ONE bite and we fell in love with the Ultimate Nachos at Hungry Bacon in Damansara Utama.

The thin nachos stayed crispy under a pouring of hot cheese sauce, followed by a sprinkling of bacon, jalapeno, scallions and chopped red pepper.

Adding to the enjoyment of the nachos (RM40) were bacon con carne, guacamole, sour cream and pico de galo, a tomato salsa.

The bacon con carne of minced pork, minced bacon, tomato paste, capsicum and red kidney beans was delicious.

I liked the cheese sauce too, which chef Timothy Sebastian streamed from a hot pan over the nachos at tableside. It’s a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella, cream and a hint of tabasco. That was the ultimate in nachos for me.

Hungry Bacon is also the name of the adorable miniature poodle belonging to the restaurant owners.

His pictures hang on the walls of the restaurant; he’s five and the restaurant is just two months old.

Everything came together with aplomb in the pumpkin salad (RM25).

There are dark pearls of balsamic vinegar in this salad of roasted pumpkin wedges, truffle oil, sundried tomato pesto, arugula, spinach, chickpeas, pine nuts, feta cheese and croutons, brought together with a lemon dressing. We had the vegetarian option; else the pumpkin would be wrapped with bacon.

It was a textural delight that had a bunch of flavours coming together.

Wild boar peratal (RM20), cooked to a family recipe, turned out tender chunks of meat well infused with the aromatic spices of the peratal. It was served with poppadom and slices of toast.

Nasi kerabu babi percik kembar (RM33) has blue pea flower rice served with skewered grilled pork that had been marinated with percik spices, solok lada, salted egg, ulam, kerisik, fish crackers and lard crispies. Budu, sambal belacan and percik sauce accompanied the rice.

It’s a busy platter: stir the rice first with the ulam, lardons and salted egg together with some budu and sambal. Savour the tender, aromatic pork with the percik sauce, then the solok lada, a green chilli with a stuffing of fresh coconut, fish and spices, and lastly crunch on the crackers.

I enjoyed how the different spiced flavours and textures tumbled on to the palate.

The pork burger with bacon (RM30) showcases a thick, juicy patty (180g) that has been steeped in a secret marination of 15 ingredients, then seared and caramelised in the pan and finished with cheese in the oven.

The burger is assembled with melted American cheese, tomato and lettuce, crisp bacon, caramelised onions and lashings of BBQ sauce and mayonnaise. It’s served with US potato fries, garlic aioli and BBQ sauce.

The pork shoulder chop (RM33) is a generous 250g: the meat is brined for 48 hours, grilled and served with its juices intact.

It’s served with truffle mash, broccoli, romescu sauce (made with sundried tomatoes, smoked peppers and red wine), herb butter and gravy. It’s everything we like, especially the truffle mash.

My least favourite has to be the basil pesto pasta (RM20) topped with parmesan and pine nuts. It’s a creamy sauce instead of pure pesto tossed with pasta. Still, the pesto was fragrant, the pasta al dente and most importantly, the vegetarian eating with us liked it.

A drink that stands out here is Assam the Bois (RM8), which has a calamansi sorbet topping icy calamansi juice with dried sour plums. The sole dessert here is a well-executed chocolate lava cake with 40 licks vanilla ice cream (RM18).

Chef owner Sebastian has worked for 20 years with established restaurants such as Leonardo’s, Bobo KL, Morganfield’s Group, and The Delicious Group to name a few.

Hungry Bacon is at 33, Jalan SS21/56b, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. For reservations, call 012-355 0857. It’s open from 5pm to midnight daily except Monday. –  December 25, 2021.

* 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.