Monday, October 14, 2013

New York Grand Kitchen: authencity at good value (Closed)



Intro:
A new review at last....
Anyways, this time we went to New York Grand Kitchen, a relatively new shop that has opened up along the shop lanes around the fountain of wealth at Suntec City. And as you can probably tell by the title of this post, the eatery was an especially good overall package.
Even the sign is Grand

Ambience:
The first thing you'll notice about New York Grand is its beautifully minimalist and chic theme. With a clean-cut color scheme and simplistic design, the restaurant more than successfully creates the upper-middle class like deli-restaurant feel that was common in 90's New York. Even the staff don fashion which speak of such chic classiness. Overall, the layout is classy but also very welcoming, a good atmosphere with music softly blended in that should be enjoyable for family and friend groups alike.

Simple but eye catching decors
minimalist lighting design that blends nicely into the ceiling
Taste, Quality & value:
I ordered the rotisserie chicken and pork chop with cranberry sauce, which in line with their minimalist theme was presented cleanly on a rectangular board.

All their meals come with a free all you can eat deli bar, so I'll begin the review with those. Basically, for a free throw in, the deli bar was surprisingly good. The food offered very basic flavors that were brought out with light seasoning to a truly American style. Each of the dishes were truly appetizers, with their light flavors helping to work up my palate and appetite for the main course. Generally, it was acceptably well done. It helps too that they have nacho and dips. Yummy.

A good variety at the deli section
The Manhattan clam chowder was pretty good
Perfection-unlimited nachos and dip!!!
My appetizer before the course
The main course falls a bit short of expectations. The pork chop was generally tasteful and succulent but had an obvious lack of freshness with a tendency to leave a subtle smell behind.The chicken too was not especially fresh and one could taste the impurity of water in the meat, left over from defrosting.

Whilst the chicken was well roasted, with the skin being deliciously juicy and fragrant to chew, the lack of marination resulted in a very dry and flavorless meat as most of the taste had been cooked out of the chicken and onto its skin. This would not have been as bad if the sauce were properly done. The Cranberry sauce was surprisingly blend and felt like a really cheap but fresh serving of homemade jam. It was also cold instead of warm or at room temperature which felt like a weird mix with the warm chicken. Generally, the chicken was not too bad but not too good either. To give a relative comparison, its a little like the chicken from Kenny Rogers, but without the power of a herb-filled marinate to boost its flavors ever so slightly.

The exposed meat looks dry even in the picture but the skin is glistening with tastiness
Considering the generous portions and all you can eat deli with pretty good dishes, a price tag of $19.00 for what I ordered, or $17.00 for a half chicken set is pretty decent. Add in the inviting ambience and satisfying service and you have a pretty good bargain. Value is no doubt the biggest advantage of this restaurant and makes it a destination to note for frequent visits with groups.

Conclusion:
New York Grand, while delivering well on its design and concept and execution, falls slightly short on what matters the most, its main courses. With only slightly above mediocre main courses, this place may not be for the die-hard food critics or more particular diners. However, great value paired with pretty good deli-bar makes it a good choice for groups and casual foodies alike; and if you fall within this category like we do, the place is very much worth your attention. Give it a try, its unlikely that you'll be disappointed.

Have you eaten here before? What was your experience like? We're interested -do share with us in the comments below!

FOODIE’S RATING
Quality, Taste and Presentation (75%)
7.2
Good food in general but overall score suffers from the weak-flavored chicken
Value (15%)
8.0
Great value considering the complimentary buffet deli's quality spread
Ambience & others (10%)
7.5
Comfortable ambience that should sit well with most
Total
~7.4Good dining experience that is well worth trying

Address:
#B1-133 #B1-172, Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard

Opening hours:
10:00-22:00 daily






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