Anne Elizabeth @ Cheras

After being tempted by photos of their drool-worthy bacon and sausages, I knew it wouldn't take long before I made my merry way to a restaurant named after saints, Anne Elizabeth @ Cheras.  It was still Christmas week, Boxing Day to be exact, when we came.  Luckily, I called ahead to make reservations coz when I arrived, I realised that the restaurant was pretty small (in fact, they were running two dinner service times to cater to the crowd and we took the earlier 'shift').  Furnishing and decor is pretty minimalistic too.

Parking is limited to just two rows along the road facing the restaurant, so finding one may be difficult.  If you come in the night though, you can park (illegally) along the roads near the restaurant (according to the owner) but we preferred to park (legally) in Cheras Leisure Mall which was a short walking distance away.

This eatery's concept is...."You Choose, You Pair, We Cook, We Serve"...thus allowing diners to choose their meats from any of those available in their chiller and they'll cook it for you.  You also get to pair your mains with whatever side dishes you want.  This will be particularly appealing to those who likes the option of choice.  Some of the options available that day were sausages (smoky chicken @ RM7.90, spicy Italian @ RM6.90, pork sausage @ RM7.90), Norwegian salmon steak @ RM26.30, pork loin @ RM12.50, chicken whole leg @ RM13.50, Australian prime ribeye steak @ RM48 - 75, pork belly @ RM17.50, pork shoulder @ RM13.90 and, because it was Christmas season, pot roasted turkey leg @ RM15.20 was also on offer (but do expect to see some variations in terms of prices and what's available for the day).

And because it was still Christmas week, the menu (and options available) seemed limited compared to the menu board I've seen online (this was probably to cope better with the anticipated crowd).

After selecting our meat and ordering our sides, we made our way to our table to order our drinks.  We started off with the Mushroom & Bacon Soup @ RM9 (the only soup available that day, other soup would have been the roasted tomato & pumpkin soup also @ RM9).  The mushroom soup was somewhere between thick and thin with bacon shavings on top thrown in for added flavour.

Another starter we shared was the Portobello Bacon & Cheese @ RM14.90 (for 2 pcs).  These were portobello mushrooms filled with bacon and oozing with melted cheese...if you like mushrooms, you should order this. You have the option for a bigger portobello mushroom (but just one piece) at the same price though.

The style of eating here is typical of communal dining, so expect to see the mains you choose being served in one sharing platter.

First up, the Smoked Bacon Steak @ RM16.50/pc and the Pigs in Blanket @ RM15 (for 3 pcs) looked ever so inviting when it arrived.  It's a thick cut of smoked bacon which (unfortunately) looked glorious on their Facebook but didn't quite deliver its promise in taste.

We got a piece that was almost all fat...the pic above shows the only lean section of the entire piece of smoked bacon steak.  Maybe it was a busy day in the kitchen and it wasn't as well grilled as I would have liked.  If you're one who likes fatty pork, then this should be alright for you but I found the fatty part to be too chewy as the fat wasn't rendered down enough.

The pigs in blanket, as everyone knows, are sausages wrapped in a 'blanket' of streaky bacon.  Again, I felt that the bacon didn't have the desired browning to get that smoky, caramelised flavour that I craved! :(

This came with our choice of Crispy Potato @ RM6.90.....tender and just slightly crisp around the edges.  It was alright but the roasted potatoes I had at That Latte Place were a notch better.

For the other main, we went with their Signature Baby Pork Bullet Ribs @ RM24.90/pc and got a decent-sized piece of ribs for that price.

Finally, at least the baby pork ribs were well seared and caramelised...yay!  The meat was tender and could be easily forked apart.

The ribs were served with a brown jus or sauce that was robustly delicious with a hint of black pepper.

The ribs itself weren't as juicy and flavourful as I hoped it would be, so you'd definitely need to eat it together with the brown sauce.

We asked for a side of Mashed Potatoes @ RM5.90 to go with this main which was also served with a brown sauce (not as well-flavoured as the one for the meat though).  As for the texture of the mashed potatoes, if you're looking for it to be smooth....it's not!  Let's just say it's rustic, similar to one we'd make at home where the texture's a bit rough since we won't be bothered to pass it through a sieve.

I know, I know...you're wondering why there isn't a salad to balance out the meat.  Well, there were only two choices of salad that day...persimmon (which I don't fancy) or cranberry salad (which I wanted but changed my mind when I found out that the cranberries were frozen).  But, hey....potatoes and meat...always a good match, right? :D

The drinks of Iced Lemon Tea @ RM4.50 and Chilled Cranberry Juice @ RM5.50 were rather diluted and bland.

My Personal Opinion

If you're carnivorous in nature, this place will probably suit you well for their selection of meat at fair prices! ;D

Although the experience didn't turn out as anticipated, the food actually isn't half bad if all you're looking for is simple, rustic preparations of your meat.  Perhaps, I may return (albeit not anytime soon) to try some other bacon and sausages that weren't available during the festive period...and hopefully have a more palatable outcome the next time round (when they're not so busy).

Anne Elizabeth Deli Restaurant
No 1 Jalan Manis 4
Taman Segar
Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9130 0319