Douglas Dragons at Dark
March 25th, 2024
A punchy name and a massively meaty menu hold the key to inevitable notoriety & potential prosperity for this Hartamas newbie. Pigs and ducks hog the limelight throughout both the restaurant’s setting and the kitchen’s selection; it’s a cool, clever look for a casual neighbourhood nook, certainly a notch or two above the average pub, hamstrung only by a schizophrenic soundtrack that careens from Atlantic Starr to The Killers.
Naughty Babe Dirty Duck seeks to specialise in grilled pork ribs; half a slab here turns out to be stunningly humongous, more than sufficient for two to share and costing only RM38 before taxes.
Reasonably tender and fairly flavoursome; a porky pleasure with terrifically tasty accompaniments of tomato salsa and spicy sauce. Customers can also order more expensive Iberico loin ribs if they’re willing to splurge.
Signature ‘Dirty Duck’ (RM32), featuring duck leg confit with deliciously crisp skin and not-too-dry flesh. One of the nice things about Naughty Babe Dirty Duck is that the sides for its main courses are surprising: this one comes with zucchini and sauteed yam laced with pork bacon.
Other attractions include a hearty char-broiled Sakura pork chop (worthwhile for RM28, though a tad on the tough side) with sweet potatoes, broccoli and what was meant to be cranberry sauce but tasted like mushroom sauce.
The pork burger’s not bad (though a sunny-side-up might make it more enjoyable), with a juicy patty that proved thicker than expected. RM21. But what’s really addictive on this plate …
… is the hot-stuff mix of sweet potato fries (increasingly popular in the Klang Valley) and French fries; we’d happily eat an entire bucket of these freshly fried, crazy-crisp, insanely flavourful fries.
A bottle of Chilean Merlot clocks in at below RM100 here, poised to be a pleasant partner for the rest of this restaurant’s unique offerings, which range from pork-and-duck soup to duck leg stuffed with turkey ham and pork bacon.
Naughty Babe Dirty Duck is currently open 4pm-1am daily but is likely to start operating from lunchtime next week.