Eat Drink KL: Pig Out Cafe @ Parklane, Kelana Jaya

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Pig Out Cafe @ Parklane, Kelana Jaya

Gettin' piggy with it at this cafe that opened this week, promising a primrose path of pork in Kelana Jaya's fledgling Parklane commercial center.

 The marquee attraction: Roast pork belly, 200 irresistible grams of meat marinated overnight & served with chunky-cut carrots, potatoes & applesauce (RM18 only). 

 Cafe owner Seet Yan, who launched Pig Out after months of running a catering service, prepares limited portions of this roast pork, so to be safe, call ahead to reserve.

 Grilled pork chop with garlic sauce, coleslaw & creamy-flavorsome mashed potatoes (RM16). Pig Out's food features a home-cooked feel, not a restaurant's polish; this is honest fare, without lofty ambitions of revolutionizing the cafe industry.

 Spaghetti bolognese with pork meatballs (RM16). Servings are generous; our only quibble is that some of these recipes can seem heavy on the salt.

 Caesar salad with own-smoked bacon (RM12, prices are nett for now). It's like eating at a favorite aunt's house or at a potluck where friends spent days poring over the menu & pouring every ounce of energy into making each dish.

 But accidents can happen: This cottage pie (RM7) emerged burnt at the bottom, with overly charred minced pork beneath the mashed potatoes.

 Redemption is nevertheless near: Pig Out's pork burger (RM16), topped with enoki mushrooms, might well exceed certain expectations ...

 ... thanks to its luscious patty, the polar opposite of so many other blandly dry pork patties. With a little more fine-tuning, this could become one of the Klang Valley's best pork burgers.

 Pig Out is in a trial opening stage (offering 20 percent discounts off its already-low prices), with a limited menu & insufficient staff members to cope with crowds; be patient if your food takes time to surface. This has the potential to evolve into a crowd-pleasing landmark.

Pig Out Cafe (within one minute's drive of Paradigm Mall),
A-G-3, Park Lane Commercial Hub, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya.
Tel: 016-232-9248
It's a casual, sandals-&-shorts cafe, where the owner's friends might breezily stroll in & out.
Currently open only for lunch weekdays & dinner on weekends. Will expand hours in September.