PETALING JAYA, July 21 — The meat chop — chicken, pork or lamb — requires very little understanding to enjoy.
Here’s your meat; marinate it or don’t, have it grilled, broiled, sauteed, even breaded and fried, and here’s your sides.
It’s something most of us can enjoy at any stage in life, and if you know someone who’s too much of a snob to eat one, find some better friends.
For many Malaysians, chops are comfort food. Often it is the single representative of "Western” food in a coffee shop, and while more high-end options are becoming more accessible, it is hard to beat the nostalgia — and price point — these provide.
The Charcoal Grill started as one such stall in 2017, initially located in Kota Kemuning and later expanding to Shah Alam and Subang Jaya.
In 2022, they opened a full-fledged restaurant in Kota Kemuning, and the success of that has led to their newest location in Damansara Utama, which opened in April.
The space is a fair bit swankier than their kopitiam stall roots, but they’ve not lost sight of being a "humble neighbourhood grill”.
My visit on a Wednesday night seemed to coincide with half the entire neighbourhood: older couples on a night out, office workers still in their slacks and button-ups, and sweaty folks in athleisure garb that announce their presence by scent rather than sight.
But no nose is turned up at anyone; everyone is welcome.
The menu has expanded beyond grilled chops to include everything from fajitas to pasta and "cish and fhips”, an alternative spelling that hints at the youthful irreverence of the three founders.
But the chops remain the centrepiece, all of which come with two sides of your choice.
The signature marinated pork chops (RM39) consist of 270 grams of charcoal-grilled pork collar chops, which is a very reasonable amount of meat for that price.
The marinade itself is difficult to describe; it’s mostly savoury, a little sweet but not too thick. It’s reminiscent of what you’d get from a kopitiam stall, and I mean this in the best way possible.
Where it differs from a stall is in the execution of just about everything else.
The pork was grilled to smoky perfection, while most impressively, retaining perfect pink doneness. Pink pork is delicious and perfectly safe to eat, and this was a far cry from the soggy grey cardboard that’s often passed off as pork chops.
Top marks all around, which include the excellent sides. My curly fries were crisp and fluffy, and the grilled vegetables were aggressively charred and seasoned properly, instead of the sad, wet mess it often is.
We also gave the signature marinated New Zealand lamb chops (RM45) a try. The marinade tasted identical to that of the pork and mostly masked the gaminess of the lamb shoulder.
The execution was similarly superb, and the Cajun buttered corn is another outstanding side. I prefer a fattier cut of meat, so the pork still edged it for me, but those looking for something leaner should consider this.
In an attempt to balance the gluttony of our meal, we ordered the grilled Japanese sweet potato (RM15) as an appetiser. This was a mistake because the delightful little morsels of sweet potato take to the rich butter like a duck to water, which means you’re tempted to order a second portion before your meat has arrived.
No matter; as I tucked the last bite of pork chop away, a wave of contentment washed over me. I’ll just have to find a way to live with my gluttony.
The Charcoal Grill (Damansara Uptown)
62G, Jalan SS 21/58, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 12-3pm, 6-10pm.
Tel: 011-2631 3135
Facebook:@TheCharcoalGrill
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thecharcoalgrill_/
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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