There is a new franchise in Gurney Plaza, Chicago Ribs House(CRH) is the name. It is under the same umbrella group for Tony Romas’ franchise in Malaysia who also brought us ‘The Manhattan Fish Market’. Actually CRH is nothing new to Penang, it was previously housed in the building behind McDonalds in Juru Autocity in Penang. The unit in Gurney Plaza is more like moving house rather than new setup.
Before this visit we already heard and read of some no so positive comments on the service and food, but to be fair to everyone we decided to give them a try and experience for ourselves. Just to be seated was a bit of a challenge, service was slow and rigid. Rigid because there were 2 empty table meant for 5 to 6 people and it was already off peak hours but the 2 off us were not allowed in to the indoor seating area. When we finish our meal and paid our bill the table was still empty. Ordering was also a bit on the cold side if not for the kitchen manager who came out to help us.
About 10 minutes after our order was taken, our first order was served which was a serving of complimentary fried mushrooms and then came the refillable ice lemon tea. The fresh button mushroom halves were tender and moist with its batter still crisp and fragrant. The accompanying dip was tangy and sharp which complimented well the deep fried mushrooms.
CRH’s specialty is the pork ribs and that was what we had to try. We ordered their ‘Pork Ribs Combo Dinner’ with ‘Chicago Sirloin’.
I normally like my steaks medium-cook but had to settle for medium. Many places do not serve medium-cooked steaks. The sirloin was slightly under medium when it was served and thus it has not aromatised the fats and lacks in flavours. When we were in Tony Romas we were glad to have the waitress ask us to check on the doneness of our steaks when served. It will prevent wastages and avoid customer complaints.
As for the pork ribs, they were off the bone easily but certain part were dryer than others especially the outer areas. The inner meaty areas were tender though. This may be due to the long cooking and storage time. To have off the bone result slow roasting is the method and when just before serving glazing is done. The meat was sweet and the glaze was strong, too strong that it overwhelmed what should have been in terms of pork flavours. In fact the taste was similar to Tony Romas. Comparing beef and pork, the former has stronger taste than the later. I guess you’ve got what I mean. Another place for pork ribs to consider which has better porky flavours is ‘Ribs by Vintry‘.
Another porky item that we had was the ‘Chicago Double Cheese Burger’.
The presentation of the burger did not show the value is carries; Carl’s Junior’s burgers would look more appetising to us with overflowing toppings and sauce. The pork pate was sweet, tender and moist, but the cheese was strong and was slightly overwhelming to the light porky taste. The toppings were not what we expected from RM20 burger, a bit scarce and not properly placed. Is it me only? I normally expect iceberg lettuce with my burgers not ‘Chinese Romanian Lettuce’ or ‘yau mak’. The side of french fries were limp and cold.
Taste & Texture: 2.5/5 (It is not a place that I would choose to go unless out of choices)
Money Value : 2.5/5
Service: 2.0/5 (The floor staffs were not attentive and gather in group to chit chat. The kitchen manager was very helpful)
Cleanliness: N/A (we were seated at the alfresco area)
Atmosphere: N/A(we were seated at the alfresco area)
Popularity: 20% [?]
Arks! So disappointing! And the Gurney Plaza decent dining options continue to dwindle…
.-= minchow´s last blog ..Pints and more at Tom Dick & Harry’s, TTDI =-.
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Jason Wong Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 4:30 PM
we have the same feeling. Not many are in our ‘A’ list either.
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I was just at Gurney plaza yesterday night to survey the western food outlets (after eating so much Penang goodies, need to find something western for my parents in law), I am glad that I check your blog before I decided which place to go…
, will definitely avoid CRH.
.-= wendy´s last blog ..Wedding in Penang =-.
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I like the food and will go just now again. It\’s aboslutely tasy and yummy
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I visited the Chicago Ribs branch in Gurney Plaza a couple of days ago and had a terrible experience. The food was up to standard considering the prices we had to pay for it, but the service was horrendous, so to say. Sitting across our table was a family who requested for their bill from a Chinese server by the name of Jason. The server took very long to deliver the bill so when he finally did, the customer uttered some words about the service being slow. To my utmost shock, the server mumbled back a curse word in Hokkien to the customer ! That was not the worst part. About an hour later, when the exact server was walking out, he shouted as if the restaurant was his own house “I am going for a break now, F*uk!’. Every customer was shocked and stared at him in disbelieve. I hope the Manager does something about this, or else people will be too dissatisfied with the service to continue visiting this place.
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Jason Wong Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 1:19 PM
Kevin, Good day and thanks for your feedback. I have forwarded your comment to their Marketing Manager in KL. Let’s give them some time to feedback on your comments. If I am in Gurney Plaza, may be I could talk to their Restaurant Manager or Kitchen Manager.
[Reply]
Jason Wong Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 4:27 PM
Kevin, good afternoon. The following is the reply I got from their KL office.
From: Ryan Poh
Sent: Wednesday, 21 July, 2010 2:20 PM
To: ‘Jason Wong’
Subject: RE: Negative feedback from a reader.
Dear Jason,
Much appreciated for sharing the feedback with us, I can assure you that we will take actions and I am not surprised if our managers have already done so.
It is common in the F&B industry to have bad examples of part timers due to their lack of commitments, but however in this case, it is certainly not acceptable and we are ashamed by what has been brought forward. Once again, thanks for letting us know and it’s a pleasure to know we have got great friends like you watching our backs Have a great day ahead and look forward to another chance in meeting you again in Penang.
Best regards,
Ryan
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Salvin Michael Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 5:13 PM
Dear Mr Kevin,
I would like to thank you for highlighting the issue. We truly appreciate your effort in taking the time to write in. Firstly, I would like to extend my sincere apology for the poor service experience encountered and for the manner the employee had reacted. I can assure you that it is not the Chicago Rib House standard of service that was rendered to you and other guests’. I have looked into this matter and ensure that necessary measures are taken and maintained at all times.
We truly appreciate your support.
Regards,
Salvin Michael
Assistant General Manager
Chicago Rib House Gurney
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Hi,
Me and a small group of friends would like to try out CRH.. but one of us are vegetarian. Is there anything on the menu that would suit her?
there rest of us are dying to try the pork ribs BTW
Jeremy
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gill gill Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 11:15 PM
Hi Jeremy, thanks for dropping by. You may visit Chicago Ribs facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/CRHMalaysia and ask for more details.
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