I have to say… I’ve never been a huge fan of the Wendy’s here in KL, but stepping into the Mont Kiara Banyan Walk branch (very near Solaris), I am a convert!

I still think it pretty much depends on the turnover of the branch, but the meat patties here, at Mont Kiara’s Wendy’s, are pretty decent. I could actually taste the beefy succulence of the burger this time.

At RM2.99 for a frosty/milkshake, it’s really a steal on Fridays.
If you cannot finish it , just take it home and stick in the freezer.. Voilà! Ice-cream to be eaten later in front of the TV

The parking is easy and the place has a laid-back, breezy feel to it. It gets rather packed during Friday lunch hour, but still enough place to sit around and enjoy your burger meal.

Add:
Wendy’s Mont’Kiara,
Unit No GF2, Banyan Walk,
K-I, Mont’Kiara Banyan,
28, Jalan Kiara,
Mont’Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur.

When we saw Worldwindows blog Papa John’s a few weeks ago, we got pretty excited!
This was Cumi’s all time favourite student’s pizza take away/delivery (CUMI: There were Little Caesars too!!! Pizza! Pizza!) whilst studying in the states and he was really eager to see it if was still as good as he remembered. Me, I just wanted Pizza. Fullstop.

The red herring was Cumi kept looking at Tropicana City for the outlet to open because of the advertisements. However, it was Berjaya Time square that opened the 1st Papa John’s outlet.

We heard the little girl exclaim to the waiter “But it’s nothing like the one BACK HOME” (huge sad blues eyes)… and Cumi’s expectations fell.. but the girl was so sad, so forlorn so cute.. I just wanted to hug her!

Me, I had no expectations. I only needed lardy cheezy pizza.. and oh yea, some of those famous side dips that they keep talking about.

The breadsticks were fair. Apparently more chewy and ‘gooey’ in the states. These were a little hard.

The pizza sets are good. They come with 2 cokes (we had light coke instead!) and the breadsticks, so this is the one to pick if you are trying to impress your date (.. with pizza..Oh, you big spender you.. lol)

Well, the highlight for me was the GARLIC BUTTER dip. Way back then, Papa John’s came up with this great money saver.. an idea to reduce wastage of pizza crust and encourage people to clean up leftovers, by creating dips for just that purpose.

My, my .. little did I know how effective. I am one of those vain carbo watching chicks who doesn’t like to waste time with crust and only wants the goop (the meat, the good stuff)… but by the end of the night, Cumi was swatting my hands away from his crusty BITS.. (ooo .. so selfish la this boy)

Verdict? I liked the fact that the tomato base has a raw, rough unprocessed taste and that they are generous with it. I didn’t care much for the breadsticks but with that garlic butter, I’d dip and eat anything they serve up here

The differences? In the States, Papa John’s represents a cheap, tasty, fuss-free student meal but here in Malaysia, it’s priced and marketed as mid-range … cosy enough for families, upbeat enough for groupies, and cool enough even for the executives to eat at (Oooo.. the glamorous.. the flossy flossy)
Though the ingredients in the States are far superior (chewier dough, stringier cheese, heavier/chunkier tomato base), Papa John’s in Malaysia would now have to rank as my favourite pizza place, oh yeah.. For sure.

Popeyes opens its doors to Malaysia!

Contrary to what its name means to most children, Popeyes is not named after the Spinach Chugging cartoon character Popeye (and Brutus and Olive oil), but rather Popeye Doyle in the Movie, the French Connection. Read more about how this franchise has its roots in Baton Rouge Louisiana HERE

Apparently the taste of the Chicken is fashioned spicier and more strong tasting to suit the New Orleanian taste-buds (That’s why at the counter they ask you if you want your chicken mild, or spicy). Anyway, it is written that Popeyes managed to even beat KFC in a nationwide taste test… (doesn’t really tell you much, because to me, almost any half decent fried chicken beats the KFC chicken in Malaysia..)

So much hype. We decided to go give Popeyes a try.

Look familiar? That’s because its first and newest branch is located in TTDI.

Haven’t had any chicken yet but the staff sure LOVE their job, I’ll give them that… Look at how happy they look ;D

Chicken Ala-carte 2 piece at approx RM6 and sets at just under RM10, you can tell the prices are set to rival McDonalds. One thing though about this place – you cannot change your mash potato for french fries (in the set) which is a bit of a bummer if you like fries more than mash.

The Popeye girls all decked out in bright orange. Clean, crisp and professional looking, they aim to serve and please.. you can tell the owners are watching (and they are, rather closely). This place must have just had their opening because congratulatory flowers line the entrance.

At first glance there’s no difference between the left and right photo.
Actually on the left is the famous Popeyes Chicken and on the right, the Fish Tenders.

First, the chicken & biscuit. Taking a bite, we were surprised. Let me just say that the chicken was very uninspiring. If you blindfolded me, it could have been fried chicken from any fast-food joint. How boring. (My grandma in Ipoh fries better chicken.. so there:P)

Another thing to note is the boring, unimaginative use of ordinary bottled ketchup and chilli sauce. What? We expected at least some Original Louisiana Hot Sauce for the chicken or Tartar sauce for the fish. How disappointing.

PHOTO OF THE INSIDE OF THE FISH TENDER (NOT THE CHICKEN)

Anyway, whilst the chicken was not great, the fish on the other hand … was GOOD! They definitely use fresh water fish. The first bite goes something like this .. Crunchy flaky outer, then soft, succulent and slightly fatty insides. Oooooooo… yum!

I particularly liked the fatty bits in the fish. Too bad no special sauce for the fish though.

Another photo of the fish because that was the only thing that deserved a second shot.
Next time, we try the burger and the shrimp ! (If there is a next time.. oo-er..)