Krop Krop Oinkz - excellent pork burger!

Krop Krop Oinkz

Come on in! Or stay outside!

Update 5th March 2016 - they are now closed Saturdays and Sundays
 
September 19th 2015

The alleyways of Plaza Damas have been lighting up of late with some delightful new eateries. Whilst the inside of the Hartamas Shopping Centre located under the Plaza Damas has a good sprinkling of the usual suspects for those eager to sit with a coffee and sandwich (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Secret Recipe) or a plate of something more substantial (Penang Cafe, Kim Gary), it is on the outside streets where a fantastic little food culture exists and has started seeding some cute new offerings. There were already lots of little Japanese style outlets doing different styles of the cuisine, along with the traditional hawker style Nasi Lemak and Nasi Campur nestling cheek by jowl with Cantonese and Nasi Kandar offerings. Elsewhere on the blog I have written about the fish and chips at the G Spot and the excellent food and service at the Grand Imperial at Plaza Damas. Lenglui and I also had a good experience at a new Japanese Ramen style place just up from our usual Massage spot at the Wellness Centre (can't find the name - the Google Maps for Plaza Damas is way out of date) and we occasionally pop in to the Rakuzen when the need for good sashimi and bento kicks in. Their sushi is excellent. The one odd experience was at the Contena where I got charged extra for having fresh fruit juice without ice. I wouldn't go back but Lenglui has the occasional craving for Nasi Lemak and apparently it is quite good.

We spotted a new outlet called Krop Krop Oinkz next to our Wellness and a look at the menu showed Pork Burgers in a range of presentations. There was seating outside and a pleasant breeze, er, breezing through the alley so we decided to give it a try. I ordered the classic while Lenglui took the one with Onion Rings and we shared a plate of fries. Both burgers were very good - juicy patty with crisp deep fried oyster mushroom and a delightfully slightly moist doughy bun. Would have been perfect with a beer, but there you go. Operations Manager Tjun came out with a dollop of Potato Salad they were taste testing with customers for us to try. Was a bit creamy bland and soft in texture and oversalted as a result of being sprinkled with bacon bits. The lettuce was a bit limp also. I suggested to ditch the bacon and mix the potato with hot dog relish to give some pickle and vinegar zing. On reflection, though, this could react oddly with the signature pork - need to remember there is always a context with food and it all needs to go together on the plate.

Thoroughly satisfied with this. Total with two glasses of ice water was RM44 - maybe a bit stiff for a burger but you'll pay a good chunk more at the TGIF around the corner for the beef version. Will definitely be back to the Krop Krop. Hope they can sustain the quality and price over the long term.

Seems there is another outlet in Section 17 called Oinkzburgers, seemingly in the same area as Soleil and Veneto and all other eateries. Not sure we will get there soon, nor if we would eat there given the only reason we would be in the area would be to actually GO to Soleil et al. But one never knows when the Pork craving will kick in and kudos to the dedicated pig sellers for setting up such oases of the swine - they need to be supported and kept in business. Though given the longevity of a lot of the traditional pig outlets, seems there is sufficient demand to keep them going. Vive le Pig.

PS Whatever happened to Mr Ho?

Krop Krop Oinkz
G-0-1 Plaza Damas
Sri Hartamas
03 6241 0113
016 493 3699

Grand Imperial, HSC - quite impressed

June 23rd 2015 - Quick note on the Grand Imperial Palace Restaurant in Hartamas Shopping Centre. Went there for dinner with a group of Lenglui's old kaki from the Line Dance days (Line as in Yeehah Bootscoot and Scuff as opposed to the dum-chang dum-chang Lion Dance you see at Chinese New Year time). It was a triple birthday and they're usually good fun. 

The Grand Imperial has been around since 2008, now having five operations at outlets in BSC, USJ City Mall, 1 Utama, Casa Klang and the one where we were in Hartamas Shopping Centre. Their website says they also have an outlet in London - very international. Looking back, it is only the one in Klang that is missing for the full set to have been sampled - the others seemed to have come and gone in one off visits with occasional foodie buffs (BSC, 1 Utama) or wine dinners (USJ). Which is probably why as the food came out it all looked a shade familiar. So it goes. 

The HSC venue was like the Tardis from Doctor Who days - small door that opens out into a palatial system of private rooms and main hall. Most of the private rooms looked to have been booked and there was a smattering of people in the main hall. Quite nicely opulent and tastefully furnished ambience - not so "jang" as some of the larger Chinese restaurants can sometimes be. It is indeed quite Grand and does give a good sense of occasion. 

We got ushered into one of the private rooms with the ubiquitous karaoke system which had been switched to "off" for the night. Glasses were waiting at a side bar with the bottles brought for the occasion and a charming wine chap was ready to help with the pouring. I took command and retrieved the reds from the ice bucket and parked the whites therein. Sometimes they just need a bit of training, though my guess was that one of the guests had told him to park the red in the ice. Recognising this, I selected the less complex of the reds brought (turned out to be an Australian Merlot and which would not ultimately get drunk) and left it to freeze with the whites. Sadly one of the whites brought by Datuk proved undrinkable - it was a fancy named French thing from 2006 that must have been parked in his fridge for years. It was dark in the glass and rough as a robber's dog on the nose. He was quite miffed, saying it was supposed to be a good one. It was a shame, since he does usually bring decent wines. This particular one had the varietal name prominently displayed on the label. Conventional wisdom suggests that any Frenchie who does this should set off the alarm bells, since for this to be done often suggests marketing over the degree of care about what went into the bottle and how. But that's only the CW talking - it is only the uncork that reveals the truth.

Menu for the night was

Spinach Beancurd with Crab Meat

Steamed Rice

Double Boiled Soup with Dried Chicken

Ocean Garoupa

Baked Spare Rib

Sauteed Lotus Root with vegetable and (I think) Hazelnut

BBQ Pork Noodle

Longevity Bun

Chilled Longan with Peach

The Birthday Boys and Girl. And cake. 

Drinks were Chilean SB, Argentinian Chardonnay (both supermarket), a 2011 Argento Malbec Reserve (also Argentina, seen in supermarkets) and a delightful Pinot from Monterey County in California which I should have taken a photo of as I now can't find the name of it in any of the lists. Lovely and light as an aperitif, went belter with most of the food. Darn. Bit embarrassed to ask the company what it was since it was me that supped most of it. Charmer of a wine. I decided to go straight for the red because recent dinners suggest wine friends are happy to chug more white. So the less white for me means the more for the friends. And that Monterey Pinot was a rare tempting treat. 

In all, the food was not bad, though Lenglui found it all a bit ordinary and lacking taste compared to our Marco Polo. But looking back, I think perhaps this might the style that the Imperial Group is going for - not supercharging dishes with the spice or soy (like what the restaurants in the Noble House group seem to do) but keeping it simple and understated to let the food show itself off. Which for me it all did quite nicely. We both liked the soup, the Garoupa was perfectly steamed and the Lotus Root and celery and hazelnut made for a sourish crunchy mouthful with nut texture contrasting with the celery and lotus root starch and competing for dominance. The Pork Noodle was fair but the Total Star was the Baked Spare Rib. I remembered that the supplier to the restaurant is the same chap we buy our ribs from (Oscar from Spanish Passion) so that made them Iberico. They were darling - roasted to melting perfection and with a sauce that had sweet, smoke, zip and goo but without that overpowering gunk and unctuous fire you can sometimes get from the bottle. Totally delightful and wonderful balance. We had been given a pair of plastic disposable gloves with which to eat the ribs - these got licked and sucked completely dry. The company was very kind to let me have the remaining rib on the table. Absolute cracker with the Pinot, and tamed the Malbec tannins nicely to let some crisp dark plum come through. 

Baked Spare Rib. O beautiful...

Total bill was RM1250 for eleven people after service and GST charges and no corkage appeared to have been charged. Service was pleasant and efficient, with food being shown for the obligatory photo before being partitioned into individual servings for everyone. Also got fresh glasses for the red and also got offered for the change of white. Impressed. One of the group had brought a birthday cake for the obligatory candle blowing and photo. Not bad - coffee flavour though still that sickly sweet icing around the rim that suggested Secret Recipe. Also, table neighbour had started coughing a bit and, being a total germophobe, I decided against eating the surface bits. Doctor Gan once told us that the fastest way to get infected is from hand to food to mouth. Which is why the Japanese don't like to shake hands - perfect germ transmission system. I usually try and wash the hands after a handshake - or at least splash a bit of water from a glass on the table if a visit to a bathroom is cannot. Lenglui also carries a little disinfectant spray bottle filled with Vodka. Another tip from Dr Gan - alcohol is the best disinfectant - not greasy, dries quickly and no smell. Our yearly infections have definitely gone down. 

One Very Happy man

In sum, I'd go back for the ribs in a second. Fish was okay but not in the Soon Hock class of sweetness and texture, but that was menu choice rather than restaurant preparation. On this showing they'd do a standout job with any fish. The pork in the noodles felt a bit fat and sweet, though the desserts were lovely - ice cool, fruity crunch and a lightly sweet syrup. Beancurd was good though the crabstick felt a bit rubbery. Even so, for a group dinner the Grand Imperial makes a good choice. Have to get the IWFS to consider because those ribs were really off the map. 

Mmmmmmmmmm.... an excellently succulently good rib

Parking - there is a valet service, though if you go through the Car Parking gate just before the restaurant entrance and park near this gate you can walk back through and straight into the place. Only downside is trying to pay for your parking when you leave - the nearest machine was "rosak" and there were a number of people ambling around trying to locate another. Not the thing you want to be doing in a hot and stuffy car park after a good meal. We were lucky - HSC is a regular Saturday destination for massage and groceries so we were able to drive to where we knew the next one was located. Now if the management can get their fricking machines to take the new RM1 and RM5 notes it might survive the beating and kicking it will get next time it refuses to take the money. Though you can use the Touch N Go Card to get in. Life in Malaysia, eh?

Grand Imperial Restaurant

Lot F33-F35 1st Floor 

Hartamas Shopping Centre

No 60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1

50480 Kuala Lumpur

Tel 03-62013777 / 62019777

www.grandimperial.com.my

Restaurant pics sourced from their website, others from an SII. Should really change the phone for one with a decent camera...

Naughty Nuri's - stellar ribs, expensive drinks

Naughty Nuri's Warung, Desa Sri Hartamas

Lenglui was having a girls night at some Korean place in Sri Hartamas and so I decided to go on an evening wander around the area, just to see what was there. When you're driving past in the car, you don't always see what's new or old or closed or whatever. Not that we regularly go there - parking is a real nightmare though we got insanely lucky on this night snagging a space right outside Lenglui's Korean venue. 

Seems to still be mostly Korean places for food and supermarkets on the main roads and shophouses. All mostly food. Good to see that Backofen was still there - remember going there about three years ago for coffee after having a costume check with Dominque for a Christmas show we were doing at the time. Was planning to go to the Denise for a glass but it looked closed and quite sad. 

I took a walk across the road to where the Maybank is, having seen some lights in the street behind from my side of the road and never having been to that part. A bit of a dodgy lane to get there, but white boy in Malaysia attitude and keep walking and it mostly turns out okay. Dodgy would turn out to be right - the road turned out to be pretty much all nightclubs on both sides of the street with young ladies parked on stools outside, doing nails and riffling long extension style hair. Couldn't see too many faces - I was walking down the middle of the road - but eyelashes and lips and legs and hot pants kind of sealed the tone. Haven't seen this kind of sleazy bar street ambience for years. It oozed funk. You could almost smell the disease and lost hope that inhabit these bars, with their bump and grind club sounds seeping out through the darkened doors. No thank you - just stop long enough for a quick look at the freak show and get out befgore you get caught up in it. Don't play play on the wild side.

A double back to the other side and a wander through the backstreets of Sri Hartamas revealed some useful looking places on a street behind the Souled Out (which was heaving, and this on a Monday night - outrageously successful, for which reason I declined to go there). One Japanese Tonkatsu place looked promising, with Japanese looking types eating there, but I felt not quite in the mood for Ramen soup. Another dodgy looking nightclub next door kind of settled that one as well.

I ended up at a newish looking place called Naughty Nuri's Warung. It is at the far end of the main drag through Desa Sri Hartamas, and right on the end of the street. I think it used to be one of those Irish Pubs, as memory serves. It was also heaving, but the prospect of eating some Pork and enjoying apparent happy hours on beers at the bar sealed the deal. I think the concept is Balinese, whilst most things on the menu were pork related. There was a live band playing quite well and raucously in another section which made for decent entertainment. Equal entertainment was being provided by the bar staff with their repartee both between them and with patrons.  I went for the signature ribs to be washed down with Happy Hour Cooper's Porter. The ribs were stellar - lovely mouth tinglers with the spice and sweet burn on the lips with some tender meat that just eased through the mouth and cheeks and slippery on the tongue. One of the best, period. 

It was the bill that was the shock - one set of ribs and two beers came out at RM140. Seems Happyhour was on halfpints and I had opted for the full version which was not clearly explained. This absence of clarity tried to be explained to Sam Vijendra, the manager (owner?)and Pork Seller (according to his card) though I am not sure the message got across. He offered to stand me another drink, but that didn't seem quite the point - I wanted clarity for future patrons, myself included. I made my excuses, paid and left.

I doubt that I will go back. even though the ribs were stellar - making a margin on drinks is one thing but this felt a real sting for what I got. RM30 plus for a pint of beer, very good though it was - forget it. Found I could buy a case of Bud for RM100 at a back of the lorry place just up the road. Maybe I can do take out from Nuri's next time and grab some beers on the way through, but seriously watch the drinks bill if you decide to go there.