Yes, when we saw the restaurant we wondered at the name and it's appeal. But after a few lunches here, we found ourself converted by the simple, unpretentious food that is not only good for your hunger but excellent for your wallet too. Welcome to Pannaz...

You gotta have a strong stomach and nerves of steel if you want to open a restaurant in Damansara Perdana. Why? Many a good restaurant have fallen down trying to stand up in this restaurant forsaken place. The line up includes Eagles Nest Steakhouse with its 'this is how a steak should be' fundamentals, gone! Gusto's with is value eats and cozy ambience, gone! and the restaurant cemetary list goes on. Now, when someone opens up a restaurant serving BBQ chicken & steaks; and names the restaurant something like Pannaz, I dunno.. how long do you think this place will last?

Despite the odds, here are some facts about Pannaz that you need to know about. Firstly, the young chef owner used to work in Marche and left La Bodega to set this place up. Secondly, this place is full during lunch and dinner, something which is almost unheard of for a new place of 3 months serving Western and no liquor in Damansara Perdana.

One lunchtime, We found out that it is the BBQ chicken that people keep flocking here for. Perhaps this place has a fighting chance after all. Chef Annaz (perhaps now we have a clue why this place is called Pannaz) sources the chicken fresh daily and if you want some, you have to be an early bird to get it. There's nothing to this dish, but it's definitely something. A quarter chicken is marinated in thyme, olive oil, coarse pepper, some salt and herbs. This gets grilled over a BBQ and then gets a once over in the oven. It comes with mash potatoes that makes you go 'where did you get this' and romaine salad that is just so deliciously crunchy. If this sounds like I'm just lifting the menu description to write this review... you know what... I kinda am because it is true.

"Fantastic barbecued chicken that runs out if you're unlucky"

At the time of writing, RM32 bucks buys you a plate of one inch thick grilled tenderloin steak with oven baked thick cut chunky potato chips that are just out of this world, topped with a sauce that is made out of smoked black pepper reduction. They reduce 25 litres of stock down to almost a litre or so, and pour out some on your steak. How about that? Lets not talk about the sauce yet, take a knive out and cut into the medium steak. The lightly seasoned steak almost parts apart like a hot knive through butter. And the taste? Why would I be writing like this if it does not taste anything but wonderment that a sub RM40 steak can taste double its price elsewhere. The sauce's job is to complement the steak.. to give it a little bit more flavour if you need it.

For an extra eight bucks, the Trio-Meat Platter comes in. A smaller piece of grilled tenderloin, BBQ chicken and a piece of lamb chop and some fresh salads. If you are new and wanted a taste of Pannaz's hot dishes, go for this one as it has the three best seller items in one dish.

I thought that this cafe ala restaurant serves only western dishes but no.... a closer read on the menu and you will see your tongue twisting local with dishes like Nyonya Fried Rice with grilled chicken, sunny side up eggs and crackers. Further down, it twists further with a Nasi Ulam with grilled chicken 'perchik' style. Reports coming for our very own Nasi Ulam expert (which I am not, we have one on the team) says that this is quite mindblowingly 'sedap' (delicious). Prepared from a series of local salad leaves such as daun kadok, pucuk paku, bunga kantan, coconut kerisik and some other unpronouncable dauns (I tend to forget these names), the chicken/ulam combo seems to work well together. And the presentation for this local dish will make you go from 'so pretty, don't want to touch' to 'aiyah... looks so nice, so hungry now... what the heck'.

So, if a restaurant has great main dishes, they should fail in the dessert section right? Try the warm chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and strawberry compote. You tell me. Anyway, some extra information that you may want to know is that the menu is not extensive so that means they concentrate at what they are good at. They serve a variety of tapas, their burgers looks delicious, brewed coffee is cheap(er) here (they use Boncafe) and they close on Sundays.

If you go there and the food is not up to your expectations for cheap price that you pay, come back to this exact page and you get to kick my a#s in the comments section....

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