Franchise

Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Steakhouse

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stuart anderson black angus steak

This is a higher end quick service restaurant that I had dinner at last week in Singapore. Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Steakhouse has several outlets there – it’s a franchise that started in Seattle.

Black Angus Steakhouse serves All American fare like steaks (obviously), burgers and root beer. The prices are pretty reasonable too, if you don’t convert – the root beer float goes for SGD 7.50.

stuart anderson black angus singapore

It’s primarily known for steak though – the menu describes it lovingly as air flown USDA tender, flavorful Black Angus steak aged to perfection. There are several cuts available in different sizes.

I settled for a center-cut New York Steak – medium rare. It’s SGD 43.90 for 10 oz. I love the sauce options – the waiter recommended Red Wine sauce, which I went with.

black angus steakhouse new york steak

You can also choose the trimmings – I went for the standard side of fresh steamed vegetables and switched my baked potato to garlic mashed potato, which was an excellent choice. My only beef (no pun intended) is that they got my order wrong, it came out medium well instead of medium rare but in a group of about a dozen near closing time, I guess mix-ups are inevitable.

stuart anderson steak soup

You also get to choose an entree from the menu to go with your steak dinner and I went with Stuart’s Steak Soup which was recommended and I wasn’t disappointed – it turned out to be the best dish I had. Heh. The steak soup has generous chunks of beef inside as well as a hodgepodge of beans, veggies and even barley. Nice, thick soup for the soul.

gigantic burger pound black angus

They also have a monster of a burger, with patties made of Black Angus beef weighing a whole pound! That’s like eating 4 quarter pounders and this has strips of bacon on top to boot. Decadent stuff. Just look at the size of it. It’s about SGD 24 or so, and it would certainly take a very hungry man to finish it.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co

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bubba gump

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is an eating establishment based on the Forrest Gump movie. I went there with PinkPorkChop for a late lunch just now.

bubba gump interior

I love the décor inside Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The ambience is great and I prefer the friendly service over TGIF. The outlet at The Curve has really friendly staff which beats TGIF any day.

bubba game

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is a renowned for their mind boggling games. The staff comes to your table with toothpicks and you answer the questions to the best of your capacity.

bubba answer

It should be noted that ALL of the questions are not straightforward. I shall share with you the answer to one – this requires moving two toothpicks to make up 100. The trick is to move 1+1+1+1 to 141 – 41 (just shift two toothpicks) so it comes up to 100. PPC and I cracked our brains to figure that out.

bubba tag

Camera tag! 🙂

bubba stuffed

PPC wasn’t really hungry so we shared a plate of “I’M STUFFED!” Shrimp (RM 39.90). This is one of my favorite dishes in Bubba Gump – it’s large shrimp with crab, baked in garlic butter and topped with Monterey Jack cheese. It comes with a serving of Jasmine rice.

bubba chocolate

I also ordered “That Chocolate Thing” (RM 16.90) for us to share. I love the description – it goes “We’re not sure what to call it, but we know you’ll love it! A special jar of warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, and drizzled with raspberry sauce. You’ll say I HAVE TO HAVE THAT CHOCOLATE THING!”.

bubba us

The bill came up to RM 92.70, inclusive of our drinks – Run Forrest Run (RM 11.90) and Mango Sparkler (RM 11.90). It’s pretty reasonable considering the quality of the food and the great service.

bubba ooze

Anyway, after the late brunch, we headed to Cineleisure to catch a movie. I felt really bad coz I overslept and PPC was waiting for me at the Curve – sorry! Unfortunately, there wasn’t any shows until late so we just took a photo with B.O.B. and headed back home.

bubba end

I also bumped into PS (fixed! :)) while I was on my way back to the car. It’s always good to meet readers, thanks for saying hello. Cheers for reading! 🙂

Coca Restaurant

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coca

The first thing that springs to mind when Coca is mentioned is a particular plant cultivated in certain parts of South America. However, that is not the Coca that will be reviewed in this post. 😉 This Coca is the steamboat franchise. My first experience with Coca is in Kuching, which Andrea, the Marketing Manager who invited us, said was under different management.

coca 1u

I went with Yiling to the outlet at 1Utama. There are two outlets in Klang Valley – one in 1U and the other in Subang Parade. I recommend going to the second one – Andrea gave us the lowdown on the difference. The latter is larger, with live aquariums and fresh seafood from said aquarium. I hear the ambiance is better too.

interior

However, I found the ambiance at Coca Restaurant, 1U to be quite pleasant too. The interior is dominated by hues of red (a color which can either cause arguments or create passion, depending on who you listen to), which is also the corporate color of the franchise. Andrea gave us a warm welcome when we stepped in and ushered us to our reserved table.

promo

Coca is having a promotion on their steamboat set menus. It starts from RM 98++ for 2 people and includes:

Appetizer:
Deep Fried Fish Paste

Steamboat:
Tiger Prawns (200 grams)
Jelly Fish
Stuffed Squid
Chicken Ball
Chicken Fillet
Fish Glue
Coca Foo Chock
House Special Dumpling
Chinese Cabbage
Morning Glory
Tofu
Green Noodles
Eggs

roselle

Yiling had the new Roselle Flowers d’ Juice (RM 12.90), which actually has the edible flowers garnishing the tall receptacle, as well as a slice of lemon. She opted to substitute the water with soda water, which made it effervescent and very thirst quenching. I love the pitchfork to stir the drink – it’s very novel, the other end is a small spoon. A spork of sorts! =D

I ordered a jug of beer, which Yiling doubted I could finish. She should know better coz she’s seen the way I drink in Ipoh. I offered to pay for the beer, but Andrea would have none of it – cheers for the great hospitality! 🙂

I’m sure I don’t need to put photos of the jug of beer up – you know what it looks like anyway, unless you’re living in Afghanistan or something…in which case you wouldn’t have net access anyway. 😉

buffet

Coca Restaurant also has a buffet promotion where you can have unlimited appetizers from the buffet line. We checked out the appetizers on offer and it’s very well presented, hor d’oeuvres style with a lot of them on spoons and such. Check out the succulent prawns in the foreground! I like the miniature Coca steamboat in the middle too – it’s little touches like these that shows attention to detail. They are also going healthy – substituting yogurt for coconut milk in a lot of their cooking.

prawn

Anyway, back to our Coca Experience (TM) we were served Tiger Prawns stuffed with fish and prawns for the appetizer. The crustacean is a bit tough with a fearsome carapace but a tiny fork is more than adequate to get at the succulent flesh inside. The fish and prawn mixture works very well, creating a fusion of flavors that is greater than the sum of its parts.

pandan

The second appetizer we were served is the Pandan Chicken. It’s tender chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and the cooking process retains all the juicy and moist goodness of the chicken. It’s almost melt-in-your-mouth!

service

The steamboat was ready after that and the best thing about Coca Restaurant is the excellent service. The waiters help you with everything – doing it the Proper Way (TM) – first using the broth to loosen the ingredients before carefully putting it into the steamboat. This is a very nice touch, and different from other steamboat establishments.

steamboat

We went for the mixed steamboat – one side is Tom Yam soup and the other side is chicken broth. I like the Tom Yam soup better as I have a love of all things spicy, but I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the chicken broth too. It’s very flavorful with hints of real chicken essence, unlike the watered down Oliver Twist soup-without-bread version that some other establishments serve.

tom yam

This is the Tom Yam soup version.

cute

I just love this photo of Yiling. She looks so cute! 🙂

chicken

This is the chicken broth version.

spinach

Memorable dishes in the RM 98++ set meal are the spinach noodles, jellyfish, and the house specialty dumplings. I’m not a big fan of tofu so I can’t comment on that.

dessert

Andrea was kind enough to furnish us with a plethora of desserts – the most remarkable being the Fresh Mango Pulut with Durian (RM
23.80). It’s absolutely sinf
ul. It’s fresh mangos sliced into manageable pieces, served with glutinous rice drowned in coconut milk and a side of durian puree. The durian puree is to die for! It has a creamy texture with heavy notes of the King of Fruits and an orgasmic aftertaste. I even ate the durian puree straight from the cup; it’s just that good.

coca us

It should be noted that a lot of the items here (e.g. some appetizers) and desserts are not included in the RM 98++ steamboat promotion for two. Those items came courtesy of Andrea. Thanks a great dining experience! 🙂

sauce

P/S – The best thing about Coca Restaurant is their secret dipping sauce. It’s so closely guarded, the sauce is imported in from Thailand and no one knows the exact ingredients. Secret recipe. I like.

Pizza Uno

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pizza uno

Pizza Uno is located at Centerpoint PJ, the center of the world. I went to Pizza Uno last night with Yee Hou, Suanie, Zoe, and Hannah. BTW, does Hannah have a blog?

pizza uno sangria

This is Sangria (RM 34), which according to the menu is a mixture of fruit juices, wine and brandy. The four of us had this, I won’t say which four coz one person is a minor. :p

pizza uno food

Zoe and Hannah shared the Alla Carbonara (RM 22).
I went for the Ravioli with Chicken and Mushroom Stuffing (RM 24) which is only available during weekends. Absolutely fabulous!
Suanie had the Deep Fried Whole Spring Chicken (RM 26), described as a tender young bird.
Yee Hou went for the Aussie Pizza (RM 32), which is rather authentic – it has egg on top.

pizza uno suanie

This chicken looks a bit obscene with its legs spread wide open like this.

pizza uno take out

This is the first time I’ve seen people take off their tongue piercings to eat – Zoe and Hannah does that.

pizza uno obc

Lainie joined us later and had the Oven Baked Chicken (RM 24). She didn’t even finish it.

pizza uno me

Here’s an anecdote from the night – some poor old soul came in and asked us for money for food. I offered her my slice of pizza but she declined. It seems that she prefers cold, hard cash. Heh!

pizza uno us

The Pizza Uno manager on duty chased her away politely after that – “Auntie, can you please not bother the customers?”. I thought that was pretty funny.

pizza uno four

The drawing of the four (with tongue piercings).

pizza uno panna cotta

This is the Panna Cotta (RM 8) we had for dessert. I forgot to bring my digicam, but lucky for me, Suanie practically lives at the mall (or close enough anyway) so all photos here – courtesy of her digicam. Thanks Suan! 🙂

pizza uno feed

It’s not everyday you get the honor of being fed by Zoe. 😉

pizza uno zoey 

Zoe sends her love.

Ah Cheng Laksa

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ah cheng laksa

Ah Cheng Laksa is one of those “hawker fare inside a mall with WiFi and air conditioned comfort” franchises, which shows no sign of slowing down. I think a lot of it has to do with their pricing and convenience. Personally, I went just coz I love the tagline, a parody of Phua Chu Kang with their version being “Best in Subang Jaya & Sunway & some even said in PJ!!”

I think the grammatically incorrect tagline adds to the good ol’ hawker stall appeal. 🙂

ah cheng laksa montage

I went to the one at the Curve since they had a promotional deal worked out with Cineleisure where you get a 10% discount off your food with a movie ticket. It’s only valid for a la carte items though, and not the Combo Set Promotions, which we went for. I like the seating arrangements at the outlet over here – the seats are absurdly low but a pit of sorts where you can put your feet in compensates for the height problem. Nifty.

ah cheng cham

Ah Cheng Laksa also serves the increasingly popular Cham (RM 2.50). Cham is a Hokkien word meaning “mix”. It’s a half and half mixture of coffee and tea and I’m starting to like the medley of tastes and the reduced caffeine content – very useful for combating stress in KL traffic. 😉

ah cheng laksa food montage

Combo Set 1, which is recommended for 2-3 people, is priced at RM 13.90 and comes with JR Asam Laksa, JR Curry Laksa and your choice of a regular (JR stands for junior, I presume) Asam Laksa, Curry Laksa, Kueh Tiaw Soup, or Nasi Lemak Ayam/Daging Rendang. I went for the Nasi Lemak Daging Rendang option. You can also choose the type of noodles you want in your laksa – it’s customizable.

ah cheng laksa us

Verdict:
Asam Laksa: Delicious! It’s very appetizing.
Curry Laksa: I didn’t think much of it. I prefer asam laksa to curry based laksa.
Nasi Lemak Daging Rendang: It’s okay, but not great. The pakcik that parks his van outside my condo weekday mornings sells much better nasi lemak from the back of his mobile stall.

Laksa Shack

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laksa shack

Laksa Shack is a franchise operating along the trend of establishing hawker food fare in the air conditioned comfort of malls. It has outlets throughout Malaysia and specializes in laksa, as the name implies.

laksa shack interior

Laksa is a noodle soup dish originating from Malaysia and has two major variants – curry laksa and asam laksa. The first one is santan (coconut milk) based while the latter is a medley of sour and tangy notes from tamarind. Sarawak laksa is an offshoot of curry laksa but I tend to prefer the asam laksa more.

laksa shack asam

Asam laksa has no coconut milk and is based on a fish paste broth with tamarind, which gives it the distinctive sour taste. I find that very appetizing, and it’s served with translucent thick rice vermicelli instead of the thinner version.

laksa shack operation

Laska Shack is a quick service operation and offers Asam Laksa, Johor Laksa, Curry Laksa, Laksam Kelantan, Tom Yam Laksa, Laksa Nyonya Melaka, Sarawak Laksa and Laksa Lemak Singapore. The soup base is all pre-cooked and kept in heated receptacles at the counter so they just need to pour the right gravy on the right kind of noodles.

laksa shack drinks

I went with my girlfriend to the outlet at MidValley Megamall and we shared a Laksa Set (RM 14.90) which comes with the laksa of your choice, 2 pieces of otak-otak and Sirap Bandung Cincau. The drink (left) is a rose syrup drink with milk and cincau (black jelly). I ordered another drink (right) for RM 5.50 – Ipoh White Coffee Cincau.

laksa shack set

This is what the Laksa Set looks like. The laksa ordered separately costs RM 9.90 each and the drinks will set you back RM 5-6 so it’s usually more cost effective to order the popular laksa set. The two pieces of otak-otak came really fast – the operation at Laksa Shack is all very streamlined.

laksa shack otak

Otak-otak (literally brains-brains) is a fish paste snack wrapped in banana leaves. Laksa Shack offers the steamed version and the otak-otak is (very) highly processed, leaving very little taste, as is oft the case in mass produced bulk food.

laksa shack asam laksa

The Asam Laksa at Laksa Shack is surprisingly good for a quick service restaurant. The soup base is tantalizingly sour and comes with pieces of fish. I find tamarind based broth to be very appetizing and drank all the soup in the dish.

laksa shack asam laksa macro

I didn’t quite like the fish pieces though – it seems to be sardine to my untrained palate and sardine is one of the few aquatic lifeforms I do not like to eat (due to taste rather than any sentimental PETA/Greenpeace ideology).

laksa shack end

You can probably get better laksa for a lower price at regular hawker stalls but Laksa Shack offers the experience (and convenience) of eating hawker food in air conditioned comfort inside a mall. I have seen this trend take off and I suspect the end is nigh for the novelty value of hawker-food-given-premium-treatment concept eating establishments.

It’s going to jump the sardine soon, mark my words. 😉

The Coffee Bean Hazelnut Ice Blended and Latte

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cbtl hazelnut

The Coffee Bean just came out with a new promotional drink (I should know, I’ve been going there every day for the Wi-Fi) called Hazelnut.

cbtl hazelnut promo

Hazelnut comes in two forms – ice blended and latte, the classic hot and cold beverage options.

cbtl hazelnut ice blended

This is what the ice blended hazelnut (RM 12) looks like.

cbtl hazelnut latte

This is the hazelnut latte (RM 11).

It is basically coffee with hazelnut overtones. It’s nice for a change, coz I just usually go for The Ultimate EXTREME.

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Starbucks Coffee merchandise

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starbucks genting

Starbucks Coffee has been my main hangout with Rene in Genting Highlands. It has free Wi-Fi so I can update my blog from here.

starbucks city mug display

Starbucks Coffee makes City Mugs (RM 35), a huge ceramic collectable 20 oz mug from 20 different cities in the world.

starbucks city mug

This is the Kuala Lumpur one. I got one as a souvenir and another as a birthday present for Cherie.

starbucks after coffee gum

I noticed that Starbucks makes After Coffee Chewing Gum (RM 9.50) as well. The Starbucks chewing gum comes in peppermint flavor and has the Starbucks logo on it.

starbucks after coffee gum peppermint

Rene got one of those and it tastes great. It’s a great marketing strategy for “coffee breath”.

starbucks trick or treat

This is Trick or Treat (RM 17.50) which is a Halloween menu special.

starbucks trick or treat contents

Rene fed me while I was updating the blog so I can eat and update at the same time.

Thanks Rene!

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Rasa Ayamas Arabian Delight

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ra kl sentral

Arabian Delight is the new offering by Rasa Ayamas and it retails at
RM 7.50 for a meal consisting of 2 pieces of Arabian Delight and
crinkle fries.

ra arabian delight

Here’s what it looks like. It’s actually something like a KFC
Twister being cut in two so it’s really one piece instead of two.
Arabian Delight is also served with secret Dakkous Sauce, whatever that
is.

ra arabian close

Here’s a closer look at Arabian Delight. The meat is nestled
underneath so you can’t actually see it. The wrap is warm while the
filling is cold. It didn’t taste all that good to me.

This is the last KL post, I had this at KL Sentral before flying
back to Kuching. I’ve cleared all the backlogs. Posting will go back to
real time as of now. 😉

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