Coop d’état

Kit and I frequent Tropicana City Mall quite a bit. My photographic memory for food allows me to keep track of the eating places in the mall, and recently, after the surprising loss of Indulge, the little bistro run by an ex-Mandarin Oriental chef, I noticed the advertising for ChicKing.

The joint seemed a long time in opening. I was at Tropicana to buy a media player a week or so ago and noticed it finally was in operation, so decided to lunch there. From the get-go I wondered if the company had any SOPs and if they did, what was their policy about letting restaurants open when they were less than fully operational.

The first thing that struck me was the tip the place was in. Right behind the counters were drink cases, piled three feet high, bags of new food cartons awaiting storage and the general detritus of unpacking. There was a badly spelt notice on the cashier, explaining that the outlet had just opened and asking for patrons’ understanding for tardiness. This from a QSR!

When we ordered we were told that there was a BOFO (buy one, free one) offer that day. Food largesse is something I like, but I question the thinking behind this. If a solo customer came, what would he do with an extra burger or helping of chicken? As a new restaurant, I’d want my food served fresh, and consumed immediately so that the diner savours his first taste at its peak freshness. Should said diner take away this free meal and pass it to someone, would not the taste be compromised by the time it has spent sitting in a soggy paper bag?

Anyhow, we proceeded to order a Royal Snack which is two pieces of chicken, with mash potato, coleslaw and a regular Pepsi, as well as a Strips Meal (four pieces of fried chicken strips, mash, coleslaw and Pepsi). The service team had to pop open cans of Pepsi, and pour it into cups manually because their soda machine had not yet been delivered yet! I can only imagine how much money they’ve wasted having to buy crates of Pepsi! Not to mention the holdup which results in staff having to measure out drinks from can to cup.

This proved a bottleneck indeed when the crowds began to come in. Which led to the question about the interior design of the place. It is set out as a QSR, with tables and chairs in a restaurant setting. And then, right in the middle, the line for order taking begins! I was crammed right next to a gaggle of office workers, blatantly staring at my meal as they waited in line to order.

Strips and chicken, with the inedible rice in the background.

We Malaysians can forgive a lot for good food. We eat in completely unsanitary places, right next to drains, on top of storm tunnel gratings, on road shoulders with heavy vehicles spewing black exhaust. But we do it only if the food is good.

Raw chicken on the first visit is not a great intro!

ChicKing’s food is not worth it. The quality is inconsistent, for one. The different chicken pieces had different levels of crispness, with one rib piece still sticky and uncooked close to the bone. There was no sign of the mash and coleslaw. We were given a tub of rice with the meals, with no explanation by the counter staff for the change. It was not even good rice, being overly seasoned with too much cardamom which left a bitter aftertaste. After a few bites, the flavour became too overwhelming. The burger was decent, but nothing to write home about.

This is apparently a UAE franchise. I may have seen it when I visited Dubai a few years ago, but I can’t be sure. What I am sure of, however, is the fact that the rat-faced female being interviewed by the Indian-national consultant for a job should stick to her current position at KFC. Sometimes being a foot soldier in the Colonel’s army ranks is better than being in the company of royals who mistakenly think they can out-finger lick ol’ Sanders.

ChicKing might possibly do well in smaller towns and cities, as how McDota (I’m not even sure of the spelling any more, but its logo was a chicken with the tail feathers fanned out to form a rainbow pattern) used to garner the rural markets, but in this area of globalization, when mom-n-pop stores lose out to hypermarkets, I think franchising this would be a tough call. Let’s see how they do in Shah Alam and Melaka.