It's been so long since I've had A&W...and that's because most of their outlets (closed to me) closed down one by one...finally even their iconic first drive-through outlet in PJ is closing this year after more than five decades in operation (perhaps the pandemic had delayed such plans). I, too, went with my family one last time just for old times' sake (not that I frequent the outlet all that much since it's far from where I live) but just to savour a piece of history before it's gone forever.
Under a new ownership, the new owner has vowed to make the oldest fast-food chain
great awesome again. I'm
rooting (pun intended) that he does as he plans to open more than 100 A&W outlets in the next few years.
Now that I can get A&W on the delivery platform (or many other food for that matter since the pandemic struck), it was time to revisit an old and familiar flavour. These deliveries also come with two stories.
Since food delivery platforms prices are higher than in-store prices, we usually try to look for those restaurants that offers discounts (and we had this when there was a 25% discount). The first time we ordered A&W delivery, it came from an outlet in
EkoCheras Mall.
My all-time favourite order from A&W has always been their
Beef Coney (RM12.20 a la carte, RM10.80 for
Chicken Coney, all prices quoted here are delivery prices and before discount). We've got fried chicken and burgers from other fast food restaurants here but none offer hot dogs.
And A&W's hot dog is no ordinary hot dog, it comes with their
signature meat sauce with onions. I always go for the Beef Coney (I don't think I've ever ordered Chicken Coney before or, if I did, probably only once). It's like burger and pasta, who wants a
chicken burger or
chicken bolognese when there's a beef option...hehe! ;D
Their signature coney sauce with minced beef and diced onions is the very reason why I go for their Coney Dog coz the meaty sauce is what elevates this ordinary tasting hotdog, one that tastes just like any commercially produced hotdog out there. I wouldn't mind if there was a bit of relish to top it all off but, luckily, the oniony flavour of the crunchy onions made up for it.
You can also get this coney dog in a
set which comes with
Large Curly (or
French)
Fries (RM7.10 for curly fries, RM6.60 for french fries) and a 600ml bottle of
Root Beer. Their latest promotion is the
Satay Coney & Burger...but the idea doesn't entice me (I think I'll leave the traditional taste of satay sauce alone and enjoy it with satay instead).
My next favourite item from A&W is their
Onion Rings (RM7.70). I can't remember if they were the first to offer onion rings before the rest of the fast food chains but they certainly offered the best tasting one for me. It's their recipe of a super crunchy batter on the onion rings while keeping the onions juicy on the inside that made them better than the rest.
I try not to indulge in sweet drinks but if I did, their
Root Beer (RM4.90 for 600ml, RM11.90 for a 2L pitcher) would definitely be the third and final thing I'd indulge here. Nothing quite like having a root beer or root beer float on site in one of their frozen, frosty mugs as the chilled mug made the drink even better.
We also ordered the
2-pcs Golden Aroma Fried Chicken (RM12.70, RM18.60 for 3-pcs) which comes coated in a thick and very crunchy batter...a bit too thick and crunchy for me though....and the chicken meat was a bit dry (my favourite fast food fried chicken is still Wendy's).
Glad that
foodpanda gave me the option to pick my favourite chicken parts (thigh and drumstick, of course). The chicken pieces were of a good size, at least bigger than KFC's. They also offer a spicy version.
Noticed
Fried Mushrooms on the menu (can't remember the price but it's no longer on the menu) so I ordered it only to realise when it arrived that they were shiitake mushrooms. The flavour of shiitake mushrooms (whether fresh or dried) is too intense. The mushrooms were so chewy that not even the batter can save it. Worst fried snack ever! >_< They're not suitable in a western-style dish. For me, they taste the best when braised in a Chinese-type dish.
Coming back to the stories of these deliveries. Well, in our first order (from A&W
EkoCheras Mall), they forgot to pack one of our mains. A burger was left out though the sides of curly fries and drink came. A call to
foodpanda later and we were given a credit voucher as compensation. We used that credit voucher for our second order with A&W again (it can be used for other restaurants too if we so choose). This time it was A&W
Sunway Velocity. And,
lo and behold, they forgot to pack yet another item (this time they left out our order of a large bottle of root beer). So, we got yet another compensation voucher. Can't remember the exact value of the vouchers given but the amount is always higher than the missing item (as it should be since it actually means we're
kinda forced to make another order). We didn't know if we'd be third time lucky, so we chose to use the second compensation voucher for another restaurant instead....lol! :P
On a side note (sorry to digress), if you're a fan of
Texas Chicken's biscuit, make sure you get your hands on their new
herb & garlic biscuit. I liked it better than their usual honey butter biscuit as this one comes with a fairly strong hint of garlic (but only if you or your other half like the flavour of garlic, of course). I'm sure you know which one of the two (above) is the herb & garlic one.
A little tip: If you're having your biscuit a little later, reheat it in a toaster oven for a few minutes and it'll be even more fragrant. And oh, the
Prosperity Burger is back...yes! ;)
My Personal Opinion
I still enjoy eating A&W but I only like 3 things here....their classic coney dog, onion rings and root beer since there are better fast food fried chicken and burgers out there. For some of us, eating A&W brings back nostalgic memories...and now you can have a bit of that '60s, '70s and '80s vibe at their first ever retro concept store (at PJ's Seventeen Mall) complete with jukebox, bar seats and checkerboard floor!
A&W is an old but timeless flavour.....and I think they're still AW-some in some ways after more than half a century! ^_~ But they seriously need to improve on their SOPs...and, by that, I don't mean the SOP due to the pandemic, I mean their SOPs for service and delivery (there are complaints even at their newest retro outlet). >_<
A&W
B-21A Basement 1 Sunway Velocity
Lingkaran SV
55100 Kuala Lumpur
