It was datenite and my partner suggested The Rustic Grill because he knows that I love beef (this was a day before my most dissapointing tomahawk experience).
We were there by 6.00pm and had the whole place to ourselves. I reckon most diners would come by a bit later.
The view outside (the side lane) is not inspiring. You will see parked motorcycles and passersby.
The tapas and buffet counter is still there and now they have introduced their Value Dinner Set which excludes free flow tapas and buffet (for those who just want mains and no extras).
I forgot to take a photo of the menu for the individual value dinner sets.
My partner (as he always does) ordered the same dish he had on the previous visit - the Seared Salmon Fillet from the main menu (with tapas and buffet).
I ordered the following for him from the tapas menu :
Smoked Duck Pasta.
Sauteed Green Beans.
Sauteed Mushrooms.
Chicken Piccata.
And he helped himself to the buffet with a bowl of soup (broccoli soup, sorry no photo) and a plate of salad and chicken wings.
Obviously he had forgotten (or had faith) in the chicken wings (that we both tried previously) and apparently they were still no good hah...hah...
And this is my BBQ Beef Back Rib. I chose from the set menu, forgoing the tapas and buffet. The price from the Dinner Set menu is RM78.00 while the one from the regular menu is RM104.00, a difference of RM26.00. The set menu comes with a salad or soup and ice cream.
I was very happy with the BBQ beef as the portion was generous with the meat very tender. It was served with a side of BBQ sauce.
I chose salad instead of soup.
Now I want to recall a story for a long time ago. It was Chinese New Year and we had our family (my late uncle and cousins and a friend of his) dinner at a hotel in Kuala Terengganu.
Some members of our party chose ala carte while the rest went for the buffet. This was when I observed bad behavior.
Those who ordered ala carte were enabled by those who had the buffet to eat food from the buffet. What they do is pile a plate from the buffet to be shared at the table.
I was not happy with what I saw because this is clearly a breach of conduct. Diners who opt for ala carte should not be eating from the buffet. Well, I am not the buffet police and I kept quite because it is very hard to voice this sort of thing to your family.
The hotel staff turned a blind eye because they knew my late uncle (and also they did not want to spoil the atmosphere) who was a regular guest.
With that said, I did not partake in the tapas. This can be a dicey situation if you have naughty customers who will sneak in the extras to members of their party who are not paying the full price.
Now back to our dinner. We (again) shared an Ice Lemon Tea.
I forgot to take a photo of the two slices of pizza that my partner ate from the buffet.
At the end of our meal, we were served ice cream.
My partner's Mint and Raspberry.
My Cookies and Cream. This ice cream was not good as the texture was gritty with ice crystals which suggested to me that it was either old stock or poorly stored. But I did not complain. It was overall a very good meal!
Dear friend, this quote is so powerful! You have so many lovely photos! I don't believe I have ever tried beef ribs...pork ribs, most definitely! And I love them! And of course the smaller spare ribs, whcih I also love!
ReplyDeleteThe ambiance looks elegant and comfortable. Salmon filet I would absolutely love, I am sure! Smoked duck pasta is totally new to me, first I have ever heard of this! The picture looks good, though. I know I would love the green beans and mushrooms!
Although I have never had chicken piccata, the dish looks attractive. The chicken wing plate, even better!
I have always preferred having salad as opposed to soup. The iced lemon tea looks really refreshing and the ice cream looks divine! I would prefer the mint and raspberry! :)
Thank you so much for sharing, I was so happy to see your post!
Good morning! This quote hits the chords and it is so very true. Not everyone who smiles are good souls deep down, some are fake smile like they say in Chinese 笑里藏刀. Can check with your lahling the meaning. And not all who don't smile are wicked as some maybe born with RBF aka resting bitch face so they maybe frowning but they are kind hearted deep down, just my two cents worth. Will BRB during lunch to read your meals post if not the delicious looking food and photos will induce hunger in me muahahaha
ReplyDeleteAh, I like ice cream with ice crystals. I think it means there are water droplets in the ice cream that turned into ice crystals whether the water droplets are in the ice cream by design or because the ice cream is not properly stored, I hope it is by design.
ReplyDeleteAbout your story about breach of conduct, I am also very sticky about these. If my spouse orders a free flow drink, I will do the same because if I don't order a drink, people would expect I would drink from my spouse's free flow drinks.
ReplyDeleteThose tonkatsu eateries solved this breach of conduct by stating beforehand that if all people in the group didn't order a set that has free flow soup, rice and cabbage then the sets ordered are not entitled to any free flows items.
ReplyDeleteI guess they got burned many times where a group just order one set of free flow and ala carte and then keep asking for soup and rice refills to share.
I am torn between your tender beef vs the salmon your partner ate.
ReplyDeleteBecause both dishes also I like.
I guess I would go for beef because tender tasty beef is more difficult to find than tasty salmon.
Ok, done with my lunch food and beverage intake, completed by around 12.30pm. It was boneless roasted duck kway teow/hor fun with many pork lards and green veggies with sauce/gravy that comes with a tinge of sweetness and saltiness and without chili. Guess I will have my dinner around 5.30pm/6pm. Lunch was enjoyable, satisfying and affordable at S$5. The roasted duck meats were tender and the roasted skin with a little fats. Next will be doing a little houseworks to sweat it off and to digest my food. Then it will be WFH. Already had 2 caffeines this morning before my lunch time. I had quality sleep last night so no need too much assistance from the caffeines. Had two just to enjoy my coffee time ☕️
ReplyDeleteSmoke duck pasta is like my roasted duck kway teow which I just had, just that one is western while the other is Chinese hee hee. Like your partner, I am someone who play safe by ordering the same delicious food from the same stall but I ate at different/a variety of stalls or restaurants each time. But of course there were times when I tried other food if their menu is extensive and I am feeling adventurous. That ice cream look appealing on a warm day, I will go for the raspberry and the chocolate ones, hee hee. Been a long time since I ate buffets, guess nowadays I cannot handle that, old liao! Hahaha. But salmon is on.
ReplyDeleteAnd that refreshing ice lemon tea is tempting me on a hot/warm day, but usually when I dine out, I chose kalamansi or lime juice for the cold drink.
ReplyDeletei think i will choose the bbq beef back rib too....coz it looks good from the char.
ReplyDelete