Project Smoked Dong (Taman Mount Austin)

Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (Average)

Address: B5 & 6, Lot 120122, Jalan Austin Perdana 1, Taman Austin Perdana, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VrCCaKwWb3pjfDWG8
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

🐷🍚 Fragrant Porken Rice = RM8.00
🐷🍖 Indomee Pulled Pork (150g) = RM32.00

Service Charge 10% = RM4.00

 Here is the Full Menu of the Eatery/Restaurant.
Prices are Accurate as of the Date of the Post.

Here's another Recommendation by Amelia.
Her Exact Words were "sales gallery shoplot facing the lake. 🚣 Their pork oil rice and pull pork very nice."

I wouldn't exactly call this a Lake. 😅 More like an Unused Large Pond actually. This Location is quite Unique however, noticeably Far away from the Main Bustling Shophouses of Taman Austin and located in a more Remote Residential Area of Austin. 🤔 Hahaha the Local Grab Driver that drove me have never even been to this Part of Taman Mount Austin himself. 😅If you would like to come here, I would recommend to choose "Market Place Austin Lake" on Grab's Map.

The Actual Place is a Building that is Dedicated for F&B with No Retail Spaces. 🤔 Restroom Facilities are available. As I counted, there are a Total of only 4 Tenants with some Empty Lots, no doubt due to the Devastating Effects of COVID. 🤔 This Eatery here appears to be the Largest and Most Popular Tenant in this Building. 屋台三郎拉面 Yatai Saburo Ramen that I featured previously is also near this Building. So you can visit Both Places if you want.

The Name of this Eatery itself is rather Amusing. The Actual Name is Project Smoked Dong (东 East) but if you take the English Name as it is, the word "Dong" is also a Vulgar English Slang for a 🍌. Memerific Brand-Name. 😅 I'm sure the Owners meant for it to be this way. 

Moving on, this is a F&B Franchise that is also available in Taman Sentosa, so you don't really have to visit this Specific Branch in Austin. What it is, is an American BBQ Place. 🇺🇸🍖

As I mentioned, this is the Largest Tenant here in this Building and also the Most Popular and Crowded with Customers. 🎉 The Whole Place is a Very Ang Mo Pub sort of Place with a Very Youth Centric Feel. 🍻 All the Staffs as I observed were Very Young, a Mix of Locals and Foreign Pinoy Folks with a Chinese Young Lady Supervisor that doesn't seem that much Older than them. 🤵‍♀️🤔

Being Mostly Young People, expect the Service to be more Boisterous "Yahoo Yahoo" type of Feel with Playful Vulgarities strewn all over the Place. 🎉😅 The Atmosphere here is not much different from an Alcoholic Pub tbh. 🍻 If you are looking for a More Family-Friendly or a Quieter Place to eat American Styled BBQ Meats, you might want to take note of this if this is suitable for you. 🤔

An Interesting Entrance Experience of which I feel the Customer Service could be improved.

Because Amelia never mentioned that Reservations were required, I thought I'd just walk in. 🚶The Staffs were Very Busy running about all over the Place, so I ownself Self-Service grabbed a seat on my own. 🤔

All of a Sudden, I had a Staff rush over to question whether I have a reservation or not. 🏃‍♀️😅 She was neither Polite nor Rude, but it was Quite Sudden tbh. When I replied I didn't have a Reservation, she gave me a Very Visible "Haizzz Haiyah" sort of Look 😤 but still managed to driect me to sit at their Bar Counter. Okaaaay. 🤔

Now she wasn't Rude or anything, but I feel this 1st Customer Impression could certainly be done much better. 🤔 If you would like to come here, I would recommend to do a Reservation lest you get "Questioned" like this if you Walk-In. 😅 I let it slide because they look like Very Young Gen-Z type of Staffs so perhaps they're not really focused on Traditional F&B Customer Service Etiquette. 🤵‍♂️🤵‍♀️

An Intense Situation I observed involving the Young Lady Supervisor towards her Staffs. 

So after I got my seat, I grabbed a Menu of my own to decide what to eat. 📜 Remember that Young Lady Supervisor I mentioned? Right in front of me, she literally shouted harshly at one of the Pinoy Staffs: 🗣️😳

"OEI HELLO!! CUSTOMER SIT DOWN ALREADY, YOU NEVER BOTHER TO PASS MENU TO HIM IS IT!?!????" 😳

I'm not kidding, she literally shouted this which momentarily made things awkward for the time being. 🗣️🤔 Immediately, there was a Young Pinoy Chap who quickly went over to me and 苦笑 smiled at me and perform his "Obligatory Customer Service" to intro me to their Menu. 📜😅 Yea Pretty Awkward Experience as you can imagine for a 1st Time Customer. 😅

This Lady Supervisor is the "Very Fierce towards Staff but Not Rude to Customer type" In fact after she shouted at that Pinoy Staff, she immediately switched her Fierce Fascade and smiled at me. Wow 一下变魔, 👹 一下变佛. 🧘 变脸变得很快. Sibeh Intense. 😅 I just felt she could have handled that better instead of shouting at her Staffs right infornt of Customers like this. 🗣️🤔 But then again, she's also Very Young, so I guess this is how this Restoran works? 🤔 Just from this Incident I can tell working here is Sibeh High Stress. 🔥😅

Anyway Amelia mentioned "Pork oil rice and Pull pork". 🐷🍚 From the Menu, the Closest Thing I could find matching her Description was their "Fragrant Porken Rice" and "Indomee Pulled Pork" so I ordered them. 🤔 I liked that it took 3 Mins for Everything to be served up together even when I didn't specifically asked for it. 👍

The 3 Different Sauce Condiments

I'm assuming these are the Condiments that are served up for their Pulled Pork. From Left to Fight in the Photo, they are: Mustard, Barbeque and Green Apple Chilli.

🟨🍯 Mustard Sauce
The Mustard Sourness is Sharp and Tangy with Quite a Kick. 😜 Its also Elevated Spicy with a Very Watery Texture. 🌶️ Overall a Decent Ang Mo Mustard that pairs well with BBQ Meats.

🔥🍯 Barbeque Sauce
Surprisingly not the Standard Western BBQ Sauce type of Taste you'd imagine. 🤔 This one interestingly has a Noticeable Ketchupy Note to it. 🍅🤔 Non-Spicy, Slightly Sourish, and taste like they Mixed it Themselves. Again this would pair pretty well with BBQ Meats.

🍏🍯 Green Apple Chilli
Adorable Name, this one tasted Non-Spicy and Sourish. 🤔 Despite the Name though it doesn't really taste like a Green Apple although there are bits of Apple Pieces I tasted. 🍏🤔 First Time tasting this, again this would probably pair well with BBQ Meats.

🐷🍚 Fragrant Porken Rice = RM8.00

I liked that this uses Short Grain Calrose Rice. 🍚👍 Although called a "Porken Rice", I don't really taste any 猪油 Lard at all. If anything, this tasted More Shalloty than anything. 🐷🤔 Has a Noticeable Dry Texture.

Decent Tasting as a Carb Canvas, this actually reminds me of that Garlic Fried Rice I had previously at BAR.B.Q Plaza (JB City Square) Thai Mookata Restoran that I enjoyed the other time. 🍚🤔 Really Similar Taste Profile.

🐷🍖 Indomee Pulled Pork (150g) = RM32.00

The Amount of Meat looks quite alot for 150g. 👍 Pulled Pork is basically Shredded Pork Meat. There is a Delightful Sweetish Juicy Ang-Mo styled of Braised Zhup that they Lum within this. 🍯😋 Not Spicy at all, Not Overly Porky, and it doesn't taste anything like Indomee like how its name suggests. 🍜😅 But I have no issues with this because this was Juicy and Meaty. 🍖😋

Combining this Pulled Pork and Rice paired well together. 🍖🍚 Because the Rice is Dry, it is helped very well with the Juicy and Meaty Pulled Pork. 🐷😋 When eaten together, it almost feels like you're eating some kind of "Japanese Pulled Pork Don". 🍚😅 The 3 Sauce Condiments helps cut thru alot of the Jelak. 🍯👍


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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At the Price of RM8.00 (S$2.50) for this Porken Rice isn't Expensive, but this is just a Flavoured Rice that acts as a Carb Canvas. 🍚🤔 Despite the Name, I didn't taste any 猪油香 from this. More Shalloty actually. 🐷🤔

In fact, I thought this tasted Very Similar to the Garlic Rice I eaten at BAR.B.Q Plaza (JB City Square) the other time. 🍚🤔 Amount of Rice was Acceptable for the Price. If you need a Carb Canvas, I suppose this is a Decent Choice although not really a Must Order in my Opinion. 🤔

The Price of RM32.00 (S$9.80) for this 150g of Pulled Pork is Affordable because the Amount of Meat given seems quite alot. 🍖👍 Also for some reason, Pulled Pork is a Very Expensive Dish in Singapore so to find a Sub-S$10.00 one here in JB was not bad. 👍 The Dish itself was Juicy, Meaty and Not Overly Porky and Paired Well with the Rice. 🍖🍚

Both Dishes were Decent for what they are but I somehow felt that I did not manage to actually eat their True 招牌 of the Place which is of course their American-Styled BBQ Meats. 🇺🇸🍖 I suppose my Order must seem quite Strange to the Staffs who must be thinking "Why is this Uncle only eating Pulled Pork + Rice here?" 😅 Hahaha. Hey don't blame me, Amelia only specifically mentioned these 2 items hor. 😅

Having said that, the Place itself as I mentioned is Very Youth Centric so you do need to know about this, 🎉 lest you prefer a Place that is Quieter and More Professional in their Customer Service. 🤔 Really Interesting and Intense 1st Customer Experience too as you can read in my Main Review. 😅 Definitely feels Awkward and Tension for a Supervisor to Harshly Shout at a Junior Staff right infront of Customer and then proceed to Smile at the Customer directly after. 🗣️😅

I want to give this place a Higher Score, but this 1st Customer Experience didn't sit well with me. 😅 Awkward, Mildly Uncomfortable, it just felt Odd all over. 感觉怪怪的. 😅 Service-Wise, I felt alot of things can certainly be handled much better. 🤔

Don't let my Average Score deter you from this Place though. If you are craving for some American Styled-BBQ Meats, 🇺🇸🍖 is ok with the Prices on the Menu, is ok with the More Youth Centric Boisterous "Yahoo" Vibe of this place, 🎉😅 I can still recommend this place to give it a try. Just remember to Make a Reservation first lest you get "Questioned" by the Staffs like I did. Oh and try to get the Attention of a Staff before you sit down lest they get a Severe Harsh Scolding from their Fierce Supervisor making things Awkward. 😅