Nando’s is growing so quickly that even the very cute website cannot update the location of its branches fast enough: one at Bugis Junction, Tanglin Mall and Plaza Singapura. Do you know Nando’s is African? Some idiot told me it’s from Malaysia.
My philosophy of food is never queue for food. There are so much good food around so if there is a queue, I’ll go somewhere else.
One day, at 3pm, I was just shopping, wasn’t even hungry–you know lah, ah beng got nothing to do but hang out at malls–and I came upon Nando’s. Seeing that it was empty, got one auntie was at the entrance, asking long and short questions to the waitress, but I just dove into the restaurant. Bo-chap her. (She didn’t come in in the end. Waste time only these people.) So the waitress promptly sat me, promptly took my orders. A few times, the manager came and asked how the food was, etc. Very friendly service. But I wish the servers could read people’s faces better, and my face that day was DO NOT DUCK (censor a bit, got kids reading this blog you know) WITH ME. Somedays, 何少 (Master Ho) just doesn’t want to talk. It’s nothing, and I won’t scream at anyone, I was in fact quite polite, I just want to be left alone. Leave Britney alone!
In the photo, you see I’ve picked the peri-peri 1/4 chicken set meal which comes with a choice of two sides. I picked peri-peri fries and a coleslaw. The dip for the fries is an extra $1 and they don’t serve water. The restaurant is really out to squeeze the customers dry. Why can’t they give free dip and water? So I ordered mineral water (not feeling well). And the meal came up to a whooping $20. I think it’s daylight robbery. Seriously, it is only a chicken thigh! If you go to NTUC to buy a bag of chicken thighs (4 thighs inside), it’s only $3 plus, so the cost price of a chicken thigh is less than a dollar. I’m super auntie?
That being said, OMG the chicken was SUPERB. It was so tender and moist, and the spicy peri-peri permeated through the entire chicken. And no MSG in the food too. There is a garlic sauce that goes well with the chicken. The sauce tasted like french mustard.
The restaurant has no partition from the walkway, so everyone can see what you are eating. But the good service and the wonderful taste make up for the noisy atmosphere. That being said, I dunno if I’m thrifty (if you want to be nice) or stingy (if you’re nasty) or what. I really think it is not worth $20 just for the purpose of eating a chicken thigh (the sides were average and so was the dip). I will go back again if my friends want to eat it–I’m sociable, very qing cai–but I won’t venture into the restaurant alone for lunch anymore. The set meal in Malaysia is only S$7! What right has Nando’s to double the price in Singapore! You lost me at $20, Nando’s, you lost me.
Rating: 4.312/5 stars
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