#B1-03, Marina Link @ B1
Marina Square
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| Interior |
We were instantly drawn to western favourites such as fries( with dips- their niche), cheesy potato skins as well as staples such as chicken cutlets and dory fish fillets. And the fact that they had a 20% discount if you paid by NETS ( only for ALA-CARTE menu items) further sweetened the deal. There were no chirpy "entry-greetings" similar to those you hear at Popeye's or uniQLO. Everyone just got about fussing with their jobs in the eatery.
Today was much better. The grumpy uncle we saw the day before was somewhat rejuvenated and enthusiastic as he approached us to alert us to the items and promotions available on the menu. He promptly ushered us in and we were given a table near the glass windows overlooking ChicKing( a Dubai-based KFC-like eatery just so you know). Orders are carried out like those you see at fast-food restaurants. ( Though I can quite say the same for the waiting time of our food). They adopted a rather open concept with their kitchen. (Which is good. You could see what they are doing and stuff). But for a home-grown establishment, the hiring of Filipinos to serve us was a bit of a disappointment. (Save for an uncle who was advanced in years).
Joy ordered the Grilled Dory Fish Fillet(as she opted for a healthier option to their Signature fish fillet-which was deep-fried) while I ordered the Emperor Chicken Cutlet. (The cutlet featured in the picture brought back memories of the AWESOME fried chop I used to have back in Secondary School- with what looked like black pepper chicken chop sauce drizzled all over those flaky deep-fried bits coating the tender,juicy chicken.mmmm). Each dish was economically priced at $8.90 with a drink of our choice( everything save for honey apple and honey mango-NON-REFILLABLE) and a FREE-FLOW of leek soup. We opted for their famed honey beetroot, which some might say is an acquired taste.
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| Honey Beetroot |
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| Free flow homemade soup |
Soup was not bad. The taste of leek was not apparent though. There was a starchy texture and a taste of potato to the whole soup and I could see like bits of what seemed like broccoli floating about the soup.( I shall convince myself that it is leek I am eating-a miniscule version of it.)
After a hefty wait of 12-15 minutes, our food finally arrived and it was time to tuck in! I must note that the uncle was attentive and was an improvement from his frumpy looking self the day before.
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| Emperor Chicken Cutlet ($8.90) |
Paul says:
I was promised BBQ sauce( and sadly not the black-pepper looking sauce as seen on the menu) but I still decided to give this dish a go after all. However, I was left sorely disappointed when the dish arrived ( with coleslaw). I found the really miserable portion of BBQ sauce supplied ridiculous. The chicken cutlet was of a substantial size when compared to the plate provided.( but the chicken really must have been underfed while it was alive. The layer of meat was pathetic). The management must understand that they are feeding both children and adults alike and more sauce must definitely be provided for such a huge "chicken nugget". I'm sure even children would feel the same way about the portion of sauce supplied.
I found it really hard to manoeuvre my chicken cutlet around the super small plate provided to house my deep-fried poultry. Bits of flaky crumbs were scattered all over my shorts and table and there were a few times when the whole cutlet threatened to fly right out of my plate as I attempted to slice through its armour- yes, the so called crispy skin was really hard.
The chicken sadly, was more of a common pauper than an "emperor". First, the chicken cutlet was sliced in half before deep-frying. Huge mistake there! With that done, the juiciness and tenderness of the chicken would be ruined by the sputtering hot oil. In order to retain its juices, the chicken must be adequately coated and fried to golden-brown perfection. I am not too sure if they are trying to create a chicken cutlet with a "healthy triangle" due to the fact that there was hardly any oil in the chicken cutlet. But please just give me a chicken cutlet with some oil present. It's my choice to order a deep-fried item anyway. The "golden" crispy coat was a tad charred and the spices were all centered in the middle of the chicken. Poor distribution there! Attempts to slice the cutlet open was arduous and the successful attempts revealed meat that was overcooked. Really really poor. The taste was nothing to rave about too. Definitely not a chicken cutlet fit for an emperor.
Fries were lightly coated with salt and the lack of potato skins to give it the extra flavour was sorely lacking. Oh, how I missed those fries from Carl's Junior. I must comment that the portion was miserly and this meal does not quite make the cut.
Coleslaw was okay. Though I found the one from KFC more satisfying. The garnishing provided at the top had leaves with holes in them and black regions. How distasteful.
Overall, a really traumatic experience and it left me pining for the chicken cutlets I had back in secondary school. I definitely could have gotten better chicken cutlets at coffee shops.
As the name of the place suggests, the ROCK hard chicken cutlet has indeed turned my enthusiasm for the place to ASH. How apt indeed.
Grade: D
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| Grilled Fish ($8.90) |
Joy says:
My “signature grilled fish” came to me fresh, moist, warm and with a sprinkling of fries adorning the sides of the two thin slabs of fish. For this price I really can’t complain much. It was around $7-ish after a 20% discount, and was pretty much standard café fare. Not extraordinarily melt-in-your-mouth goodness, neither was it totally forgettable.We had initially wanted to try the fries with wasabi mayo dip, but my fries that came with the main course already had the wasabi mayo as a dip at the side. Good enough. The serving wasn’t generous though, it was barely enough for all the fries that came with it. Thankfully, there was chili sauce (free flow like macs’) to save the day.
All in all, the experience was passable. Comfy seats, free flow of comfort soup, friendly service by the uncle at the drinks station and relatively good choices of food at pocket friendly prices sweetened the experience. Oh did I mention I had lettuce in sesame oil and tomato salad together with my mains?
There wasn’t much of a crowd when we checked in during weekday lunch time. The café could have probably been more popular in *Scape or at poly/uni foodcourts, or places with consumers who don’t mind café food at these prices. Else, in a prime location like Marina Square, chances are they need to be really popular with “tried-tasted-blogged about-and-proven” food., or those backed by famous chefs.
Perhaps we will go back, perhaps not. Maybe for a second shot at fries with other dips, or for their cheesy potato skins which look good. We’ll see.
Grade: B
Total bill was $16 (No Scv Charge)]
In conclusion,
Food: C
Service: B
Ambience: B
Value-for-$: C
Overall grade:C+
Apples given:
just had a dinner at rockanddash. one word "sucks". i ordered a king beef fries and a grilled fish set package.
ReplyDeletewhen i went to pantry for the mushroom soup i had a shock. th scoop for the soup was in container of water. i wondered if everytime we took the scoop do we wipe dry? why? every scoop will somehow carry the water to he soup which will dilte the content. true enough th soup taste merely like mushroom water. how stupid was that.
while waiting a waiter came along and asked bolognese? i at him and wonder what was the table tag issued to us for? dont u check which table from the kitchen? stupid.
when our fries came, i felt something was wrong so i asked if this was th king beef. sadly, it wasn't, so it goes to show no commitment, no passion, not professional as well.
food wise i don't think i wll come again. its not even as good as a western food stall in coffeeshop or hawker center. shame.
Hi astroboxx! firstly, sorry for the outdated reply! We bet the food had already digested itself, went through your system and ended up in the sea. But anyway, yes we also think that there's much to improve there, from service to food. They are quite active on social media though, always giving offers/promotions. Perhaps to salvage the business? We don't know :)
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