Red Lobster @ quill

Red Lobster Malaysia

I didn’t really pay attention to the launch of Red Lobster Malaysia so I was quite surprised to see the Red Lobster marquee while at Quill City Mall. I was there with a friend and wanted to see if it was the same Red Lobster as the US casual dining restaurant so we popped in to check it out.

Lobster Tank

They have a very misleading lunch promotional menu which says “Value Lunch RM 28.90 with 6 delicious options”. The Fine Print (TM) of “starting from” really pushes the definition of the term but who in their right mind would think lobster would come at less than RM 30? I had browsed the menu and spotted the same item I wanted to order at RM 84 but I feel that this has created a lot of ill-will among the public.

Red Lobster Value Lunch

It seems that Red Lobster Malaysia has some teething problems which resulted in a lot of angry customers but most of that seem to be price or service related. It’s been proven that good service actually increases the enjoyment of a meal and we had great service from the wait staff. Granted, we were the only ones there and the staff to customer ratio was 4:1.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

We were seated inside and provided with complimentary Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I love the warm and cheesy biscuits, but the presentation could do with a bit of work – it was served on a tray with serviettes (!!!). I would have expected something a little better from a place like this, at least spring for a nice piece of linen to keep the biscuits warm. The complimentary soup wasn’t interesting at all but that wasn’t why I came here.

Red Lobster Lobster and Steak Burger

I ordered the Lobster & Steak Burger (RM 81.50). It’s a dish of “tender juicy beef burger patty paired with grilled Maine lobster tail and French fries”. I loved my burger! I had ordered it medium and it came out exactly medium. It was succulent and juicy and positively dripping with bovine goodness. The grilled Maine lobster tail was awesome too, especially with the butter sauce. The hot sauce was addictive as hell too!

Red Lobster Bar Harbor Lobster Bake

My friend went for the Bar Harbor Lobster Bake (RM 127.90). This is supposed to be a sharing dish but we were still quite surprised at the portion. It’s a “roasted, split lobster tail, tender shrimp, sea scallops, mussels and linguine in a savory broth”. I can’t say I enjoyed the pasta much, it was slightly gloopy but the lobster was good. The sea scallops and mussels were on the small side (especially the former) and didn’t add much to the dish. It was still better than the appalling Lobster Thermidor I had in Harrod’s KLCC.

Red Lobster

I thought Red Lobster Malaysia does what it does very well – lobster! The other dishes aren’t that great. I went for the burger coz there was a LongHorn Steakhouse directly beside this outlet sharing the same kitchen and it was super! I feel that if you go, knowing that it’s a casual dining restaurant that doesn’t accept reservations (like Chili’s), stick to what they know best (lobsters) and don’t mind the high prices (use a corporate expense account) you’ll love the food. I sure did.

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20 thoughts on “Red Lobster @ quill”

  1. Everything looks really good…pricey, but good. Lots of unhappy people? The choice is theirs – not happy, go eat elsewhere. But yes, everything, not just the food, should not be anything less than excellent to warrant that kind of prices.

    I wonder if they sell those biscuits, how much they would cost. Deep fried? Perhaps the serviette was to soak away the excess oil but they could have done that in the kitchen and served them without the not very presentable paper.

    Reply
    • I don’t think they sell the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits separately! 🙂

      It’s a complimentary item with every mains order, there’s no limit too, you can get as much as you want. I love them – delicious!

      Hmm…apparently I was told that it’s served the same way in the US e.g. on serviettes. The biscuits aren’t oily at all so I’m puzzled at why they close that. Maybe it’s a cost cutting thing. *shrugs*

      The service is really good, but perhaps overenthusiastic. One thing, if I wanted to nitpick, was that they don’t see social cues e.g. the staff are Filipinos, I believe and even though we were speaking English, sometimes they came in and asked if we wanted a refill of our drinks or more biscuits when we were clearly talking business.

      Reply
    • Yeah, I think it’s coz we both ordered lobster, what they are good at! 🙂

      I don’t see the point in having chicken at a lobster centric restaurant. It’s not their focus, if I wanted chicken I’ll go to a chicken speciality place. I agree, they have ironed out most of their problems, if I had to nitpick it was that the service can be overenthusiastic and intrusive at times.

      Reply
    • Yeah, the lobsters are great! 🙂

      They’re Maine lobsters too! The price is a little high, compared to some other places but low compared to others like Harrod’s.

      Reply
    • Yup, service is always important in the F&B business! 🙂

      We had dinner at this grill in Sunway Pyramid last night, me and my better half loved the food and the great service. It was a QSR Plus (a term I made up to describe QSR’s which are higher in price and have better service than traditional QSRs but lower than casual dining restaurants with no real tableside service). Ours did have tableside service though.

      Reply
    • Yeah, I personally love all types of lobster! 🙂

      Too bad, sometimes if you have a slight allergy, you can counteract it by taking an antihistamine but if it’s really bad, you shouldn’t. Some of my friends (who have slight allergies) can eat shellfish with the condition that they pop an antihistamine before and after the meal.

      Reply
    • My niece has an allergy too! 🙂

      Hers is really bad so she can’t have any shellfish at all (including molluscs like oysters) but if you have a slight allergy, I have friends who pop an antihistamine before and after a meal and they’ll be fine. Otherwise, they’ll break out in hives.

      This only works if you don’t have a very bad reaction to shellfish though. Hope that helps, but consult your doctor first.

      Reply
  2. The meal you ordered seem more value for money than the meal your friend ordered. Does the lobster here taste better than the lobster at Lobsterman SS2 PJ? If yes, then I will go and try when I have some occasion to celebrate to justify spending this amount of money on a meal.

    Reply
    • My friend’s meal was enough for 3! 🙂

      It’s easily 3 times the size of mine but most of that is pasta. There’s also one Maine lobster tail (cooked differently – mine was grilled, his was roasted). We had dinner at a grill yesterday and it cost more than my burger for the two of us (me and my better half).

      RM 84 is pretty decent for a wonderful burger and a solid lobster tail. It’s not as cheap as Lobsterman SS2 and there’s not as much variety in the cooking methods/pairings too but it’s a different experience – this is the US casual dining restaurant I’ve heard so much about come to Malaysia.

      Reply
  3. I love your lobster and steak burger.. Love anything with creamy (white) cheesy sauce.. Oooo, love honey mustard sauce with fries too, but I usually change my fries to mash.. Errr, starting FROM RM28.90, eh? Guess the one with RM28.90 does not have any lobster in it, ok, maybe lobster bits.. Oh wait, I zoomed into your menu, nope no lobster bits, it’s a chicken dish.. Wouldn’t order chicken or fish if I want to come here, coz if I decide to come here, the main reason would be coz of their lobster.. Very pricey, but I would love to try your lobster and steak burger..

    Reply
    • It was really delicious! 🙂

      I enjoyed the juicy burger and the grilled Maine lobster tail. Me and my better half ate at a grill in Sunway Pyramid last night and it cost more for the two of us than for my burger so it’s not really very expensive, just slightly higher than regular places.

      The RM 28.90 meal is chicken!

      Haha! I wouldn’t go to a lobster restaurant to eat chicken. It doesn’t seem very appealing. All the lobster dishes would be above RM 80 minimum from what I can see. They’re selling Maine lobsters for RM 30+ per 100 gram too.

      I would highly recommend the burger and Maine lobster tail.

      Reply
    • Haha! It was a business lunch! 🙂

      I had some stuff to sort out in Sibu that I haven’t done before I came back and had to finish some of it before I next go back. I’ll buzz you if I’m ever in the area again Mel!

      Reply
    • Yeah, it’s delicious! 🙂

      I loved my burger with Maine lobster tail. Unfortunately, there’s no alcohol coz officially (unless you’re working on a special projects team) all company expense lunch/dinner bills must not have alcohol on it. I think it’s a pretty common rule, most of the companies that I’ve worked with have this rule.

      There’s one exception though, used to work in a company where I could claim ludicrous expenses (including alcohol, entertainment, even attire!). The hours are really long though and quite unusual.

      Reply

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