A "Bellygood" Groupon experience

Groupons. They seem to be the current big thing for the consumer, offering special deals at special prices (sorts of makes you wonder how much the normal markup of some of these items actually are). Foodies in particular have been taking advantage of groupons to try out new or pricey establishments at an affordable price and The Foodie Gamer is not different.

A group of friends and I made a visit to Bellygood located at Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway today for lunch, courtesy of a Groupon deal. We've been meaning to visit this place for awhile but never had the chance. With their catch line tagging them as "The Pork Lover's Paradise", expectations were definitely high.

As with most groupon deals, the menu was pretty much set with a choice of mains. In our case we would be getting a drink, a soup, a starter, a choice of mains and dessert. It was a nice cozy place and once we had placed our orders our food was delivered after a short wait. I must commend Bellygood on the way they serving course to the whole table at the same time. This is something that is hard to find in Malaysia, as there have been many a time when I have had my main delivered to me the same time as my companion's salad, or had my main delivered to me at the same time as my soup, and lets not mention the times when the soup or starters only arrive at the end of the meal. So kudos to Bellygood for getting that right.

The drink was an Ice Lemon Tea. Not too sweet, which I liked, but was nothing really spectacular.

The cream of mushroom also failed to stand out. Taste was alright, but not as "mushroomy" as I'd like. Also I felt that the bread that accompanied the soup could have done with a little more butter or seasoning.

Next were the starters. We had a plate of pan fried bacon on a bed of greens each. I enjoyed this. This was well cooked bacon. Not bacon fried to within an inch of its life as some places do it, but crispy, flavourful and not too oily. The bed of greens beneath served as a refreshing foil to the bacon.

There were a choice of three mains for each of us to choose from. We had a choice of Grilled Pork Belly, Baby Back Ribs of the Mixed Platter (A combination of Grilled Pork Belly and Grilled Ribs [NOT Baby Back]). Three of us opted for the Baby Back Ribs while the last member of our group opted for the Grilled Pork Belly. The ribs were delicious. The meat was juicy and tender, cooked so that though it held it shape on the plate, it still fell off the bone easily. I generally do not like sauce with my meats because they are usually too sweet or tangy but the one that came with the ribs was just nice. The pork belly was very good as well. Tender, juicy and not at all having that fatty quality that some pork bellies can have. The sides of mashed potatoes and slaw were well done as well. The mashed potatoes in particular were super creamy.

Finally there was dessert. Cinnamon Apples and Ice-Cream. The best way to describe this would be an apple pie ala mode without the pie crust. Apples were very tender and the cinnamon taste was really great. My only criticism would be that the skin was left on the apples and it was not as tender as the rest of the apple. I can only guess that the skin was left on so that the apples would hold their shape during cooking.

Overall this was a very satisfying meal. The mains in particular were awesome and I will definitely return to sample their other fare!

Recipe: Roasted Pork Ribs (Dry Rub)

Making my own roasted pork ribs is something that I've been wanting to try for quite awhile. When it comes to ribs, I'm not a big fan of the "sauced" version that we often get in restaurant. Perhaps it is because I do not like sweetish sauces on my meats and most restaurant ribs are glazed with something sweet. Yesterday with my church's youth ministry in recess, I finally had the time to make my own dry and savoury version of ribs.

Step 1: Preheat the oven

Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F)

Step 2: Preparing the meat

I went to the market and purchased a 6-bone rack of ribs. I went for normal rack, but the baby back variety works just as well. My rack weighed about 1.2 kilos and cost RM24 (or RM2/kilo).

Tip: If you are using a normal rack like I am, get your butcher to remove the "spine" (the bone that all the ribs are connected to). This will make cutting the ribs up for serving much easier. I did not do that and had a horrid time breaking apart the rack once it was cooked. 

Gently wash your meat with warm water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Then set it aside while you prepare your dry rub.

Step 3: The Dry Rub

The contents of your dry rub really depends on your individual tastes. That been said this is the recipe for the dry rub I used.

1 Tbsp Sea Salt (I recommend reducing this to maybe 1/2 - 3/4 Tbsp as I found mine a little salty)
1 Tbsp Chili Flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 Tbsp Sugar (Brown sugar is preferred but normal white sugar will do just fine)
1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp Dried Italian Herbs
1 tsp Five Spice Powder

I then used a mortar and pestle to pound the spices together till fine. The quantity here was just about right for my rack of ribs so you may use more or less according to the size of the rack you are using.

Tip: You can always make more rub than you need.  Separate the amount you need and store the rest. The rub keeps in definitely and you can use it for chicken, beef, pork or any other meats you plan to cook in the future. That way you won't need to prepare a dry rub each time.

Step 4: Applying the Dry Rub

Place the rack of ribs on a flat area to apply the dry rub. I placed mine on a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean up.

Put as much dry rub as you think you will need to cover for one side of the rack and then rub it firmly. Turn the rack over and do the same for the other side. Make sure you get the dry rub into all the nook and crannies and cover all of the exposed meat.

Step 5: Cook for One Hour

Place the ribs (bone side down) on a wire rack with a drip pan below. Make sure you have the ribs in the middle of the oven and that the oven is properly preheated.

After an hour the ribs should come out looking like the picture above.  Turn the tray and put the ribs back into the oven. We will now be checking on the ribs every 30 minutes.

Tip: You can place root vegetables and onions in the drip pan to cook along side the ribs, catching all the delicious drippings. However remember you will be cooking the ribs for 2 - 3 hours, so put in your vegetables later or they'll be all dried out by the time you are done.

Step 6: Additional Cooking Time

You will be cooking the ribs for an additional 1 - 2 hours, turning the tray every 30 minutes. (Do not turn the ribs over! Just change the direction of the tray) I cooked my ribs for only an additional 1 hour (total 2 hours cook time) but I have seen a number of recipes that ask you to cook for an additional 2 hours (total 3 hours cook time). My ribs came out fine but perhaps more cook time would make it more "fall of the bone", although I'm wary of drying out the meat.

Once done let the meat sit and rest before cutting it. I waited for about 15 minutes before I did anything with  the ribs. All that's left to do is enjoy!

Tip: If you did not place anything in the drip pan, and there are a fare amount of drippings you can turn that into a sauce by deglazing the pan.