We don’t have any Nando’s restaurant here in Singapore (but we used to). My first peri peri experience was at AJ’s Piri Piri Chicken, another UK franchise that is modeled after (read: copied) Nando’s. Their chicken didn’t wow me. So I was very much looking forward to checking out one of the many Nando’s outlets scattered across Malaysia.

The spicy chicken here even comes with a cute little flag that indicates the spiciness level on the “Peri-o-meter”. That’s like what some people do for burgers!

¼ chicken with 2 sidelines
RM$14.50+ + 5% government tax

like before, I order the classic chicken to get a taste of the peri peri sauce. For a quarter chicken, the size is ample. Even though there may be no visible sauce on the dish, the meat certainly is packed with flavor, the result of 24 hours of marination before being flame-grilled to perfection.

If you like your food salty, sour and spicy, then you would absolutely love peri peri chicken. For me personally, I do prefer some sweetness in my spices and curries, so I haven’t really taken a liking to it. I’m just glad that the sweetness of the coleslaw balances out the sourness.

As indicated by the colored flag, the “mild” spiciness level is really comfortable. I think most people, first-timers included, can handle the next degree of spiciness, “hot”, well.

All chicken meals here come with two side dishes. I choose peri chips and coleslaw, among others like old style chips, Mediterranean rice, peri corn, peri potato salad, grilled veggies and fresh salad.

The chips are sprinkled with peri powder. If you are like me, you would definitely need some sauce to dip the chips.

Each table comes with four different types of sauce — ketchup, extra hot, hot and garlic peri peri sauces. After sampling the latter three, I find that they aren’t THAT spicy!

Here’s the aforementioned Peri-o-meter that allows you to “choose your heat before you eat”. Despite what they say, the “mild” sauce is unexciting and does not provide much of an adventure. I find myself reaching for the extra hot peri peri sauce most of the time!

I think I must be among the minority that aren’t a fan of the peri peri chicken. Heck, they don’t need my business anyway; the restaurants are already packed all the time!

Attached Nando’s menu here for your reference. Dine happy!

Nando’s ( Halal certified)
Various outlets
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
www.nandos.co.uk

Posted by Veron in Malaysia category | African, chicken, Halal, Kuala Lumpur, Mediterranean, Portuguese

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As soon as I hear that the UK fast food chain, AJ’s Piri Piri Chicken, has set up its first franchise outlet in Singapore that promises to bring us the aforementioned chicken, I make a mad rush down to grab a piece. It’s on the 5th level of Iluma, the new shopping mall at Bugis.

So what is piri piri? It’s a tiny red chili pepper that is found in Africa. The Portuguese blend it with various herbs and spices and voila! There’s your hot hot piri piri sauce!

The restaurant serves the Afro-Portuguese chicken in different tantalising styles like hot plate, burgers, wraps, pastas and more.

¼ Piri Piri Chicken
SGD7.20+

Of course, a virgin taste test should start off with the piri piri chicken in all its naked glory. So I order the quarter-chicken with fries on the side, but you can opt for sweet corn if you wish. With 3 different sauces to choose from — mild, very spicy and lemon herb — I go for the first. When unsure, always err on the safer side.

For SGD7.20, the lone piece of chicken thigh sure looks puny! I tell myself that quality is more important than quantity. But disappointingly the sauce is nothing to shout about. It is more salty than anything else, without any hint of other herbs. This can’t be what the real piri piri sauce tastes like, can it?

On top of it all there is way too little sauce. It would help a lot if the dish comes with a small tub of the sauce on the side.

Super Slimmer chicken wrap
SGD6.80+

Thankfully, the Super Slimmer chicken wrap fares much better. Again, the chunk of chicken in the wrap is pretty small. But it also tastes very good, with the seasoned flavors penetrating all the way to the center of the flesh.

This also happens to be a healthier dish, where the less fattening chicken breast meat is used and layered with vegetables.

Earlier on, I’ve asked for warm water as I’m nursing a nasty cough. Unfortunately they are unwilling to do that. (The staff asked the manager, who said no right in front of me.)

The soreness soon dissipates when I make my payment and notice a 25% discount on my bill. Suddenly the meal seems a whole lot more reasonably priced! They are “not sure” when this promotion would end, so do take advantage of the discount while you can!

Click to enlarge

Clearly, the restaurant’s isolated position in an already uncrowded mall does not work to its advantage. It is overshadowed by the Filmgarde cinema on the same level and an entire level of eateries just one floor down. Most people would simply head straight to the more accessible restaurants and miss it altogether.

I hear that Nando’s is the “original” fast food chain that specialises in piri piri chicken. Here’s my review of Nando’s in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Gotta check out the one in Singapore soon!

Is there any other eatery in Singapore that sells piri piri chicken?

Posted by Veron in Food category | African, Bugis, chicken, fast food, healthy, Mediterranean, Portuguese

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One afternoon I just had the sudden urge to go for an otherworldly cuisine. It would be something I’ve never eaten before — Moroccan food! A perfect place to have this exotic meal would be none other than the exotic Kampong Glam, a haven of various Mediterranean restaurants. It’s also where I had my first Egyptian meal.

So what’s Moroccan food like? As a first-timer, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had heard about the Moroccan tajines, which I knew was some kind of meat stew. So that’s the first thing I ordered. My tajine chicken with potato came looking like this.

Tajine Chicken with Potato
SGD6.50+

The first thought that came to my mind was, “Whoa! That’s a LOT of potatoes on one plate”. For someone that prefers her potatoes to be either whipped or wedges, I felt a tinge of disappointment. But it was short-lived as I soon found the potato stew to be quite tasty, though not exactly in the bursting-with-flavor kind of way. The potatoes are lusciously soft and I even had the urge to ask them what kind of potatoes they use!

The chicken is succulent and tender, with flesh that falls off the bone easily. I found the taste to be a tad mild though. The next time round, I would go for the other slightly pricier tajine chicken on the menu that is cooked in a tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic and spices. Oh, and pita bread too to go with the stew sauce.

Mixed Kebab
SGD7.50+

Something you can’t go wrong with over here is the mixed kebab, of chicken and ground beef, served with fresh lettuce, tomato and beans. My, that beef is good! I usually prefer chicken, but this time round, with both meats on the same plate and done the same way, my vote goes to the beef.

Each morsel of meat is soft and juicy and hooks you from the first bite. The meat is really flavorful, infused with the taste of onion and various Moroccan herbs and spices. This is one dish that would leave every meat lover craving for more! I guess it’s a good thing then that the prices here are extremely reasonable considering the rarity of this cuisine.

It is highly recommended that you patronise Deli Moroccan on a cool and dry day. This way, you can dine outdoors and people-watch. (But more likely than not, you’ll end up being watched by curious passers-by as you’re tucking into your unique Moroccan meal. My food and I received more than our fair share of stares.)

The restaurant itself is pretty small and nondescript. I walked up and down Bussorah Street a couple of times and couldn’t find it, until I even had to stop to ask for directions! I behaved like a tourist, which in some ways, is the effect this place has on you.

Despite being a food blogger, I wouldn’t dare say that I am well-versed in all the cuisines of the world. Quite the contrary, I tend to linger in my comfort zone of Indian, Japanese or South-East Asian food. I think most people are like that. How often do you try out a new cuisine that you have never attempted before?

After enjoying two otherworldly cuisines — Egyptian and Moroccan — I can’t wait to go on my next foodie adventure! I had Turkish some time back and didn’t quite like it. What would you recommend?

Posted by Veron in Food category | African, alfresco/outdoor dining, Kampong Glam, Mediterranean, Moroccan

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Photo by Icy

Altazzag is Arabic for fresh. And what a “fresh” experience this is! The restaurant occupies a little two-storey shophouse building along the very narrow street of Haji Lane. Notice the hookahs in the window? You can smoke shisha here too. This is one of those restaurants you would notice but hesitate going in for a meal due to the exotic cuisine.

In other words, it’s perfect for the days when you’re in the mood for something really different.

Humus
SGD5

Humus (chickpea dip) is an appetiser that can’t be absent from any Middle Eastern menu. The one here has a smooth texture without any lumps. I like the fact that it doesn’t taste too heavy and rich, with just a slight tinge of lemon and garlic. It makes a nice dip for the pita bread that is served alongside, although it’s a tad oily.

Altazzag Super Special
SGD22

A range of meat dishes such as kebabs is available. We opted for the super special instead. This mixed grill of chicken, fish, lamb and beef cuts is perfect for someone that just wants to try a little of everything.

The platter is drizzled with a white cream sauce and red hot sauce. I’m not quite sure what the white sauce is, but I heard it’s a special “secret” sauce that is made fresh daily. The hot sauce is unlike any I’ve tasted in other cuisines — very flavorful with a taste that just explodes in the mouth. It’s a pity that some of the meat isn’t that tender, or else it would have made the dish more enjoyable.

We do like the potato wedges that comes along, no doubt to cater to local palates. If you’re ordering this platter, be sure to ask for more hot sauce!

Sahleb
SGD4

On the drinks menu, you would find your usual tea, fruit juice, and even Milo and Nescafé! But we’re not here to have the regular stuff, are we? What sounds the most intriguing are the three “Egyptian healthy drinks”. We tried the Sahleb, which is a milky coconut drink. It tastes sweet and creamy and goes down smoothly. Slurp!

Turkish Coffee
SGD4

Turkish coffee is served here, which isn’t all that surprising since it is the commonest kind of coffee in the Middle East. The first thing that comes to mind is its unusual dark brown color with the foamy layer on top. There is a strong aroma and an extremely rich flavor, even richer than the traditional coffee offered at places like Old Town. It suffices to say that I like Turkish coffee.

With something that rich, it can only mean that a lot of coffee grounds has been used. True enough, there is a slight powdery texture to the coffee. It’s a good idea to let the powder settle before drinking.

See? There’s the sludgy coffee sediment at the bottom of the cup that can be used for a kind of fortune telling called tasseography. After drinking, the cup can be covered with the saucer and turned upside-down. The patterns that form from the coffee grounds are used to tell a person’s fortune. (The other type of tasseography is tea-leaf reading.)

I really like the whole unique experience at Altazzag, although Middle Eastern cuisine isn’t something I can get used to easily. My main purpose in coming here was to experience something different, and the restaurant certainly delivered in that aspect.

We did not venture to the second level, but I heard that diners can sit on the floor and eat from low tables, similar to the concepts at Lagnaa and Essential Brew. You need to call in advance to reserve seats there though.

Personally, I would prefer sitting at the outdoor tables and chairs, just by the road. It probably feels like street-side dining in Cairo.

One more thing: the restaurant does not charge for service or GST. Yay!

Altazzag Egyptian Restaurant
24 Haji Lane
Singapore 189217
(65) 6295 5024
Service:

Bus services: 7, 32, 51, 61, 63, 80, 100, 107, 145, 175, 197, 961, 980, 107x, 961C
Nearest MRT: Bugis

Opening hours: 12pm – 2am (Daily)

Posted by Veron in Food category | African, Egyptian, Kampong Glam, Mediterranean

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