Chili's Tastes Of America

This meal at Chili's was probably one of the best I've had. This was largely because there was a new promotional menu, meaning there were new things to try. Secondly, because all the things on the new menu were items I loved.

The only things not from the Tastes Of America menu were the lemonade and tomato juice, both RM8.95 and refillable, and the cup of beef rib soup (RM6.50) that my pal Pat had.

Tomato juice is the only thing I drink at Chili's, apart from water.

A little bit of this hearty Beef Rib Soup went a long way to warm up appetites.

We shared the Boston-style crab cakes. At RM28.95 it was a bit steep for five cutlet-sized pieces, but crab isn't cheap, and I think these were made with good crab meat. The crabcakes had capsicum, garlic and cilantro (ugh!) and were rolled in golden breadcrumbs and served with a creamy cilantro dip, as well as a chipotle one. They came served on a bed of crispy tortilla strips, which were yummy, and which i would have chowed down if not for the rest of the food waiting.

Boston-style crabcakes. Quite a difference between the Maryland ones.

The New Orleans Jambalaya, RM25.95, brought back fond memories of a certain Doug Harrison and his Creole cuisine. This was a dish which was very well-reminiscent of New Orleans, and I loved how the diced chicken sat well with the authetic jambalaya sauce. The big, plump shrimp, in surprisingly large numbers was also a huge plus and made this a hot favourite.

Everything was big and ballsy in this great Jambalaya.

The Chicken Club Tacos were a bit of a letdown after the Jambalaya, as the chicken strips were overly grilled and dry. Although the mesquite flavour was present in the RM25.95 dish, the chicken breast is always the make or break in a taco, and the dryness made it very hard for the good beef bacon, ancho chile ranch dressing, diced tomatoes and mixed cheeses to work their magic. Pity, because the rice and black beans were very correctly flavoured, in the best of South of the border style.

The tacos were KO-ed by the dry chicken breast.

While the last item was a bummer, the overall selection was good, and I was able to forgive a lot because of those jambalaya prawns! Service was good, as usual, and the wait staff were friendly and attentive, so all in all, the meal rated quite high for me.