Just Balls at the Mugshot

As much as I loved the wood fired bagels at the Mugshot, I avoid the place during weekends because of the crowd and loooong wait time. Hubs recently met up with Eve for lunch last week and couldn't stop raving about the fantastic meatballs so he ended up dragging Bubs and me there on a Sunday morning.

Meatballs are only served starting from 12 noon so since we arrived pretty early, we had a smoked salmon bagel to starve off hunger pangs and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

At this point, we were ravenous but the meatball staff arrived late that day. The moment we saw the guy rush in, Hubs immediately walked over to place his order. We initially wanted the meatball spaghetti (RM14) but the guy warned us that it'll be an even longer wait so we settled on just balls (RM7). Hubs had the brilliant idea of going to the front to place an order for 2 more bagels with cream cheese, which he assured me would go perfectly with the meatballs.

At this point, Bubs was beginning to get antsy so we looked around for something that would cheer him up a little.

We found a fruit juice bar tucked at the back of the cafe and placed an order for a grape yogurt shake (RM13). I'd have preferred jackfruit but they ran out of it.

Bubs and I gave this a huge thumbs up but Hubs shuddered at the taste of the yogurt - which is freshly made by themselves and the drink was unsweetened. Bubs hugely enjoyed the fresh grapes in the drink and munched on them happily.

Finally, the meatballs were served; Hubs requested a serving of beef and lamb meatballs each which came topped with a serving of tomato based sauce and a fresh herb sprinkle. I took a small bite and chewed thoughtfully. The burst of taste, texture and beautiful gravy just swept me over. These ... could ... be ... possibly ... the BEST meatballs ever in the whole of Penang. The tomato sauce was a perfect complement for the strong, gamey taste of lamb and the meatballs had a nice ratio of meat to fat, making it chewy plus flavourful. I tried the beef version but still prefer the lamb meatballs.

After watching Hubs spread his meatballs around on his bagel and tucking in into them, making appreciative noises; I tentatively followed suit.

Hoo boy. What a revelation it was!

The tangy sauce and firm meatballs went really well with the crisp bagels covered with cream cheese. I think I like this version a lot better than the spaghetti or mashed potatoes. If the wait wasn't that crazy, I think I could have easily polished off a few more of these. We are planning on making this a weekly ritual plus I can foresee tah pao-ing a few sets back to store at home to spice up an aglio olio one day.