The day I Meat The Porkers

I’ve always felt that Meat the Porkers (MTP) was quite ingenious in naming the restaurant, probably inspired by the comedy Meet the Fockers some years back.

Located upstairs in a spacious setting in Plaza Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, the decor features piggy figurines collected by the owners during their travels, including a piggy artwork by owner Herukh’s wife on one of the walls. There’s also a balcony area which can be cordoned off that’s large enough for private events.

Apart from the usual crowd-pleaser mango lassi (RM12), there are other flavours such as watermelon and apple lassi, and cocktails as well. Most people don’t realise that Indian food can be paired with wine too – MTP offers a decent wine list to go with its food.

Claimed to be the only Indian restaurant in SEA offering pork, it has a wide range of dishes with the usual North Indian favourites such as butter chicken, palak paneer and tandoori, but the standout dishes here are the Tandoori Pork Ribs (RM60) and Siew Yuk Briyani (RM35).

The fall-off-bone tender ribs were individually marinated and grilled as they found this method to be more effective in flavouring the meat rather than maintaining it as a slab. The rice was fluffy and fragrant with spices, with hidden pieces of roasted pork. Personally though, I still prefer tandoori chicken to pork, and having lamb or mutton in the briyani rice as they give off a stronger character and taste note.    

I was more taken up with how MTP has adapted to trends and offered small plates, a la tapas fashion, which are great with drinks. We had Crispy Pork Puri (RM38), little heavenly puri puff balls filled with savoury minced pork and a little gravy – great start to the meal; Palak Fish Tacos (RM42) which was juicy deep-fried sea bass on mini tortillas, topped with creamy palak spinach gravy – nice different textures and marriage of spices; Prawn Mirchi Masala (RM45) – fresh prawns topped with a drizzle of tomato and onion gravy – tasty but salty; and vegetarian potato dumpling sliders Vada Pav ((RM24) – a cool meatless option. Each small plate offered a small, whimsical explosion of flavours in the mouth, and you might be surprised to find yourself quite stuffed despite the small morsels. Prices for the small plates can add up to quite a bit, so pace yourself. 

My fav for the night was the Spicy Mutton with Crispy Naan (RM45), great for sharing. Naan, flattened and super thin, then cut to small triangles, were cracker crispy and great with any dish, but together with the spicy mutton, it was beyond awesome.

Anything bacon is a win in my books so MTP’s soft, fluffy Bacon and cheese Naan (RM15) brought the game home. Paired with Butter Chicken and Eggplant Masala, we couldn’t ask for better partners to this bread and spice party. 

Wrapping up the meal were creamy cold Kulfis-almond and saffron, and sweet, indulgent Gulab Jamun. Both kulfis were creamy, icy and refreshing.

Found the quality of food generally above average, though some dishes were on the salty side. Some dishes are pricier than others depending on what you order, but still affordable. It goes to show that pork can just as brilliantly match with Indian cuisine as other meats, especially when it’s handled well like how MTP has done it.

Add: 9M, Jalan Medan Setia 1, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. call: 019-987 1945