Then came this normal Saturday hangout with Gneb; we went into this restaurant with a real empty stomach. Interior wise, they are pretty simple, a mixture of colonial style with a twist of modern setup; almost a fine dinning place, nevertheless, a lot more touch up still needed to be done.
The menu was indeed confusing, there was no focused food theme, all of the cuisines were jumbled up, from Nyonya to Fusion to Indian; rather then choosing and wasting time, I called out for the waiter to recommend. I guessed luck was not at our side that evening; they were basically fresh meat on the board. So, you could imagine “the lack of confidence” look in their faces and uncertainties of what was good to offer. The waiter then recommended Steamed Cod Fish to us, which we thought we’d just give it a try since we did not know what else to order. The food finally came to our table.
Chicken tikka. My first impression was “WHAT?” A pathetic 6 small pieces of chicken; just wonder which part of our stomach can be filled.
Long beans with minced meat, does't it look familiar? Something I can get from the normal “Choo Char” (cooked fried in Hokkien) restaurants in the Kopitiam by the road side (coffee shop in Hokkien) Taste wise very normal, nothing special that I can think of to describe. Next….
Fried rice. I can ensure you my mum’s fried rice is any time better than this. May be one compliment I can give here is the presentation of the dish. Well, may be not, I can do this even more elaborative. Last but not least, the ever famous and well recommended steamed cod fish.
Nice to look at, but with the very first bite, both Gneb and I were looking at each other and asking the same questions, “Is it over cooked or has it gone stale?” I believe without further mentioning, my dear fellow readers should know the answer. Frankly speaking, neither Gneb nor I were too happy with the food in front of us.
The disappointment did not stop here.
When we got the check, it was a bloody MYR134 for these 4 dishes plus one beer. After checking through, the most killing one was the steamed cod fish, MYR85 and followed by the 6 cute little chicken tikka of MYR13.50. What made me really uncomfortable was the cod fish, about slightly bigger than my palm size (FYI, my palm size is not very big, just average), not fresh at all, and the way of preparing it is too common for such a restaurant; and why on earth did it cost so much. A good Chinese restaurant that serves this dish will only be in the range of MRY40 to MYR50.
In order not to exaggerate, the bill enclosed speaks louder then words, the rest of it, I will leave to you, my fellow readers to judge.
My last comment or verdict here is that there is really a need to change the name to “Slaughter Kitchen”.
My Scores:
Taste: The exorbitant price has overwhelmed all good taste – if there was any…..
Environment:
Service:
Price: NOT WORH IT!!!!
Parking: (parking spaces available right in front of the cafe)
Address: 1, Green hall, 10200 Penang, Malaysia
Others: NA
It used to be Rice&Spice and it was much more affordable with their available set lunches.
ReplyDeletethanks for letting me know how expensive a meal could be in this place.
haha.
sometimes it's good to learn from other ppl's mistakes. *oops*
Yup, seriously not worth it :) :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by meimeizoe.
ReplyDeleteYeap, previously they are Rice&Spice. Tell you frankly, I will never ever step into that place again. It is really a slit throat restaurant. :)
Finally I went for dinner last Saturday. Wanted to go for mid-autumn festival at Esplanade, but thanks to the rain, we ended up trying at Straits Kitchen.
ReplyDeleteA few tourists were in there. Nice ambience. Heritage feeling, especially the toilet tiles, I like it very much.
The waiter told us that their Indian and Nyonya food are most popular. He recommended Lamb Rogan Gosh, Vegetable pilau (like indian fried rice), chicken masala. We also tried his recommended new dish - aromatic crispy duck, cooked by a chef who worked in London before. Oh boy, it was good. I used to like this dish at a restaurant in Tanjong Tokong which had been closed. This is the next best I have ever tried. Highly recommended. Not expensive, only RM18.00, enough for 3 adults with 2 pieces each.
My total bill for that night was RM187.50, for my family of 3 adults and 2 kids (7 and 4 year-old). I think it is quite reasonable. No service charge and government tax.