Three Little Pigs & the Big Bad Wolf @ Tropicana City Mall

There have been numerous reviews on this restaurant with a unique name - Three Little Pigs & the Big Bad Wolf in the past.  From what I have read, this restaurant at Bangsar Village, generally, garnered mixed reviews.

So, when Three Little Pigs & the Big Bad Wolf (TLP&BBW) @ Tropicana City Mall opened recently, my friends and I decided to give it a try last Saturday.

If you don't already know, this restaurant has a different personality during the day and another during the night and, so, there are two different menus.  The TLP's menu is for breakfast and lunch and is on until 6pm while the BBW's menu is for dinner from 6pm onwards.

Since my friends and I (or maybe just me) felt a wee bit "evilish".....no prizes for guessing who we are in this pic!!

 

Of course, we went for the BBW's menu!
 

While my friends waited for me and another friend to arrive....."they were so hungry, they could eat a wolf", they ordered a Wild Mushroom Soup @ RM15 (sorry, no pic) and a Sweet Carrot Bacon Soup @ RM14 to calm their hunger pains until we got there.

 

 

Don't know how both soups tasted since I wasn't there (yet)!  But can't blame them really as we were late!  They did like the Wild Mushroom Soup though but the Sweet Carrot Bacon Soup, not so much.
 

The first starter we ordered was the Pork Drumstick @ RM15.  For this price, we got 3 pieces of minced pork skewered onto a stick of lemongrass.  The minced pork was well flavoured, with a hint of lemongrass, and goes well with the Thai-styled chilli sauce.
 

Our next starter was the Garlic Roast Pork @ RM19.  This resembled chopped pieces of 'siew yoke' that was sautéed with lots of garlic and caramelised with dark soya sauce.  It was 'garlicky' and 'fork licking good' and you should eat this as soon as it hits the table....piping hot!  Only complaint here is that the portion was a little bit small.
 

Our third and final starter was the Crispy Bacon & Asparagus Salad @ RM24.  This was a plate of salad greens with tomatoes, onions, asparagus and lightly fried streaky bacon, tossed in thousand island dressing, with a drizzle of some black sauce (probably their BBQ sauce).

It was fresh, delicious and a perfect balance to the meal - my favourite of the night.  If you are a light eater, I would suggest that you order a soup and this salad, which would make a substantial meal for one.  [#Tip: Their salads are not cheap though, ranging from RM22 - RM26, but a 'must-order', in my opinion, to cut out the pork 'overload'.]
 

The Wolf's Favourite @ RM29 is a creamy spaghetti with smoked pork bacon and button mushrooms, topped with a poached egg and crispy bacon bits.  This is one of the recommended dishes on the menu and you simply can't go wrong if it is Wolf approved, right?
 

The dish tasted as good as it looked.  The spaghetti was cooked to a perfect al-dente and tossed in a creamy sauce.  What's more, when you cut into the poached egg, the yolk oozes out lusciously to add further creaminess to the pasta.  [#Note: I have now seen poached eggs done a few different ways.  At Antipodean, they looked like they were done in a mould and in Red Beanbag, they are 'free form' (ie. cracked direct into a pan of boiling water).  Here in TLP&BBW, I believe they are wrapped in cling film and then poached, judging from the folds in the egg whites.  I admire perfectly done poached eggs and the ones at TLP&BBW did not disappoint.]  Finally, the crispy bacon bits, with its crunchy texture, just brings the dish home, definitely one of my favourites.
 

The Pork Lover's Aglio Olio @ RM29 is spaghetti tossed in garlic, chilli and olive oil with roast pork, honey ham, smoked bacon and meatball.  Although I did enjoy the pasta because of the slight heat, brought by the chillies, I felt that there was way too much "porky" stuff in this dish (though some would beg to differ and may actually want even more if you're a 'meat' lover).
 

The Roast Pork Fried Rice @ RM22.00, however, failed to impress.  Although there had been good reviews on this dish before, I found the rice rather wet and mushy and not to my liking.  I like my fried rice dry, fragrant and with lots of 'wok hei' (breadth of the wok) but there was none.  Although they did use quality Japanese rice, I had high expectations for a plate of fried rice that costs RM22 and, sadly, that expectation was not met.
 

The Mighty Piggy Burger @ RM29 is another Wolf approved dish.  It's made up of a pork patty with fried egg, cheese, herbed mayo, served with chips and house salad.  The patty had a distinctive intense porky flavor to it which I didn't quite enjoy.  Plus, the egg was overdone (where the yolk is no longer runny).....I hate overcooked eggs!!  Maybe, this was how they intended to serve the egg but I don't like my egg done this way.
 

The Hawaiian Hula Burger @ RM30 turned out to be a surprise and a better choice than the Mighty Piggy Burger.  The pork patty was juicy and did not have the strong porky taste, because it was covered in a tasty hickory smoked BBQ sauce, which made all the difference from the other burger we had earlier.  This burger has got the lovely refreshing balance brought on by the sweet pineapple ring and smoky BBQ sauce.  It was topped with fried onion rings and served with chips and house salad.

Overall, I felt that there was one ingredient sorely missing from their burgers.....crispy bacon (for the added crunch)!  They are, after all, a pork 'institution' and who doesn't love crispy fried bacon....if I have a way, it should be on everything, I tell you!

We ordered a couple of drinks after our meal, although they do provide you water free-of-charge.
 

Hot Cappuccino @ RM8 (they are not very good at 'coffee art', are they?)
 

Hot Caramel Latte @ RM11 (this looks like someone's butt, hehe!)
 

Iced Cappuccino @ RM11 (sorry, I drank some before taking the pic!)

and Orange Juice @ RM10 (no pic)

 

My Personal Opinion

I now know why the verdict for this restaurant is split right "down-the-middle" because there were some 'hits' but there were some 'misses' too.

Price wise, the mains are ok but the starters, especially the salads, are a bit pricey.

So, if you are into a piggy-laden feast, head here for your 'porkylicious' addiction.  With that, I bid you "oink oink"...and don't let the wolf get you!

What I liked:  The Crispy Bacon & Asparagus Salad and the Wolf's Favourite.  Somehow though, I felt that the dishes with pork bacon fared better than the dishes with pork per se.

What I disliked:  The prices and dainty portions of the starters and salads and the 'over porkiness flavour' of the pork (if there is such a thing) in their Mighty Piggy Burger.

Three Little Pigs & the Big Bad Wolf
Lot G35 Tropicana City Mall
No 3 Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7722 3561