First stop or else dinner can't happen... (Apple iPhone 3GS)
On 9th September our younger son celebrated his 7th birtday and so we took the Plantation House household to the Fullhouse Lifestyle Store and Cafe at Sunway Giza. Sunway Giza is a type of community mall of recent age but we especially like it for its distance, which is only a few minutes walk from home, not including the several more minutes of waiting to cross Persiaran Surian, the main thoroughfare... safely.
This visit would be our fourth and we didn't mind returning because it served good and wholesome food. Before the restaurant, we made a quick dash to The Times bookstore for the birthday boy to choose his gift—a book. He is not too engrossed on toy cars or guns or anything that boys his age would normally be. I'm glad that he is into reading. His only vice though is watching VCD. And one more, playing games, either on the computer or his iPod. I have a major problem with the last two because he can't stop once started.
Fullhouse takes after the facade of a two-storey house, the effect made more realistic by the double ceiling height of the retail lots facing the mall concourse area.
There is a pink Mini as a prop somewhere on the front... (Apple iPhone 3GS)
Hello? Anybody home? (Apple iPhone 3GS)
One thing I'm sure that will strike everyone is how the menu looks very much like a magazine. Very fun and colourful cover. In fact, it also feels like one. The paper type and the way its contents are organised, from the content page right up to the ads at the back really makes you want to have a look at the cover again to make sure that it's not Food & Wine you are reading. It even has its own comic strip! But with the booklet's odd size, you know it's a bit off to be a periodical.
The number of pages rivals that of a real magazine... (Apple iPhone 3GS)
All six of us ordered different food, which was good so that I could expand my sampling. I've always noticed that the restaurant has an extensive beverage and dessert menu but my eyes just could not escape Ice Korean Jujube Tea that I knew I had to try it. However, I doubted myself with the correct pronunciation of the word jujube for a while when the waitstaff corrected my saying by making it a three-syllable word.
While the birthday boy decided to indulge in a rather standard fare (chicken nuggets), I decided to hazard my stomach with the grilled chicken thigh served with black pepper raisin jus. OK, grilled chicken is quite a common item on a restaurant's menu but one topped with raisin juice, hmmm, maybe not so. To be honest, it was the juice that made my finger pointed to it. The mashed potatoes on the side were simply heaven. Smooth, flavourful and with character, that's how I'd describe it if I was a food critic. I will not say much about the vegetables because they were boiled brocolli and cauliflowers. How good can you make them? Exactly...
Were they really nuggets or wings? (Apple iPhone 3GS)
Back to the chicken, the meat was tender, the raisin sauce was refreshing and provided the balance to my taste bud. I was happy with my decision.
My other half would typically order a pasta dish, if a place serves pasta. And her favourite is the spaghetti alla vongole or in plain English spaghetti and clams so naturally, she ordered exactly this. When the noodle arrived, it smelled and looked fantastic. Dry or not so runny and clam meat in abundance is how she likes this particular dish. It seemed to check all the right boxes. Then after few spoonfuls, she enthusiastically pushed her plate to me, seemingly very excited at it too. I did not do anything except welcome such submission by tucking straight into it. Then after few spoonfuls, I too felt like pushing the plate to the person next to me but he was too young to take the assault, of the hot and fiery kind, on the tongue. The chef definitely got carried away with the dried chilies. My other observation about the dish was that while the pasta was perfect al dente, the sauce leaned more towards being creamy in taste rather than exuding the flavour of the mollusc. I blamed it on the kitchen help who could have drained out the juice from the can completely (you can tell they were canned clams by the uniformed sizes and shapes. Besides, they were all shelled) until I noticed on the menu that Fullhouse's take of the Neapolitan dish was butter-based. Some diners might like it but as long you are calling it alla vongole, I think one should stick to using clams as the base.
My elder son had the smooties-fruities fish, which was basically pan-fried butter fish smothered with passion berries fruit sauce. I liked the fish but thought the sauce to be way too sweet. For the eleven-year old boy though, he did not find it too sweet. The sun-dried tomatoes I suspect were the bottled version as they were soggy, not worthy to be called as that. If you can put up with the sauce, I'd recommend you give the fish a shot.
In between our conversation and masticating, I spotted this receipt-like paper on the table which was used to track the movement of the food: on whether or not they have reached the table. It's ticked manually but very helpful if you had come by a busload. On the final delivery, the waitstaff took the sheet away and check it back with the system to ensure that we received and billed correctly for the food that we ordered.
This would be good if you have 15 people in your party... (Apple iPhone 3GS)
The grilled New Zealand lamb chop also made it to our table but I could only managed a tiny morsel of the meat from my sister-in-law. It tasted delicious, the meat perfectly cooked and chewy in the way lamb should be and to top it all, drenched with a secret herb jus. She enjoyed her food quietly and peacefully, as I was seated miles away from her.
Fullhouse also do set lunches and the sets were known as Tiffany's or Tracy's or someone other's favourite meal. I asked the friendly waitstaff on who these people were. Apparently, they were the characters in the comic which can be found in the later segment of the menu. If they were real people, or better still, the chefs who created the meals, the suggestions would have been more credible don't you think?
Fullhouse comic (Apple iPhone 3GS)
Lastly, the oven roasted chicken tenderloin, which to me was no different than what I'd ordered except for the type of sauce covering the bird. Brown-coloured shitake mushroom sauce was used to conceal the quartered meat. Along with the two sides, the beautifully garnished food was okay but not great. I couldn't see that it was more special than say, Kenny Roger's Roasters but it was nice to see the nephew cleaning his plate. As long as he's contented, I got no complaints.
I didn't think the kailan went down well with the chicken... (Apple iPhone 3GS)
Families and courting couples looking for a decent casual dining experience should consider Fullhouse. For the couple, he can then walk up the stairs to the upper floor, with the fairer sex on tow of course, to check out the dresses and accessories. Don't expect a range like Isetan but you can sure expect high novelty value. For those who prefer rainbow-coloured drinks and desserts, Fullhouse will not disappoint. There are actually some real gems to look out for in the menu. Save for all the comments I've made in this posting, the restaurant does serve up quality and thoughtful edibles. Price range too is a fair and reasonable deal. The ambiance is bright and cheery and not pretentious.
For me, leaving the restaurant knowing that I was right about the contentious word was a big relief.
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