All Things Pork @ Sanbanto Cafe, SS 2

On one of my study leaves, I brought my dad for lunch at Sanbanto Cafe @ SS 2 as I was quite tired of eating mixed rice (imagining having that for lunch and dinner for two consecutive days).  For the brain to function properly, I must feed myself properly.  Some porky treats would be perfect!

I ordered the Pork Burger (RM 19.90), which is a juicy hand-made pork patty burger with bacon and cheese served with french fries and salad.  The pork patty was seasoned well and quite flavourful on its own.  But together with the streaky bacon, the pork patty was kind of masked by the strong fragrance of the bacon.  What I did instead was to eat the bacon and pork patty separately so that I can enjoy the true flavours.  Generally, the burger was not too oily, but I find it slightly dry.  Would have been better if they had put some sort of sauce or gravy to add a bit more moisture to the burger.

The french fries were crispy and not very oily, which is good.  However, they tasted slightly bland without much flavours of the potato and so, I ended up dipping into the sauces for better taste.  The salad, I can't remember how it tasted like, unfortunately.

My dad ordered the Pork Chop (RM 25.90), which is a pan-fried pork chop with fragrant brown sauce served with french fries and salad.  I must say, this is the best pork chop I have tried.  The pork chop was so juicy and tender, and as you cut a piece of the meat, you can see a nice layer of fat and meat, leaving you a nice bouncy feel.  On the outside, it was seared nicely with a beautiful caramelised crust.  On its own, it was lovely and flavourful but with the peppery brown sauce, which was made from pork broth, it was heavenly.

I agree the pork tasted a bit different here at Sanbanto, with a little more sweetness and without the foul smell.  They must have done quite a good job to feed the right things to their pigs to get such flavours - grain-fed with mineral-rich underground water, I was told.  Will come back again for their pork.

However, Sanbanto is pretty small, with very limited seating spaces.  So, do give them a ring if you intend to go in large groups to prevent disappointment.

Sanbanto Cafe

No.32, SS2/63

47300 Petaling Jaya

GPS:  3.118855,101.621913

Tel:  03-78761728

Closed on Mondays

Thai Dinner @ Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant, SS2

Having read some good reviews of this Thai restaurant in SS2, I wanted to try it out.  But with all the classes and gatherings already planned out in the last few months, there was barely any slots available to try out Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant @ SS2.  Finally, the chance finally came when we went there for dinner.

Going to a Thai restaurant means the tom yam soup definitely has to be on the order list.  They have a variety of tom yam soups but we selected the Tom Yam Kai (RM 20 - small) or Chicken Tom Yam instead.

Served in an old-school steamboat with burning charcoal, the smell was very aromatic.  The soup was fantastic, with a lovely tangy and sweet taste.  The balance of sourness and sweet was just nice.  Although the pot is filled with a lot of cut chillies, the level of hotness is still manageable (at least, in my opinion).  The soup is really addictive and I just couldn't stop sipping the soup had not for me feeling too bloated with water.

The only complain is that there was not enough chicken and mushrooms in it.  It seemed as though the soup was the main character and the rest are just accompanying it.  I barely had any chicken slices or the mushrooms.  If they had added in slightly more meat or mushrooms, I would say this dish is totally perfect.

Another dish we ordered  is none other than the vegetables - Stir-fry Kailan with garlic (RM 12).  The kailan or Chinese brocolli was crunchy, but overall, a standard plate of vegetables.  The gravy was flavourful but just not garlicky enough.

The Jasmine Rice were charged at RM 2.50 per plate, which is a bit expensive as the portion is quite small.

For drinks, we had the Iced Lemongrass drink (RM 3.50).  It was pretty sweet, I must say, but luckily we ordered the iced version that seems to dilute the sweetness after a while.

When we were there, it was almost full-house and some even had to wait for tables.  Despite that, the acoustic was pretty good and not too noisy.  However, service can be a little slow, so do expect to wait a while before the food comes.  For us, I think we waited slightly past 30 minutes.

Overall, the restaurant has a simple layout but it was comfortable.  I guess the most important is that it tasted good although we do find the price slightly on the higher side. Would I come back again?  Well, maybe the tom yam soup will still be worth a second chance.

Seeri Authentic Thai Restaurant
No.26 Jalan SS2/10,
47300 Petaling Jaya
(Same row as Kayu Nasi Kandar)
Close on Thursday