Review: Extra Super Tanker, Damansara Kim

48 SS 20/10
Damansara Kim
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel# 03 7726 7768 / 7769

Unlike your run-of-the-mill  Chinese restaurants, this place has a very un-Chinese name to it. Don't ask me if it's a direct translation from Chinese because it makes sense to me as much as it does to you (none, if you want me to put it bluntly).

Located in one of the more secluded part of town, I heard about this restaurant from my parents. It's just one of those places that would be good if you want to impress old folks. Like say the parents of the daughter you want to enslave legally marry. You know it's a good place when they don't serve you sodium-coated peanuts but braised ones. No slices of pickled papaya but mango with asam. Both of which starts you off on the right note.

 Everyone is jumping on the brown rice bandwagon as it's healthier. Sure, compared against white rice, it is. But rice is rice. Lesser but still is.

 Roast meat platter.
Their sweet roast pork is one of the better ones with its good ratio of lean meat to fat (half because all things must be equal). The skin is slightly charred with the sugar all melted and caramelized well into the skin. Each bite promises the fat melting away in your mouth. It doesn't leave you feeling jelak or satiated in a bad way. Maybe guilty but that'll be few hours later when you sit like some beached whale from a good meal here.

The roast pork has skin that's of crispy perfection. While it isn't as fatty as the sweet version, it holds well on its own. I like it that they gave rather thick slices of this.

 Siew pak choy in soup with dried shrimp.
I should brush up on my Chinese. No, wait. Brushing up would mean that the skill is present but has gotten rusty over long periods of inactivity. I should pick up Chinese is more precise. Maybe once my Deutsch is done.
A simple homely dish but not something I could recreate on my own.

 Egg tofu braised with pumpkin gravy.
A sweet twist to an otherwise savory dish, it's difficult to say if this worked for me. For one, egg tofu has always been a through and through savory dish in my books. To add in a sweet flavor (and may I add, quite prominently too) is confusing to my taste buds. The dish didn't taste bad. Not at all, far from it. I just can't wrap my head tongue around it.

 Mushroom stuffed with pork.
This would be a good time to confess that I don't always remember what I ate.
One thing I remember about this is how it went well with the rice due to its strong savory notes.

 Sweet and sour pork.
The quintessential dish that any non-Chinese customers would order in a Chinese restaurant. Is it because it's easy to roll off your tongue or it's that good?
This version is pretty great as it was very crunchy and sauce was just a nice balance of sweet and sour. What failed is how there wasn't much meat as they sliced it thinner than usual to ensure that it comes out crispy all round. Guess you can't have it all =(

Chinese style Iberico pork ribs. Having tried the Western version, I was curious to see how the Asian would pull it off.
Pull it off they did. Spectacularly at it to boot. A great blend of local spices for marinade, the ribs were well marinated lightly but flavorful as compared to the otherwise strong, overpowering Western's mushroom or black pepper version. It was indeed a finger licking good experience but you won't be able to since the restaurant provides you with plastic gloves to enjoy them ribs.

Obviously, all the bell and whistles do translate to premium price. But, what's a bit more of cash compared to an impressed potential in-law?