Tony Roma's serves Ribs.Seafood.Steak but it's their world famous beef ribs that everyone is drawn to (and they're especially popular with Malaysia's Muslim population). They have opened 7 outlets in the Klang Valley (the latest being the one in Nu Sentral) with plans to open one in Putrajaya and Johor by the end of the year.
But my return visit to Tony Roma's @ Pavilion this time was to try their Fisherman's Wharf promotion (from 22 Sept - 26 Oct) which offers 4 different grilled salmon dishes.
Once you've made your orders, you'll be served with some complimentary bread with herbed butter...nothing exciting but purposeful to keep your hunger pangs at bay while waiting for your food to arrive!
This was the BBQ Rubbed Salmon with Sriracha Butter @ RM44.90 served with a choice of 2 sides (rice, fresh vegetables, fries, coleslaw, corn on the cob, fire-roasted vegetables, baked or mashed potatoes). The choices were rice (cooked with turmeric powder and butter) and fire-roasted vegetables. The salmon was rubbed with their signature dried spices before it was flamed grilled. The salmon was nicely grilled (to medium doneness) with good sear marks on the outside and tender fillet on the inside.
It was served with a sriracha butter sauce that looked and tasted greasy. [#Tip: Sriracha is a type of hot sauce or chilli sauce made from a paste of chilli peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt.] The sauce didn't taste spicy at all, just very buttery and oily. Luckily, the salmon, which was already marinated with some dried spices, was flavourful enough without the sauce (I'm not keen on any type of butter sauce as I find it too oily for my palate).
The other dishes on their Fisherman's Wharf promotion are Salmon with Walnut Maple Butter, Avocado and Mandarin Orange Salmon and the Salmon with Shrimp in Lemon Sauce (their current best seller). However, the Salmon with Walnut Maple Butter and Salmon with Sriracha Butter will not be available after their promotion ends on 26 Oct.
Of course, you can't come to Tony Roma's and not be tempted (again) to order their ribs. These are my beautifully glazed Bountiful Beef Ribs @ RM53.90 (Roma Rack which means you get 3 ribs...more than enough for 1 person or Full Slab for sharing @ RM78.90).
These babies are seasoned with select spices, slow-smoked to mouth-watering perfection and basted with your choice of one of their signature sauces: TR's Original BBQ Sauce, Carolina Honeys, Blue Ridge Smokies™, Tennessee BBQ or TR’s Red Hots. I've only tried the first 2 sauces and I definitely preferred TR's Original BBQ sauce. Not to worry, they bring you 4 types of sauces (in squidgy bottles) should you have the need for even more sauce but, for me, less is more!
The ribs were juicy and tender (could be a tad more tender though) and the slightly sweet TR Original BBQ sauce complemented the smokiness of the ribs...they were lip smacking good though not as good as the ones from Jake's but (then again) those were like double the price.
All entrées include 2 side dishes and my choices were Mashed Potatoes & Coleslaw. The mashed potatoes, flavoured with beef bacon bits, were soft and creamy and came in a sizeable portion (if your kid likes mashed potatoes, this portion is enough to feed the both of you).
The coleslaw was crunchy but ordinary.
Our drinks of Orange & Mango Juice @ RM8.90 each were obviously not the 'fresh' kind...and pretty diluted (understandable since it's refillable).
Some of the pics (from my previous visits) captured with my 'old faithful' (so please excuse the poor quality). Of these, I would recommend the Kickin' Shrimps (Pics 3 & 4). These are fried shrimps tossed in a spicy cream sauce (much like Shrimp Cocktail). Their signature Onion Loaf, even for Half Loaf (Pic 2), is way too filling as a starter (so make sure you have a party of at least 4 persons before you attempt to order this). For variety, you can go for the Roma's Sampler (Pic 5) which gives you a trio of appetisers: Hot Buffalo Wings, Potato Skins and Half Onion Loaf (again best shared with a party-of-at-least-4). As for the Pacific Cod with Garlic Scampi Butter (Pic 6)...I didn't like the oily sauce.
My Personal Opinion
Although I find their ribs to be pretty good, to be honest, I was more excited about their recent salmon promotion this time...maybe it was too much meat in one sitting!
Eating here will set you back at least RM70 per person, not entirely cheap but the portions are huge, and still cheaper than if you were to go to a steakhouse.
I'd like to return to try the other salmon dishes on their menu.
Tony Roma's Restaurant
Lot No LG1.15 Level 1
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2143 3278
Are you a big or small eater? Reason I asked is because you mentioned that the 3 ribs is more than enough for one person. I heard from my family members that the portion of the ribs is small and not worth the price charged. They were very unhappy. Maybe because we are all big eaters. I have not been to Tony Romas and no one in my family wants to go there after that first visit hah..hah...
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely not a big eater and I don't think I'm that small an eater either. I attacked the first 2 ribs with gusto and had to persevere to finish the 3rd. After that, I couldn't finish my mashed potatoes + I downed 2 glasses of orange juice (refillable mah....hehe). I had no problem finishing Chicago's Half Rack Pork Ribs but Tony Roma's Half Rack Beef Ribs are a lot meatier, so finishing that (+ the sides) is a bit more daunting for me. Personally, I don't find the portion of ribs small, coz finishing everything on the plate (ribs & sides + drink) makes it a very filling dish for 1 person.
DeleteWent to their outlet at Sunway, very very nice...but yes, not cheap at all. My friend will email them to complain about anything not quite right...and they will reply, giving you something on the house on your next visit. That day, we had the mushrooms. Yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by. Are you suggesting that I complain so that I can get something on the house?....Cheeky cheeky!! It's nice to know that they acknowledge and reply your emails, coz some don't.
DeleteI first visited Tony Roma in Singapore for their pork ribs 10 years ago. When they open here, they had pork ribs on the menu but later went for the halal certification and removed all pork.
ReplyDeleteJust recently I went there again for their April buy 1 main meal get another main meal free:
http://muntalksfood.blogspot.com/2014/04/tony-romas-get-1-free-promo.html
and I still have their receipt which gave me RM10 off if I spend RM30 on my next visit. Not sure whether there is an expiry date on this receipt offer or not.
I like to eat Salmon but I really dislike eating Salmon that tastes like BBQ beef steak or grilled chicken with all the special sauces and rubs so I just keep to eating Salmon Sashimi, Salmon Sushi or lightly grilled Salmon Shioyaki (lightly salted) that will give me the true Salmon taste without the real taste being hidden behind marinates, rubs and sauces so I will give this promo a miss but thanks for sharing about it.
Oh, I didn't know that they had pork ribs when they first started coz by the time I dined there, they were already serving beef ribs.
DeleteFor me to eat salmon served without any sauce, it has to be totally fresh (like the ones from Fisherman's Cove), but the ones here are not quite up to mark, so I don't mind them grilled with some spice rubs.