We Tried The Best Pork Dishes In This Restaurant And Slipped Into A Food Coma Right After
No regrets. :p
By Samantha Khor — 15 Sep 2016, 06:31 PM
Confession time - all of us here at SAYS love good food, and we sure can eat a lot.
So when ANTE "seduced" us with a pork-filled feast a.k.a. a preview of their new menu... we found it very difficult to refuse.
Yep, the menu was so extensive it needed at least eight of us to finish everything off.
True to their reputation as the to-go place for meat, meat, and MORE meat, the good folks of ANTE started us off with:
1. Thick, crispy slices of their signature House-smoked bacon, paired with seeded mustard
The 8mm-thick bacon slices are naturally cured, then dried and smoked to provide an authentic smoky flavour. ANTE recommends eating the bacon in its own first to savour its original taste, before enjoying it with the mustard.
2. Succulent cubes of Crispy Skin Smoked Duck Breast, served on top of a balsamic reduction and paired with a medley of julienned young papaya and mango for a tangy twist
3. Impossibly tender, melt-in-your mouth Miso Pork Belly. Hands down, the best pork belly dish we've ever had! #truestory
The miso-glazed pork belly is slow-cooked for 12 hours to seal in its juices, with its soft texture balanced out with a herbed crust on top.
4. Jamón Ibérico (Ibérico ham) paired with extra virgin olive oil infused rockmelon and house made ricotta cheese
It is recommended to wrap the Jamón Ibérico over the rockmelon and ricotta cheese for a burst of contrasting flavours (savoury ham vs. sweet melon) and varied textures.
5. Tasting Platter of premium cold cuts featuring slices of jamón ibérico and cubes of smoked duck breast, paired with a side of rockmelon and ricotta as well as a slice of Lescure butter and sourdough bread
Before moving on the the mains, we take a break from the meats to refresh our palette with some amazing salads:
1. Garden Duck, baby romaine and duck breast slices tossed with grilled watermelons, cherry tomatoes, pecan, and a zesty orange brandy dressing
2. Mango and Pomegranate salad, julienned young mango and young papaya tossed with green and red lollo lettuce, pecan, pomegranate, and french vinaigrette
3. Bacon Salad proves that you can never have too much bacon, with house smoke bacon sliced on top of a bed of baby romaine, bacon crumble, parmesan tossed in house-made Caesar dressing
ANTE promised that there will be "a lot, a lot of pork" when we accepted their invitation. Looking at the mains, they weren't exaggerating... ;)
1. The restaurant's signature chargrilled pork ribeye steak - with a perfect composition of lean white meat, marbled dark meat and a strip of fat - served with indulgent truffle butter sauce, roasted russet potatoes, frisee and oak leaf lettuce
2. A well-marbled cut of pork shoulder steak, served with fragrant rosemary garlic sauce, mashed potatoes, frisee and oak lettuce
3. For the health conscious, Pork Steak Diane highlights a pan-seared pork striploin on a bed of green pea mash and roasted russet potatoes drenched with a mushroom brandy sauce
4. An homage to the Steak Au Poivre, pork striploin is also served with black pepper sauce, accompanied by caramelised onions, fries, frisee and oak lettuce
5. Inspired by Asian flavours, this perfectly poached salmon fillet is served glazed with miso honey and a rice puff seaweed crust on a bed of torched leeks and shiitake mushroom broth for a burst of flavour
When the guys at ANTE say "perfectly poached", they mean it. It's so tender we didn't even need a knife to "cut" through it!
6. A hearty Braised Pork Shoulder Stew of pork shoulder chunks seared then braised 'til tender, served with mashed potatoes and a slice of sourdough bread to soak up leftover sauces
7. We could barely finish this huge slab of BBQ Ribs - cooked overnight to seal in the flavours - served with a side of kimchi slaw and fries
1. Chocolate lovers will love the Valrhona Chocolate Slice, made entirely of Valrhona dark chocolate with a crisp feuilltine base adorned with cocoa soil, almond flakes, Earl Grey tea infused cream and fresh berries
2. Rich and suitably creamy, the Crème Brûlée had us wishing we could lick the bowl clean after...
3. The Apple Crumble was a surprise hit, with the salted caramel syrup going really well with the pastry itself and ice cream
Thanks for the "babi" bumps, ANTE! Dishes from the new menu are currently available at ANTE 1 Utama and will be launched at its Solaris Dutamas branch soon.
ANTE 1 Utama
Address: Lot F346, First Floor, Rainforest, New Wing, One Utama Shopping Centre, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday - 10.00am to 10.00pm, Friday and Saturday from 10.00am to 10.30pm.
Contact Details: 03-7732 5204
ANTE Solaris Dutamas
Address: A2-G1-09, Solaris Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday - 11.00am to 10.00pm, Friday and Saturday from 11.00am to 11.00pm.
Contact Details: Call 03-6206 3364 to make reservations.
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