If the overly long name isn’t clear, the restaurant actually offers Italian cuisine, cooked by one Japanese chef, and interestingly, served by only one local helper.
If you’re looking for Japanese food here, you won’t find it. But if you want Italian food with a bit of a Japanese influence and ingredients, you’re at the right place.
The restaurant itself is converted from an old colonial-style house with very limited seats (perhaps 20 pax max, so reservations are a must) and offers an ambiance that is as cosy as it is unique in its staffing.
There’s no real à la carte menu here, instead, you choose from a combination of a three-course menu with one selection of appetiser, a main course, and a dessert.
Prices range from RM45 to RM80 for the set, but sometimes they do have specials, such as the Japanese wagyu grade A5 which can fetch quite a pretty penny.
For dinner, the appetiser platter, pan-fried sakura pork loin, and yuzu sorbet were chosen for the first set.
For the second set, the same appetiser platter, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, and tiramisu were sampled.
Like any “almost fine dining” restaurants, warm bread and breadsticks with olive oil and vinegar were served prior to the arrival of the appetiser.
When the appetiser came, it turned out to be quite a delight. Don’t pay so much mind to the glassware or the plating itself, but the food comprised pickled tomato, roasted pork, spinach and tomato mousse; mortadella, baked shrimp, and caponata.
Each element had a unique taste and was on par with most fancy places.
A small plate of scallops was also added as an additional appetiser. They were decent and definitely worth the RM8 asking price.
For the main course, the pan fried sakura pork loin with red wine balsamic sauce turned out to be a winner.
The meat was cooked to the right doneness, retaining the natural flavour of pork as well as its tenderness. Furthermore, the sauce, made of red wine reduction, balsamic, onion, and beef oil was so flavourful.
For the second set, the slow-cooked lamb shoulder was a decent dish in itself, with a sauce (red wine, homemade beef stock, tomato sauce) that tasted a bit richer but perhaps lacked the excitement when compared to the sauce from the pork loin dish.
The sides were potato, tomato, and broccoli for both dishes, which were adequate. The third course of tiramisu and yuzu sorbet were pretty good choices as well.
Overall, if you love good food and a good pork dish, this is a place worth celebrating special occasions – especially those of the romantic kind – in Ipoh.
Maiale Japanese Style Italian Restaurant (non-halal)
5, Jalan Datuk Yeoh Cheng Lee
Kampung Jawa, 30300
Ipoh, Perak
Contact: +605 2411 405
Read the original article here.
Trying to influence your cravings since 2005, Kar Yeong was Guest Judge on Versus 1001 Rasa Baba’s 2018, R.AGE Food Fight Judge 2015 and NTV7 Foodie Blogger 2014. To read more about Kar Yeong’s food journeys, visit his blog at KYspeaks.com.