Be Kompassion-ate, shall we?

I am ashamed to announce that this is the second posting on the blog for the year. Neglect is definitely the crime and I am caught red-handed. Well, I hate to come up with excuses but I really do have a few good reasons but anyway, I won't dwell on them. Just say, that I like to move-on and focus on the present, rather than to ponder over the past or over any milk spilled over.

Anyway, I recall some 4 months ago and I had to verify that by checking my whatsapp message from a friend calling for accomplices, she called "porkers" for an assault at this certain dining place call Kompassion. I was busy and I couldn't participate. A few hours into dinner, these Porkers, starting whatsapping photos of their conquests to me, hoping to entice me to drop whatever I am doing and skydive over to join their compassionate indulgence. Evil porkers!!! Though my discipline was tested, I stood my grounds and did not relent to those seductive and horribly delicious looking photos. Though not well taken due to the bad lighting, you could tell that the porkers were having an orgasm of a feast, while I lament in torture and self-pity.

Fast forward today, I finally had time to savor some Kompassion and I can't believe that I had waited for 4 months.

Kompassion is located at the other end of the row of shop lots away from Euro Deli in Damansara Kim or SS20. The facade is half covered with shiny zinc sheets and the restaurant is dimly lit with golden yellow bulbs and the restaurant name is flushed left in upper caps with the sentence "Thai Fusion Food" underneath. It is a restaurant under the MyElephant chain, which started with the branch in SS17, Happy Mansion, then followed by Sri Hartamas and Aman Suria. The concept of fusion Thai food is definitely giving our Klang Valley folks a reason to be excited about food.

Service was brisk. Staff was quick to recommend what was good. I didn't have to wait very long for the appetizer - probably 10 minutes.

I ordered the Unagi Mango Canape because I saw the photo in Kompassion's facebook page and it looked scrumptious. It reminded me of the Dragon maki roll - green from the avocado, normally vertically plated to shape like the dragon. But this was unagi with mango and some unbelievably appetizing dressing, fried shallot laid on top of cha phlu leaves, just like the Miang Khum. Incredibly delicious!

Unagi Mango Canape

For the main, the recommendation was "double cooked pork belly with soft shell crab". It was served on gigantic platter (not exaggerated; portion is enough for 2), double cooked pork belly on one side and deep fried soft shell crab on the other and generous portion of mixed salad in between. The pork belly was generously covered with a thick green curry sauce. I learned how to cook green curry in one of my business trip in Bangkok and it is basically green curry paste and you stir in spoonfuls of coconut milk. To produce this thick sauce, the first press of the coconut milk was probably used and no water was added. Potent!

Double Cooked Pork Belly with Soft Shell Crab

The pork belly is out of this world! Really! The skin is crispy and light, the meat melts in your mouth, tasty but not overly seasoned and with that thick green curry paste providing the spice and the mixed salad with sprigs of mint leaves and sour lime dressing adds a refreshing and invigorating punch to the dish. If that side of the platter didn't impress you, then deep fried soft shell crab with a green chilly lime sauce on the side, adds the missing crunch. It was such an enjoyable dish and it went superbly well with brown rice.

So far, so good and I was not too full and I was eagerly waiting to order dessert. There were about 4 items on the menu, 3 pretty standard items and the last was the dessert of the day. Today, for dessert du jour, they have lime cheese cake, lychee cheese cake and sweet potato and yam cheese cake. Sounded like a brilliant concept, sour, sweet, savory… so, I thought it is a platter of 3 cheese cake but I was wrong, it is 3 different individual slices. Well, anyway… some credit for my creativity.

Lychee Cheese Cake 

Sweet Potato and Yam Cheese Cake

I ordered the lychee cheese cake and the sweet potato and yam cheese cake. Alas, the lychee cheese cake was merely slices of lychee (probably marinated in a syrup of some kind) on top of a very normal cheese cake with some jello in between. I didn't think the lychee's flavor was strong enough to provide the cheesecake a distinctive enough taste. The sweet potato and yam cheese cake was like bubor cha cha with cheese overpowered by shallot oil. I think the idea probably came from the Thai dessert, Kanom Mor-Gaeng which is made from custard, palm sugar, coconut which is normally, topped with some fried shallot. Well, the dessert didn't do it for me.

The bill came up to RM127 - dinner for 2 including drinks. I must say I was very happy with the appetizer and main and would definitely return to try other dishes but back to the drawing board for the dessert. MyElephant is already well-knowned for its durian and mango cheese cake (which is frozen cold, almost like eating ice cream), so I think perhaps Kompassion might want to be famous for another dessert?

Kompassion
No. 5, Jalan SS20/11
47400 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7731 9256
Opening hours: 12PM-2:30PM; 6PM-10:30PM;
Closed on Mondays.