Pork Burger and more – The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara

May I serve you some rubber rings?

stuffed squid - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-002

Yes, that was precisely the texture of the stuffed squid we were served.

Over the long Raya holidays, I grabbed the opportunity to catch up with friends over food. The choice of food outlets were obvious; places that serves pork had always ranked highly on my list and any that serves pork burgers will have my dedicated attention.

I’m such a burger addict that I attempt to eat as many burgers (pork burgers preferably) as I could. It’s a personal obsession really; I love bread, I love meat, so burgers to me are just perfect.
If there’s a pork burger in town that you think I haven’t tried, drop me a note and I will make time to visit, even if some maneuvering around my challenging schedule is required! 🙂

The Elk at Solaris Mt Kiara is a convenient location. As soon as I was back from Hat Yai, I gathered a group of fellow foodies and headed there with high anticipation.

Pork Burger and more - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-002

I knew what I wanted. The moment we sat down I ordered the “Extreme Pork Burger” immediately, without as much as a glance to the menu. All 4 of us are there for the pork burger, and additional orders were frankly, mere add-ons.
My standard orders for my burgers are – “No butter on the bum, no mayo, no fries”.  Say whatever you want, but to me a good burger doesn’t need mayonnaise as a succulent patty would have imparted the necessary flavours. And a good bun doesn’t need butter/margarine, the whole ensemble of the bread with vegetables and a juicy patty would have sufficed.
However, I don’t hold it against anyone who likes their burgers otherwise. But if it’s my burger, then such would be my request, of which I’m certain that it wouldn’t “affect the taste of the original burger” drastically.

My burger came with a chockful of fries, much to my dismay. But that’s fine, the other 3 fellas does eat fries. Then someone at the table commented that the fries were “hard” and surprised, I took one to try. Alright, if you are going to mess up my order, could you at least serve me crisp, fluffy-on-the-inside fries? Thankfully the butter was missing. We added an order of “runny egg”, which didn’t come at all runny.

pork burger the elk, solaris mont kiara-001

**The yolk didn’t flow. 🙁

Pork Burger and more - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara 1

Maybe my order was confusing, since I requested for so many “changes”.

I could go on, but that would seem that I’m such a fusspot (of which I am) and whiny customer. Thus, to be fair, let me include my dining companions comments as well.

Extreme Pork Burger.

Pork Burger and more - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-001

KC: The burger patty was nice but the rest of the accompaniments were unsatisfactory…as a result…there is a definite lack of a wow factor…had better at A Minor Place.
Damien: Almost there. patty was good, but the accompanying condiments had a lot to live up to.
Kevin:  Un-memorable. Aghast that a decent patty was smothered in sauce, in a way drowned in redundant condiment. Good burger doesn’t need sauce. The ham was tough.
Me:  Way too much sauce and a rubbery ham spoiled an otherwise decent burger. The saving grace was the patty itself, which I must say was fair in texture. It was moist enough and substantially seasoned. However, it felt just short of juicy.

Pork Burger and more - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara

Squid Ink Pasta with Marinara Sauce. 

squik ink pasta - the elk solaris dutamas

KC: The pasta was not done al-dente and the marinara sauce needs improvement.
Damien: Pasta were a bit thick while the sauce was the complete opposite. Seafood only needs a flash in the pan, which we hope is now what this restaurant may end up as.
Kevin: Adding sugar into tomato based sauce are for noobs. Texture of pasta was a bit past al dente. I’m fine with a bit of excess liquid, but it tasted like canned sauce. On a whole it was tasteless except that it was really sweet, which brings me to my point – sugar was presumably added.
Me:  I won’t comment much on the texture; after all it’s homemade so perhaps that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I know when to set my expectations at the minimum when the situation calls for it. However, even with such given leeway, the pasta was almost mushy and the marinara sauce tasted past its prime.
For a tomato based pasta sauce, it lacked the intense, acidic – vinegary tomato flavour. Thus we were all baffled why it was so sweet! We deduced that there might have been a copious amount of sugar added while the sauce was made.
And the seafood. Oh the poor shellfish that died in vain! We got rubber rings for squids, leathery prawns and chewy mussels. 🙁

homemade pasta - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-001

Stuffed Squid. 

stuffed squid - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-001

KC: The squid was slightly rubbery with a stuffing that was ok only.
Damien: If it were a concert, it would be more rock than roll. A tough act to swallow.
Kevin: Rubbery, bland, tough, dried out, tasteless dry squid. If I wanted to chew on something tough, probably dog chew toys are a better prospect than this.
Me:  Dry minced pork stuffing with the the chewiest squid I have ever had. The chef must be having one hell of a bad day or he needs retraining in seafood cooking. I’ll like to think that it’s the former.

Below: The rather offensive squid. The more you chew, the higher your blood rise.

stuffed squid - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara-002

Bacon and Spinach Quiche.

The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara- quiche

KC: The saving grace was the quiche. Crisp on the outside and super-warm and moist on the inside.
Damien: Thank god for the cheesiness that saved the day, just the right amount of spinach and egg. Phew.
Kevin: This quiche was like the only thing that was made right.
Me: Oh this was good! Not too buttery, rather eggy and thick, the mix of spinach in it was generous and the amount of cheese was perfect. The pastry was thin and crispy too. It was well worth the RM12 paid!

KC’s Spicy Lychee Cooler that’s got a bit of kick at the end…nice! (his comment). Also, nice bottle for free still spring water.

the elk, solaris mont kiara

Pork Burger and more - The Elk, Solaris Mont Kiara 2

Note: This meal as shared with 3 other foodies whose opinions were of similar conclusion to mine. In a nutshell, all 4 of us found the meal to be sorely disappointing and we certainly won’t be re-visiting anytime soon. As Damien noted, “Owners have their hearts in the right place, now they only need to get their food to match.”

Total Bill: RM88.00 (no taxes).

The Elk
Jalan Solaris 4,
Solaris Mont Kiara.

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Tammy

    OMG..thanks for such a fair review..will note on this!

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yes, fair with everyone’s comments. Don’t like to give negative reviews but it was really disappointing and my friends felt that I should share this too.

  2. Melvin

    Well, can’t be that good if 4 people are of the same opinion.. and the pictures speaks for itself.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yeah, can tell from the pics right? I do love the quiche though! 🙂

  3. Julian

    Wow.. did the chef took a day off or what? You guys paid for that!?

    1. rebeccasaw

      We had to pay la.. already ate waht..and it wasn’t as if there was a cockroach inside it. IT was just not “as nice” as we would prefer it…

  4. Danny

    God, rubber rings? Are they still open for business now?

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