I wonder who were the first to bring in this Iberico pig thing to the country. Hats off to them.


A different angle of the cheeks. I wonder when they say Cheeks, which cheeks? Pigs must have a lot of face to yield so much cheek.


Unquestionably the star for the night, Roast Suckling Pig. Crispy skin with moist tender succulent flesh. So good you can eat it on its own.


This picture shows the triumvirate at three corners taking pictures of the place.


Crema Catalana, the Spanish version of creme brulee I imagine. The difference is the custard is a lot more flowy. Good for the teethless. Lovely caramelized sugar on top.


I just read in Laura Calder's recipe book that Molten Cakes have been done to death, but are considered kitsch, hence their appearance everywhere from Beard Papa to fine dining at Cilantro. Of course the difference would be in the ingredients used. The chocolate used here is decent, so therefore so was the cake.


Now, this Brazo Di Gitano, at first struck me as "huh? Swiss Rolls?", but never judge a book by its cover, or a cake by its color, because this ended up being my favourite. Moist cake, with a delicious custard like filling, rather reminiscent OF a swiss roll, only many times better, that kinda gave it a wholesome, comfort food kinda feel.


In addition to being an eating place, the bar, which takes centrepiece, also makes it a popular watering hole.

If you are into pork, and you're in Bangsar, this is definitely one of the more noteworthy establishments in the mushrooming pork genre.