Monday 4 July 2016

X-Rated@Ampersand By Culinary Rebels Damansara Uptown (Closed)


X-Rated. What comes to mind? A movie. Banned by the Malaysian Censorship Board. But no. This X-Rated has nothing to do with that. In fact there is nothing obscene about it at all.

But, if the sight of quivering flesh fats evokes lusty fantasies of the culinary sort, then I suppose a slab of pork belly can be very obscene. Your cardiologist might agree. 

This time my brother, another pork belly enthusiast, played partner in crime when I paid Ampersand a visit one early evening (this happened more than a week ago).

When you have two big eaters at a table, you cannot order just one pork belly, OK? On my previous visit with my partner, I had no idea if a slab of 350g pork belly was too much for one.

Suffice to say, I was capable of polishing off The Rebellion all by myself (including the Citrus Salad), with room for dessert after that. Hah! 

My mission for the evening - to taste the other two bellies.

What a pretty plate. That was my first reaction. Then I noticed the belly.

The American, presented to the table in a gorgeous plate. A slab of belly, nicely browned on the outside, served with a croquette and a side of apple salad. 

As I cut into the belly, I was delighted that the texture was firm. Look, what a beauty. It was a tad salty for me but I still enjoyed the meat eaten with the wholegrain mustard.


The croquette was lovely (of a good size too), crusty on the outside and very soft and creamy on the inside. I also loved the apple salad.

Now, the X-Rated. It's no surprise why it's X-rated. This dark beauty jiggled sexily playfully as I attempted to move the plate. Whoohoo!!


I liked the texture of this one even better. Very firm when sliced. I loved the coating of char siew sauce and the meat paired wonderfully with the tofu puree and peanut butter mustard

I never thought that peanut butter would taste good with mustard.
It was incredibly unique, so tasty that my brother and I found ourselves taking scoop after scoop of the the puree directly into our mouths. Yum!


We reached a consensus that this is the better of the two bellies. But seriously, I love all three. The Rebellion warrants a revisit now that the bellies are of a firmer texture.

Oh, we must not forget to take our greens. We made an order for the Caeser Salad.


The salad was generously sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, something that I almost always avoid like the plague. But in a Caeser Salad, I can tolerate it.


There were lots of crunchies in there in the form of bacon and pork rind. But I think the salad was slightly under dressed and it could have done with bit more dressing.

Dinner would not be complete without something sweet to close the evening. I wanted the B.E.N.J.I. (peanut butter chocolate cake/molten caramel sauce/vanilla ice cream/bacon) but apparently this dessert is still a work-in-progress. So we settled for the Greeny Green.


Honestly, I am not a fan of green tea based desserts. But I am willing to try one at least once. Besides, this particular dessert sounded interesting, comprising three components (tart, cake and ice cream).

The Molten Lava Matcha Tart.


When cut, it oozes green creamy liquid.


We had a taste. It was actually quite good. There was none of that greenish taste associated with green tea. It was pleasantly sweet and we loved the tart shell even though it was a bit hard (but crunchy).

Then the Green Tea Fudge Cake. That was a different story. My brother was first to take a bite. "How is it?" I asked. From the look on his face hah..hah.. it was that "bo ho chiak" look.


He said it tasted strange. I took a bite and yes, it did not sit too well with me either. But that was the initial impression. As we took bite after bite, the taste mellowed and became most pleasant. 

It had a hint of something that tasted like split peas which reminded us of a Terengganu nonya kueh. At some point it even reminded me of kuih bakar.

Yes, it was nice, especially eaten with the ice cream. I was so engrossed that I totally missed the honey tofu cream until I saw it on Sean's blog.

I missed those white streaks of Honey Tofu Cream on the plate.

While enjoying the dessert, we were graced with the presence of The Magician. Just in case you didn't know, the Culinary Rebels are made up of four individuals - G-Man, Rayman, The Butcher and The MagicianWe had a pleasant chat with the creator of the X-Rated (and all the desserts). 

We left Ampersand very satisfied. As we walked to the car, it occurred to me that we should have asked The Magician to work his magic and make the one million calories we consumed disappear :D


28 comments:

  1. The X-Rated slab looks more sedap, I think because of the colour..The American a bit white, I mean inside la.. From the outside, both looks sedap, but the X-Rated still looks more hoi-wai, haha.. Greeny Green for a dessert name sounds funny, I won't order it coz I don't like veggies, I associate green with veggies, haha, and green tea for this case.. Eh, 1 million calories, no la, just don't eat too much for a few days, sure weight will drop la.. Skip lunch & dinner and just drink soya bean, I think can, haha..

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    1. I enjoyed the X-Rated more that day but when I ate The American again, I thought I enjoyed it even more. So actually both also good, just different styles. Aiyo, my weight sudah melambung tinggi tinggi hahahaha...sobbbbsss...

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  2. My! My! Again? You're sure you do not have a share in this place? They should give you a privileged customer member card now. Ooooo...pork belly! I go weak at the sight of such beauties! Yummmmmm!!!!!

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    1. Oh no, no beneficial interest other than being a happy customer :) Pork belly - my weakness too hee..hee...

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  3. Ceaser Salad... Is that a typo or was the name intentional??

    Strange, the only pictures I can see here is the salad and the dessert. What was your X-rated main course again? I can't see them, I can't see them, I can't see them, I will forget about them quickly, I must forget about them quickly...

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    1. Oppps...typo error..will correct it. Your mum sent censor rays over so that's why the X-Rated is invisible to you :D :D :D

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  4. My, you sure have a thing for Ampersand...is this like your 4th or 5th post this past 2 months? You make Ampersand very happy....cha-ching!! :D I may be a pork fan....but (sorry) I'm not a pork belly enthusiasist...hehe! ;D I'd hate parmesan cheese on my salads too. That pretty blue porcelain plate, I've seen it in a lot of cafes...I'm wondering where I can buy that.

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    1. Yup, I sure have a thing for Ampersand's food :) Ribs, wings, pork belly and pasta - my kind of food hee..hee... If you find that plate, let me know, ya? :D

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  5. I'm a huge fan of pork belly too, although it can be very sinful. Hahaha! Have a great week! xoxo

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    1. High 5, Shirley! You have a great week too :)

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  6. Nowadays i am cutting down on eating pork...

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    1. I also better don't eat too much hee..hee...

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  7. X-rated pork belly. Sexy....

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  8. it's really interesting to hear from different people about their different preferences among the three pork bellies. for me, initially my favourite was rebellion, but the more i think about it, my order of preference is probably the american, followed by rebellion, followed by x-rated. ampersand's founder says he feels customers who most like asian/oriental flavours gravitate toward x-rated, while people like me who don't love char siew would naturally favour the other dishes. i love the classic combo of pork with that mustard, and the croquette is perfect for me! :D

    and ya, the fudge cake is a surprise ... at first i wasn't sure if i liked the texture, cos it was almost too moist and fudgy. but like you, as i continued eating it, i found myself liking it. it must really be magic, haha :D

    and ampersand's founder is apparently already thinking about other new belly dishes and more pork recipes to introduce at the end of the year! :D

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    1. Yes, I find myself liking The American more and more and I love the croquette! But still, all 3 are great for me, so I will rotate each one during my visits hah..hah... In fact, I gave the Cacao Ribs another try and this time I loved it!

      Well, I do look forwards to more new belly and pork dishes. I'm such a pig! hah..hah...

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  9. What a weird name for the pork belly - the American. American = pork belly? LOL!

    Pork belly would be wasted on me as I would scraped away all the fatty bits so as much as I would like to taste the different cooking styles, I would have to pass.

    Green tea dessert is another story. I love them. Guess you acquire a taste for them in the end. Good!

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    1. I was wondering too, why American. Well maybe you might like the ribs, chicken wings and pasta.

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  10. Aiyo, I shouldn't have seen these x-rated food because I am trying to cut my weight. My pants are getting tight! But since I am already here, I might as well enjoy and drool over the delicious food.

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    1. Just look only, won't gain weight hah..hah...

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  11. Oh wow! D pork belly n d desserts look so yummy!!! Really salivating now, n I've just had my dinner.

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  12. This time i would just choose the desserts, I do not mind the green tea taste in it

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    1. The dessert was surprisingly good :)

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  13. Look at that black beauty! Slurps

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  14. A not too fat pork belly, I likey!

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