SMALL plates made a delectable start to our north Indian dinner at Meat The Porkers.

We began with a porky starter, as befits the name of the restaurant. Pork sets it apart from other Indian restaurants, which usually offer chicken and lamb in their menus. 

Crispy pork puri was layered with shallots, filled with pork keema masala and topped with floss made with chickpea flour.

Spicy minced pork and moist sweet shallots in the fragile, crispy puri shells tumbled on the palate in a yummy bite.

The dry prawn masala on a long platter offered flavourful spiced prawns cooked just right. I didn’t feel the need to ask for rice to enjoy them with.

Palak fish tacos had fish fried in a spiced batter, rolled in palak or spinach puree and topped with cabbage slaw. It would have tasted better if the spinach puree had been less salty.

For the vegetarians there were the vada pav bites sitting on toasted bread – deep-fried balls of mashed potato, spices and mint, with a topping of coconut chutney and scattered with desiccated coconut. 

I liked the char aroma on the Tandoori pork ribs, which fell off the bone at the bite.

The meat was well infused with the spiced marinade and the tart lime yoghurt on it. The ribs were lovely on their own, with no need of the mint sauce or the chicken rice chilli sauce that were served with them. 

Chef and owner Herukh had added the chilli sauce, which seemed to have found favour with his diners for these popular pork ribs.

Spicy mutton with crispy naan was a traditional favourite, south Indian style.

There was lots of oomph in this ghee roasted spicy and tender mutton, not to mention the thin crispy naan, which had been baked till crispy. 

We couldn’t get enough of both. The crispy naan would have made a great snack on its own.

Goan pork vindaloo on mantou somehow didn’t work. The thick mantou got in the way of this delicious pork. 

I would have liked it better eaten on its own, or perhaps with naan or rice.

Siew yuk briyani, a signature dish of Meat The Porkers, had roasted pork belly cooked in a Hyderabadi gravy, then layered with long grain basmati rice, sealed in a steel pot and steamed at a high temperature.

It was served topped with pieces of crispy pork rind. We relished the siew yuk in the flavourful rice and enjoyed the crackling rind.

Eggplant masala, butter chicken and palak paneer came together with the bacon cheese naan.

The eggplant masala was so good, stir fried in spices and onions.

The butter chicken, cooked with boneless tandoori chunks of chicken in a buttery tomato-based gravy, was not too rich and it settled nicely with me. 

Palak paneer had cubes of homemade cottage cheese in a tasty spinach gravy with cashews.

The bacon cheese naan stood out for the smoked bacon chips embedded in the naan with mozzarella and cheddar cheese melting over the fluffy bread. 

Gulab jamun, deep-fried milk dumplings in a fragrant cardamom syrup, and pista kulfi were our desserts. 

If you are not a hearty eater, small plates are worth indulging in at Meat The Porkers, which offers a variety of them, with pork, fish, prawns and calamari. 

The restaurant is at 9M, Jalan Medan Setia 1, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, tel: 019 987 1945. It has a large event space for celebrations and gatherings. – June 10, 2023.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.