Sanbanto, SS2, PJ

Hi guys! How was your Christmas weekend? Had a great time?

Planning for your year end party now? :)

My weekend was fantabulous, as it's not only the long weekend break, I'm also a december baby, so I got loads of makans with my dear friends.

One of my birthday dinner treat ended at Sanbanto, for some porky goodness..

My friends left all the ordering to me- since it's my privilege for the day..hehehe

Ordered some House green salad (RM8) and Pork Belly Salad (RM13) to start the meal..

The bed of salads for both were almost identical, except the pork belly salad was, well, laden with heaps of pork belly. Generous portion, the pork belly was slightly over fried, but ok with the accompanying honey mustard dip. Greens were crisp fresh.

The mains were serve, coincidentally arrived very much like an italian meal...

Primo first?

We got the Sanbanto Pork Bolognese(RM17)..

The thick, flavourful pork bolognese goes well with the homemade pappardelle. There were mixed feelings on this dish though- I liked the texture of the thick pappardelle, which gave a bit more bite and chewiness to the dish. Some of my friends find it a tad hard.

The Short Ribs Spaghetti (RM21) was an unexpected order..

Well, I did not order this dish but my friends attacked it before I could say "it's the wrong order!". Dang 'em wolves! :p Anyways, this dish felt more asian, the sauce was sweetish- akin to teriyaki. Also, the fried lard bits in the pasta malaysianize this dish. The ribs was tender and well marinated, but sweetish pasta may not be everyone's plate of pasta?

The Secondi starts with some attention grabbing meat...

The BBQ ribs (RM38) looks scrumptious..

Tasted as good as it looks, the ribs were fork tender, the fats were meltingly good and the meat was wonderfully basted with sticky BBQ sauce. Delicious indeed.

Alicia requested for a Bacon and cheese burger (RM17)

Quite a substantial portion, I'm happy to see the mountain of chips coz I like anything potato. Excellent chips but the pork patty was a tad salty.

The owner's son recommended the English Roast Pork (RM42- good for 2 to share) which was only available on weekends.

I'm glad I took his advise, this, to me, was the best dish of the day. The slices of roast was juicy, tender and oozing natural sweetness of the pork. The layer of skin, though extremely thin, was so aromatic and flavourful- I had to nibble by small bits so that I can enjoy the skin a bit longer :p. The accompanying wine sauce paired beautifully with the roast- such satisfaction to eat this.

We were stuff, but after much convincing from the owner, we had a plate of Char Siew to share.

Mr Ng explained that this char siew was from a premium cut, but he cant share more that that. I must say, this char siew had a slight difference from the usual melt in mouth types- yes, it was tender, but the pork was very sweet, and light in texture. The exterior was cooked akin to bak kwa, which Francis loves.

The friendly owner told us that the pork served in Sanbanto were direct from their farm in Jemaluang ( Sam pan Tuo in Mandarin- hence Sanbanto), Johor. Their farming and production of pigs products are certified by Moody's and ISO approved- he even showed us the health/ cleanliness level of their pig's meat and liver. We can definitely rest assured that we were fed with premium pork that night :)

My final surprise came in the form of a dolce- on the house :)

The warm choc brownie cake was rich, slightly bitter and filled with lots of walnuts. Such a good way to end the meal. And Sanbanto made this a real memorable meal for me when their whole kitchen staff burst out singing a birthday song for me..So embarrassing (luckily we were the only patrons left), but I'll definitely remember this :D.

Sanbanto is located at 32, SS2/63, Petaling Jaya, 47300 Selangor. Tel 03-78761728. As Sanbanto sells fresh produce at it's front counter, the tables are rather limited. To avoid long waits for a table, you may want to make reservations.