Not Crying Wolf

First published in Options, The Edge, June 13, 2016

Update:  This restaurant has now closed permanently

An unusual combination of casual ambiance and a sophisticated menu

Mr Wolf is sited in a quiet section of Petaling Jaya, seemingly a little out of place in the neighbourhood. Parking during the day is impossible, but on a weekend night, you’re spoilt for choice as the neighbouring shoplots are mainly occupied by offices.

The place is airy, light, and no-frills but comfortable, with a pale faux wood floor matched by pale wood tables and chairs, and red highlights, notably three hanging chairs in a corner. There’s a bar upstairs, dimly-lit and smoky, with the TV tuned to F1 racing, in contrast to the bright mood downstairs.

The menu is a single page with a selection of dishes, desserts and sides, with separate menus for bar food and drinks. Although it claims to be an Asian fusion restaurant, there’s little Asian influence in the heavily Western-themed menu, sectioned into four - Seafood, Meat, Poultry and Pastas, with pork dishes inexplicably listed under “Poultry”.  There are no separate sections for Starters and Mains, so the portion sizes are not apparent, as we discovered.

For starters, we nibbled on some bar food. The Deep Fried Whitebait with Orange Aioli (Rm16), made for light fishy crisps, notable for not being oily, mated to a creamy sauce.

The main dishes were quite sophisticated. We had the Sous Vide Pork Loin (Rm32), slices of lean meat with pickled vegetables trying to pass off as kimchi, and a soft-boiled egg. The pork was meaty but disappointingly ordinary for something claimed to have been cooked sous vide.

Things picked up from there, the Black Angus Striploin (Rm48) being better, especially when taken with the sweet potato puree, and bits of soft maitake mushroom and capsicum, but it still wasn’t enough to quicken the pulse. 

Both portions were rather small, and justified Side portions of accompanying vegetables – the Broccoli, carrot and baby corn in herb butter (Rm12) being exactly that, while the Cucumber, Mint, vermicelli with rice vinaigrette (Rm6) was pleasing and cool, reminiscent of an Indian raita, but not as satisfying.

The pan-fried Hokkaido Scallops (Rm42) was a starter masquerading as a main with three scallops topped with Avruga caviar, but the scallops were plump and sweet and the cauliflower puree gave it some character, especially with crunchy quinoa, with some slinky French beans thrown in for good effect.

All was forgiven with the arrival of the 15-hour braised beef cheek (Rm46), a hefty chunk of beautifully tender meat, beefy, soft and substantial, and impeccably dressed with a coarse mushroom puree and some shredded red cabbage.  This was the standout dish of the evening, with the kitchen showing off its potential muscle, and the portion was generous as well.

We sampled the Seafood Aglio Olio spaghetti (Rm32), a tangle of pasta with ribbons of red and green, prawns and Japanese squid.  The pasta was pleasantly dry, not quite al dente, and the small prawns were fresh and juicy, as much as the squid was bouncy and firm, but what surprised was the kick the pasta delivered – not quite as raw as chili padi, but memorably peppery, and just the thing for an Asian audience.

Desserts weren’t ordinary either, the coffee salted caramel ice cream and sticky date pudding (Rm16) being a delight of matched tastes and textures, one being salty, cold and light, the other being dense, warm and sweet.  It was better than the Poached Pineapple, pear and apple crumble with salted caramel ice cream (Rm16), which was a muddled combination failing to highlight the inherent quality of any single ingredient.

Finally, the Sous Vide Gula Melaka Crème Brulee (Rm18) with peanuts, topped with blue berries and a strawberry, looked sweet in a little glass jar. The crème brulee was soft, creamy and light without being airy or cloying, but what should have been a success was marred by peanut toppings that were past their best-by date.

Mr Wolf matches clever and sophisticated food, which is original and well-conceived if not always impeccably executed, in a casual setting. Most guests are casually dressed, and share their food, and it’s also apparent that they appreciate good food at inexpensive prices when they come across it.

Mr Wolf Bar and Restaurant,

5, Jalan SS23/11 Taman SEA,

47301 Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-7886 1098

Email: alphawolf@mrwolfpj.com

www.mrwolfpj.com

Business Hours: Brunch: Friday: 11:00AM - 02:30PM, Saturday - Sunday: 10:00AM - 02:30PM
               Dinner: Tuesday - Sunday: 06:00PM - 10:30PM

               Closed on Mondays