Christmas combo platter at Big Bro 2

If you are in the neighbourhood of Taman Seri Austin, you may have heard about what brothers, Brian and Sam Soon, at doing at Big Bro 2 café.

Big Bro 2 Christmas combo platter for six diners

The brothers have created an interesting menu which is pleasing diners’ palates without burning a hole in their pockets.  So besides the food, another attraction about dining at Big Bro 2 is their competitive prices!

I don’t know about you but these are good reasons to visit Big Bro 2 again for a meal, even though it may be situated a little out-of-the-way from Johor Baru city.

Designed as a family-friendly café with a no-frills approach, Big Bro 2 has earned many fans with many becoming regulars.  Some, like me, even travel from across the city to dine there!

The café serves mainly Western food with the menus written on broad chalk boards in two languages – English and Chinese – and displayed at the back of the dining hall.

The chalk board written with the menu in English; the
Chinese version of the menu is not visible in this shot

Besides main course items like Angus Ribeye, Lamb Rack and Pork Knuckle to Pork Ribs and Chicken Cordon Bleu, there are also light meals like Fish & Chips, Chicken Ala Picatta, Pork Chop and Carbonara or Aglio Olio pasta.

Big Bro 2 is distinguished by how Chef Brian chooses to use spinach – deliciously sautéed with mushrooms – to complement the meat items.  

Fans of his brand of quality food may remember Chef Brian from his previous restaurant, Ratatouille La Gourmet at Adda Heights.

On that day when Chef Brian put up the signboard for Big Bro 2 café, he sent a photo of it to me as an official announcement of his reopening for business here.  Since my first visit to Big Bro 2, I’ve been back several times with friends and family members to enjoy his food.

When I dropped by again for dinner recently, Chef Brian was working on his Big Bro 2 Christmas platter, creating it for groups of two, four, six or more diners, during this festive season.

He did not hesitate to introduce this festive combo platter to me and explained that he is flexible to add or change items according to diners’ requests.

The platter he served my party comprised a whole roasted chicken (complete with stuffing!) with rack of lamb, strips of pork belly as well as two types of sausages – one of them even tasted slightly spicy!

Chef Brian helping us to portion
the roasted chicken in the platter

Chef Brian came over to personally serve us and assured me that these plump sausages were made to his recipe and packed with more meat than other fillers.

While he did not quite “carve” the chicken as he would a turkey, Chef Brian helped us to portion the bird for our dining convenience.

Before he left us to enjoy our meal, he recommended that we start with the lamb chops and savour them while it was still warm!

This festive combo platter (RM238) that should serve six, came with a choice of three delicious sauces: Apple, Mint and Rosemary, to complement the pork, lamb and chicken, respectively. 

As for me, the meat tasted so tender and juicy on its own that I did not even use any additional sauces!

Served with a baked potato for each diner, Chef Brian’s Christmas platter certainly put us in the festive mood and it more than satisfied us in our pre-Christmas dinner at Big Bro 2.

In view of the time required for the meticulous preparation, advance orders are recommended for the Christmas platter.  It is also available for takeaways.

Big Bro 2 cafe [Non-Halal] is at 28 Jalan Seri Austin 1/1, Taman Seri Austin, 81100 Johor Baru.  Open daily 5pm to 10.30pm.  Open for lunch and all-day dining on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For reservations, Tel: 6016 - 7550868.