Food Review: New York, New York Deli

New York, New York, the place so nice, they named it twice. :D

[caption id="attachment_1275" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="New York, New York Deli"][/caption]

And the place is so nice, you definitely want to come back again. But you don't have to go all the way to America to get a taste of New York, we have our very own version right here in Malaysia; New York New York Deli, 1 Utama.

Instead of starting with the food as I usually do, I'm going to start with the service and ambience.

When you first step in, they'll immediately seat you (depending on the hecticness at the time), set your menu down and discreetly wait for your order a few feet away. This way you'll get your privacy and time to drool over the menu without them hovering over you, seemingly hurrying you to order. What I like most about the waiters is that they are constantly available and on the alert. This is one of the few eateries I've been to that I didn't have to constantly wave my hand around like an idiot just to get their attention.

With white walls, white tables and white counter all around you, you get a sense of freshness as you sink into the comfortable, yet weird-mane-coloured, round chairs. The chairs are kind of heavy, though, so it's best if your boyfriend or husband helps you in your seat. One problem with the location of the shop is that it faces Cold Storage. Depending on where you sit, you have to endure stares and glances from shoppers who are waiting for their parents/spouses/children outside the grocery market and those walking by. So there's not much privacy for you to enjoy your food unless you sit way inside the restaurant.

Now, on to the delectable eats. We started with the Broadway Tomato Salad (RM9.50) and the Fisherman's Clam Chowder (RM9.90).

[caption id="attachment_1281" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Broadway Tomato Salad"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1279" align="alignright" width="155" caption="Fisherman's Clam Chowder"][/caption]

The tomato salad wasn't much to shout about. A dish of lettuce with tomatoes and slices of chicken ham, it was big enough to eat alone or for two. The salad dressing was the only factor that made it different from any other salads with its dark colour and sort of tangy, sour-y taste. The clam chowder, on the other hand, was a bowl of creamy joy with small bits of clam. Not too thick, not too salty, not too creamy, it was just perfect. :D

For our main courses, I ordered the Smoked Salmon Velvet Sandwich (RM14.90) while my companion had the Juicy Burger Supreme (RM16.50).

[caption id="attachment_1290" align="alignright" width="218" caption="Smoked Salmon Velvet Sandwich"][/caption]

I love salmon so I enjoyed my sandwich tremendously. Instead of just one sandwich cut into two, as most Malaysian eateries do, I was surprised to see that they actually gave two entire sandwiches, talk about value for money. Below the salmon was layers of mixed vegetables and tuna, which actually tasted quite good but at times tasted.....'different', probably because of the mixture of veggies with its eggplant, lettuce and a yellow cucumber-thing that I don't recognize. Maybe I'm more of a plain lettuce kind of girl. ;)

[caption id="attachment_1292" align="alignleft" width="216" caption="Juicy Burger Supreme"][/caption]

The Juicy Burger Supreme is actually one of the recommended dishes on the menu, and though it looks like any plain burger with cheese, mustard and sauce, the meat is not any ordinary, fastfood processed meat. Soft and juicy (I'm not kidding), the thick slab of beef seemed to break down in your mouth for easy chewing. The small side of salad is actually for you to decide whether you want it as a side dish or if you want to put in on your burger, so you don't have to waste time pulling those unwanted onions off your burger. The fries, in my opinion, had too much salt and was nothing special.

If you're not much of a burger or sandwich fan, don't worry, there are lots of offers available. There are pasta, chicken, pizza, fish and chips, breakfast, seafood and beef dishes just to name a few. The biggest thing, and I do mean big, on the menu is their humongous burgers, The Giant Yankee Burger. It's eight inches wide and four inches high with two, count 'em, TWO pounds of chicken or beef meat!! This is the way to burger heaven. *drool*

The choices for dessert are heaven as well, offering pancakes, crepes, brownies, ice cream and many more for your sweet tooth.

[caption id="attachment_1300" align="alignright" width="115" caption="Ultra Rich Hot Chocolate"][/caption]

For drinks, I had the healthy Green Tea (RM5.90), which was served with packets of sugar. 8O I have to say this is the first time anyone had ever brought sugar with my green tea. My companion tried the Ultra Rich Hot Chocolate (RM8.90) which was topped with a mountain of whipped cream and a few mini minty marshmallow. However, my companion said it was too sweet!!

Unfortunately, at this point in time, Malaysia only has two branches, one in 1 Utama and the other way in Kota Kinabalu's Hypermall. But it's definitely worth the trip to try any one of their menu items. If you don't have time to go there, you can always check out their website at http://www.newyorknewyork.com.sg (Malaysia doesn't have a website yet). Enjoy!! :D