What a Boar! Damansara Uptown's new pop-up kitchen merits hall-of-fame status for hog hunters, displaying one of the Klang Valley's most distinctive examples of nose-to-tail eating. Sniff out The Boar at The Great Beer Bar, daily for dinner - it's the latest initiative of the Coolinary Ronins, a collective of local F&B innovators with imaginative plans for the restaurant scene.
Take your taste buds on a thrill ride beyond the typical pork chops & bacon: We love, love, love The Boar's pork snout - pure proboscis pleasure, simultaneously crisp & gelatinous, fatty & firm, a textured revelation with a clean, meaty flavour, absolutely addictive in a creamy-earthy split pea puree (RM18). The pig ears also make for should-try soul food, sticky-smooth but not rubbery, with an invigorating uplift from the fried ginger & spinach salad (RM18). Gorgeous recipes, irreproachably executed.
Boar us with details: Local pork & local produce underpin the Coolinary Ronins' work, underscoring their philosophy that Malaysian farms possess plenty of potential untapped by contemporary eateries. The results prove convincing: The Boar's pork belly mantou may be the best of its kind in KL, luscious & beautifully balanced in sweet-savoury flavours, with pickled shallots, chillies & the crunch of fried lard in the mix (RM18). A duo of tongue & cheek, each prepared its own way for a contrast of dynamics & dimensions (RM18), further exhibits how good meat & good cooking form the equation for excellence.
The small-plates plethora of pork includes a visually playful liver pate with cream crackers (RM18), made-for-munching crackling with curry leaf dust & apple cider mayo (RM18) & Oriental-inflected pig tail soup with lotus roots & cress (RM18). The Boar's a restless creature, experimenting with new recipes all the time, so expect the selection to evolve as the months trot by.
For mains, the pork belly with apple sauce is endowed with the crunchiest crackling possible (RM28) & the fleshy spare rib comes with a lip-smacking house-made barbecue sauce & slow-cooked kidney beans (RM38) - even the side salads aren't an afterthought, with intriguing choices like citric asam paya leaves. There's still more to revel in, such as a bacon French toast featuring gula kabung as a very pleasant substitute for gula melaka. If you're in a group that can pre-order a day in advance, try the whole roasted piglet with meatloaf stuffing, poached apples, roasted potatoes & gravy (RM348; for eight to 10 people).
And of course, beer - The Great Beer Bar needs no introduction for craft beer acolytes, but what's worth noting is that you can pair The Boar's food with The Great Beer Bar's draught beers for sets with discounted prices - a small plate with a draught beer totals RM45, while a big plate with a draught beer chimes in at RM55-RM60. Many thanks to The Boar for having us here.
The Boar by Coolinary Ronins at The Great Beer Bar
86, Jalan SS 21/62, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Daily, 5pm-11pm. Tel: 012-408-7496
The Eat Drink KL mobile app is now available, connecting restaurants & customers to promote a positive spirit of community.
Every restaurant on this app rewards users with a 6 percent discount, instantly & conveniently, everyday, all day long.
In return, users share photos of their experiences at these eateries, creating a new community of restaurant lovers.
For every transaction, at least RM0.10 will be channelled to a charity of the month.
Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings, F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link:
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter may be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.
Check out the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, featuring 100 recommended restaurants. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://issuu.com/eatdrinkkl/docs/ebook
Buckle your seatbelts: Eat Drink KL is partnering with Uber to take restaurant lovers on new adventures across KL & Selangor!
If you haven't used Uber yet, it's time to begin! For new users, just follow the steps below to redeem free rides:
1. Download the Uber app from the App Store, Play Store or Windows Store - and register your Uber account.
2. Apply the code EATDRINKKL as your first promotional code & you'll receive 2 Free Rides worth RM30 each.
3. Request a ride through the app and ride for free to any destination (with two ride values of up to RM30 each).
