You got me at Hungry Bacon

During a recent birthday celebration, we descended on Hungry Bacon, chiefly because the name of the resto itself was already appealing. Looking more like a pub rather than a family joint thanks to the dark interior, the menu centres on Mr Pig, naturally.

We got off to a crackling good start with the flavoured Chicharron (RM16), dry cured for 48 hours, and then deep fried until it expanded to larger than your face. Dipped in pesto sauce (bit salty), it’s probably bad for cholesterol, but oh, so addictive!

No. 2 had Swedish meatballs which seemed like a boring choice, but they were well-executed, good bite and texture, in a flavourful bed of gravy (I assume beef). Would order this again.

East meets West here with an Asian delight, Nasi Kerabu with Babi percik (RM30) that came with acar, salted egg, sambal and keropok. The tasty pork was expertly marinated with a medley of spices, and while pork in percik sauce is not the norm, chef Timothy Sebastian did an excellent job with this version. Formerly the executive chef at Leonardo’s, other dishes with his personal touch include bacon-wrapped pumpkin salad, bacon fried rice and Mee Goreng Mamak. There’s also the traditional Hokkien Mee, topped generously with lard. This was a firm fav at Leonardo’s, I remember.

Their signature is the Pork Shoulder (RM30) – brined for 48 hours – that came with mashed truffle potatoes, and rightly so, as it was tender, succulent and seasoned to perfection, protein at its best.

The one dish that didn’t cut it for us was the Carbonara with bacon (RM22) as it was too wet. The pasta was swimming in cream sauce and while the taste was good, it was not carbonara as it should be. But they were very nice about it, said they’d pass the feedback to chef when they came around to ask about our dinner.

One of the must try drinks – Assam the Bois – comes with a scoop of ice cream and encapsulates that special sweet, sour and salty mixture of taste notes on the palate that wakes you up and gets your appetite going.

There are quite a few other interesting stuff on the menu worth exploring and prices are family-friendly as well. And really, how to resist anything with bacon in it?

Add: No 33, Jalan SS 21/56b, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. tel: 012-322 0857.