[UPDATE] This restaurant is now permanently closed.

“Do you know any babi places?” I asked my friend C as we headed out for lunch.

…..now it might seem like a funny question, but babi (that’s pork in English) is harder to find in Malaysia than say, the States. If you didn’t already know, Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country, which is why most places serve halal food. While pork is usually found in Chinese restaurants, Western-style pork dishes are harder to find.

These days, this is slowly changing as more restos specialising in pork are popping up. In Puchong alone there are a few – Little Hoof, Old School, Stadt German bistro, Uncle Ho’s Fine Foods to name a few. That noon though, we tried out Porcupine Place @ Setiawalk Puchong. 

Tucked away from the busier establishments, guests are welcomed into a cosy, nicely decorated interior with the counter selling cakes and cookies, lots of wooden frames with inspirational hipster quotes and overhanging light bulbs with paper butterfly cutouts. (I had a picture in my phone but it mysteriously disappeared while transferring to the computer.) Also, a picture of a porcupine… coz it’s the Porcupine Place after all.

Soooo after all that talk about pork, I ended up having duck. Lol

From reviews, the place is apparently famous for their pork burgers and ribs, but I opted for a slow roasted duck thigh with duck jus (RM45) It came served with a side of grilled vegetables. Now I don’t like eating greens, but these were done so well that they were quite tasty – especially the sweet potato chunks. The duck was soft, melt-off-the-bone and the sweetish-savoury duck jus was great to go with the crunchy nut-like condiments sprinkled over the top (tasted like walnuts, but I’m not sure.)

My only qualms is that the portion was quite small for RM45. .__. 45 bucks could have paid for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Carmen had a set lunch of carbonara pasta with bacon and mushroom bits. The photo turned out too blurry, but I got a pic of the accompanying soup of the day (rich, creamy tomato). The set also comes with an apple crumble dessert.

PORCUPINE PLACE 

B-3A-G, Setiawalk, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia

Operating hours: Tue-Thu:9:30 am – 10:00 pm, Fri-Sun:9:30 am – 11:00 pm