El Cerdo @ Changkat Bukit Bintang

El Cerdo is definitely one of my favourite places to visit when I'm craving for pork. A family friend recommended this restaurant a while back and we've visited this place a few times for special occasions. The price is pretty steep but the food is so worth it! Its not hard to find this place, you'll find it located smack in the middle of Changkat Bukit Bintang. Look out for the restaurant with all the decorative pork ornaments. My favourite is the one I call the "Porky Lisa", a spoof painting of its human counterpart.

I felt like splurging a little bit after prom so I had lunch there with a bunch of friends from school, well those who could wake up and were not too hungover. (Daryl, David, Carl, Patrick and Ajee) Pity that some of the usual pork gang could not make it.

We started with the sausage platter. I really like the long one and the bacon wrapped sausage. The rest liked it too and it was polished off quickly. Next was the pork ribs roasted in some kind of alcoholic beverage which I can't recall. This dish has more of an Asian influence rather than Spanish but it still taste good nonetheless. I'm not sure if the marinate was made subtle on purpose but I usually prefer my ribs with a little more kick. Other than that, the meat was very tender.

It's interesting how I need to be more savvy with the fork and knife since I can't rip the meat off the bones with my teeth anymore. So I tend to eat my food more slowly nowadays since I need to cut it up into bite portions first.

Well after that we had the spaghetti with pork belly. This particular dish was one of my favourites of the day. El Cerdo's pork belly was tender and oh so juicy. I think it was stewed so the flavours are very pronounced and this goes well with the spaghetti. There's lots of juicy fat layers which I like because it has the whole melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The grand finale was the suckling pig which was definitely the highlight of the meal. I've had this before and I know how good it is. Plus, it's really fun ordering this dish too. To prove that the pork is tender the waiter will get you to cut the little piglet with a plate. Then you will proceed to break it by dropping it in the pail. Carl was our lucky piglet slayer that day.

And my, it was as good as I remembered it. There's this really nice contrast between the crispy skin and the soft meat. It comes with gravy but I think it taste good enough on its own. This too was polished off quickly.

That was one good and satisfying meal. I reckon that El Cerdo is not the place you visit every week unless you plan to audition for Asia's Biggest Loser. I myself reserve such indulgences to very rare occasion so that when the moment comes you just eat like no tomorrow. Pricing is a little steep too. The bill for the five of us came to about Rm 80 per person. Service is very attentive. Usually at night the owner, Werner will personally drop by to say hi and ask how things are going or personally serve you. They also usually serve complimentary items like soups and digestives; small little gestures but it goes a long way. 

And by the way, I've started a new Facebook page for this website here. Do drop by and support if you like what you see here.




El Cerdo
43 & 45, Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2145 0511