The Bayou, Alamanda

We checked out The Bayou Restaurant at Alamanda last weekend. This outlet was formerly known as The Coast, serving American Southwest menu, which was rather good everytime we dropped by (Mummy likes the Fajitas and Quesadilla, Daddy likes the Cheese Steak Philly Sandwich). The Bayou , managed by the same management as The Coast, looked like an upgrade, with stylish decor and ambience, but would the food be up to the standard set by its predecessor?

Mummy ordered the Neptune Delight, which was Tiger Prawn, salmon and potatoes in gravy. It was ok but perhaps they could have put in two Prawns instead. Daddy had the Honey Lemon chicken with buttered rice, whereby the rice was dry and the chicken a little bit too soury. Mummy's cousin Helmy (he from our previous posting - Back to School, 29 June) had the beef lasagna, which was also good but average. Their menu was extensive, perhaps we just chose the wrong food that night.

As mentioned before, the place was cosy, comfortable and roomy (important when you have two very active kids). The food, however, was sub-standard, so it was rather puzzling why they had to close down The Coast (in our opinion, a very rare Bumiputra-run outlet serving good Tex-Mex food). Worth a try, but make your food selection wisely.

Restoran Chicken King

While making our way to Seksyen 7's bustling new commercial square one night, we stumbled on a brightly-lighted Restoran Chicken King (actually we were looking for a supposedly newly opened cafe advertised via flyers - turned out the place was still under renovation!). Self-touted as the first outlet in Klang Valley, Chicken King offer a variety of chickens either fried or grilled.

My wife ordered the Sizzling Black Pepper Chicken Chop while I went for the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Chop. You can have these dishes with either fries or rice. The sizzling variety was served on a hot plate but it was slightly over-burnt and the sauce rather average. My grilled chicken was a bit tough too and the sauce tasted far from teriyaki-like. One rather strange thing was these two dishes were served with sambal and papadoum. Though commendable as it could be intepreted as an attempt in fusionising, but we personally thought it was misplaced.

On a positive note, Chicken King do serve air buah gelas besar - a behemoth 1 litre guzzler. Unlike some shops who'd only fill up with lots of ice and watered-down juice, this one was sweet and well, juicy.

Anyway, Chicken King do have an extensive menu, so it is unfair to judge the place based on our two dishes. We would still highly recommend this cafe due to is spaciousness, cleanliness and simple yet bright decor.

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