After my ribless first visit to Dave’s Bistro Bar & Grill at 1 Utama, it took me weeks to steel myself for a second visit. On the day of the lunch appointment, I called them before noon to confirm whether they had ribs but no one picked up the phone so I had to take the chance. There had better be ribs this time!

This time I made sure not to choose a Monday just in case I got the same excuse that ribs ran out on Sunday. That reminds me of my favourite celebrity chef, the no-holds barred and acerbic Anthony Bourdain’s advise in “Kitchen Confidential” not to eat fish on Mondays.

The waiter made the order for us – one mushroom soup and one Caesar’s salad? No, thanks. We ordered the two salads, i.e. Caesar and pork belly shavings. The restaurant was quite crowded this time with many partaking of the 50% discount on weekday pasta orders offer.

The Caesar Salad arrived first with crispy bacon bits, hardly any quail’s eggs and even less croutons. Taste was good and I have to say it was the best dish of the lot. Maybe it’s because it’s been a long time since I had bacon, it is expensive in Malaysia after all.

Next up was the belly shaving salad with some green apple slices, scrambled eggs and parmesan. The Caesar’s Salad was much better than this one. I thought the belly shaving salad was a very mediocre salad even though it’s actually more expensive than the Caesar’s Salad.

Finally, the much anticipated piece de résistance – baby back pork ribs drenched in signature barbeque sauce and served with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes. if that was their signature sauce, then I am truly disappointed as I just didn’t like the taste at all. It tasted like McDonald’s BBQ sauce (the one you get with Chicken McNuggets) watered down.

The meat looked charred on the outer layer and was tough in some parts. I had 2 ribs and only went on to a 3rd because I was still a little hungry but there was nothing finger-licking good about this dish, not even fork-licking good. Even if the pork wasn’t of the highest quality, I’d still have been able tempted if the sauce was nice but as it is, I barely managed to chomp down on 3 of the 8 ribs.

They’d provided a small plate for us which had to be used for the salads and ribs. I am surprised the main dish has a RM70 value because I get more satisfaction at a fast food joint. To add to an otherwise unmemorable dining experience, 2 glasses of water was RM2.50 (tax included). Definitely a dining voucher I regret purchasing.