Ampersand@Uptown Damansara Again! (Closed)

I have been to dinner at Ampersand 4 times already. That's the problem with me. When I like a restaurant, I will be stuck there. I won't want to go anywhere else. This prompted my partner to remark in jest that Hokano and Epicuro got no business. Those two were my previous favorite haunts.

Last Friday when I told my partner that I wanted ribs (again), he readily agreed to take me to Ampersand (again). Maybe he realized that it puts me in a good mood hee..hee....

It was our 4th visit and we had the BBQ Ribs and Devil Wings. The dinner was excellent. I did not take any pictures but I'll show you what we had on our 2nd and 3rd visit.

On visit number 2, my partner wanted something different. No ribs for him. I suggested the I'm Not Ramen which is spaghetti in a miso pork broth. It came in a small claypot topped with a sous vide egg. Can't go wrong with pork noodles, right?

It was a small portion, suitable for small eaters who tag along with the voracious rib eaters. It was definitely not enough for my partner. I tried a bit of the broth and I thought it was not too bad. My partner wasn't thrilled and wished that he had ordered ribs instead. Pulak....

Fortunately I ordered our favorite Spaghetti Aglio Olio. This time kar liew with two slices of bacon and mixed mushrooms. 

I shared this with my partner. It was already awesome kosong the last time and with bacon and mushrooms, it was superb.

For wings, I opted for the Sinful Wings. The menu description said spice marinated/Nestum/pork lard and housemate (sic) chili sauce.

I'm afraid this didn't stand out because it was bland. Even the chili sauce was bland. I suspect the kitchen forgot to add salt to the batter/sauce. And where is the pork lard? I'm sure if done right, these wings would have been awesome.

To improve the flavor hah..hah...I dipped it into budu sauce. Budu sauce???

The budu sauce came with my Sambal Ribs. Being a Terengganu girl, I am no stranger to budu. It was very salty as expected and saved the chicken wings. 

Now, the Sambal Ribs. I'm afraid the sambal was too mild for me. It lacked the pungency and punch of a good sambal, at least the sambal that I am accustomed to. But when dipped in the budu sauce, it sort of works. I mean anyone from Terengganu (or Kelantan) will tell you that everything tastes good with budu.

The small serving of kerabu was very salty and I guess it went well with the very mild sambal. 

So that was my 2nd visit to Ampersand, albeit one that fell short in terms of flavors (save for the pasta). But that didn't stop me from a 3rd visit.

Notice we had 6 wings this time? 4 is definitely not enough.

We had the CCB Wings, wings marinated with belacan. Now, this one totally rocks. Very pungent and very tasty. My partner loved it too. 

This time my partner stuck to ribs, BBQ again as the others are too radical for him.

I took a small piece and it was delicious. This BBQ sauce is milder and lighter than the ones I have tasted elsewhere and it was good. 

Being the more adventurous one, I picked the Miso GCJ Ribs, ribs marinated with miso and gojuchang. It came with a side of kimchi and apple chutney (that's what it says on the menu).

I tasted ginger in the miso gojuchang glaze. It was salty and pungent and I thought it was alright.

The kimchi was decent I guess, me not being a kimchi fan. As for the apple chutney, it was very soft and tastewise, it did not leave an impression.

As usual, we ordered a portion of Spaghetti Aglio Olio to share. It tasted a bit different, smoky, like something was burnt. But still, we polished off the whole lot.

This time, I also ordered the Balsamic Slaw, out of curiosity.

It was a big portion of shredded white and purple cabbage. In the menu, there was mention of goji and red dates but I did not see any. The salad was very tart eaten on its own but it paired well with the ribs.

I initially planned on desserts but at the end of the meal, I was quite stuffed. Dessert would have to wait for another day.

There is one more rib I have yet to try, the Fennel Ribs. As for wings, I have another to cover - Sriracha Buttermilk Wings. Who knows there will be visit number 5 this Friday? Oh! That's this evening hee..hee..

So far, I think the wings outshine the ribs. Ironically, the most outstanding among the ribs for me is the BBQ Ribs, the most conventional of the lot.