Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Popeyes (Louisiana Kitchen) at Taman Tun Dr Ismail


Popeyes opens its doors to Malaysia!

Contrary to what its name means to most children, Popeyes is not named after the Spinach Chugging cartoon character Popeye (and Brutus and Olive oil), but rather Popeye Doyle in the Movie, the French Connection. Read more about how this franchise has its roots in Baton Rouge Louisiana HERE

Apparently the taste of the Chicken is fashioned spicier and more strong tasting to suit the New Orleanian taste-buds (That's why at the counter they ask you if you want your chicken mild, or spicy). Anyway, it is written that Popeyes managed to even beat KFC in a nationwide taste test... (doesn't really tell you much, because to me, almost any half decent fried chicken beats the KFC chicken in Malaysia..)

So much hype. We decided to go give Popeyes a try.

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Look familiar? That's because its first and newest branch is located in TTDI.

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Haven't had any chicken yet but the staff sure LOVE their job, I'll give them that... Look at how happy they look ;D

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Chicken Ala-carte 2 piece at approx RM6 and sets at just under RM10, you can tell the prices are set to rival McDonalds. One thing though about this place - you cannot change your mash potato for french fries (in the set) which is a bit of a bummer if you like fries more than mash.

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The Popeye girls all decked out in bright orange. Clean, crisp and professional looking, they aim to serve and please.. you can tell the owners are watching (and they are, rather closely). This place must have just had their opening because congratulatory flowers line the entrance.


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At first glance there's no difference between the left and right photo.
Actually on the left is the famous Popeyes Chicken and on the right, the Fish Tenders.

First, the chicken & biscuit. Taking a bite, we were surprised. Let me just say that the chicken was very uninspiring. If you blindfolded me, it could have been fried chicken from any fast-food joint. How boring. (My grandma in Ipoh fries better chicken.. so there:P)

Another thing to note is the boring, unimaginative use of ordinary bottled ketchup and chilli sauce. What? We expected at least some Original Louisiana Hot Sauce for the chicken or Tartar sauce for the fish. How disappointing.


PHOTO OF THE INSIDE OF THE FISH TENDER (NOT THE CHICKEN)
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Anyway, whilst the chicken was not great, the fish on the other hand ... was GOOD! They definitely use fresh water fish. The first bite goes something like this .. Crunchy flaky outer, then soft, succulent and slightly fatty insides. Oooooooo... yum!

I particularly liked the fatty bits in the fish. Too bad no special sauce for the fish though.

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Another photo of the fish because that was the only thing that deserved a second shot.
Next time, we try the burger and the shrimp ! (If there is a next time.. oo-er..)

Add:
Popeyes,
Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1,
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,
(Where Shakey's use to be)
Tel: 03-77101198


Overall impression:5/10 (low rating due to lack of special sauce & fresh farm chicken!)
Fried Chicken:4/10
Fish Tenders:6/10
Service:7/10
Ambiance:5/10


29 comments:

Big Boys Oven said...

wow did not know there is such a new fried chicken restaurant! hmmm must give a try of the fish than the chicken! :) I am sure they shud sell spinach too!

Julian Si said...

I want some of that succulent fishy!

Drool...

boo_licious said...

ok...me try the fishy and shrimp (must be small leh since shrimp and not prawn?) this weekend when we stock up kitty supplies, and let u know if nice or not.

jasmine said...

ooh, no wonder i thought this place sounded familiar. too bad the chicken was "uninspiring". hehe. but at least there's the fish to try! :)

myCoffee said...

Were they ever in Malaysia before? (e.g., just like how Wendy's used to be here eons ago). They look kinda familiar.
Btw, let me wish you Kong Hei Fatt Choy!:)

Anonymous said...

man those are some really nice looking fish.. but looking at the price in the menu.. not really cheap le

fatboybakes said...

i've never heard of em!!! guffaw, eh, howwwww la ma'am can you compare your grandmother's fried chicken with theirs? all grandmother's fried chicken sure taste good one la. sounds very run of the mill huh. wasted calories. dowan dowan.

Ciki said...

bbo:
lol, no spinach in sight

jules:
:D

boo:
yea, do let us know ,cheers

jasmine:
the old shakey's location!

mycoffee:
don't think so

vkeong:
yea, small portions cf. other fastfood joints

Ciki said...

fbb:
yar that's right! if you're gonna have a sinful fast-food meal, might as well make sure it's a truly heavyduty lardfilled PLUS great tasting binge.. huh? lol :P

(cannot/should not just simply binge.. harhar)

Anonymous said...

I atcherly like KFC original recipe wor. :-D But I'll eat stuff like this just a handful of times a year. Looking at the pic of the chicken, I can't imagine it being any better than KFC or other fast food franchises. The fish does look nice, though, but deep fried in batter...oooerrrr.....

Tummythoz said...

*sigh* If tastes like that, wonder whether they will last ..

minchow said...

Yay-hey! Just when I thought we had nothing else to look forward to on the fast food landscape! Surprised they chose the relatively sedate neighbourhood of TTDI to open their first outlet? Or have I missed the other crazytown mall ones?

J2Kfm said...

KFC Hot N Spicy good ma, no?

some outlets very tasty one. but i am eyeing the Zinger Tower, no thanks to Citygal. ahhahaha ....

p/s : so, where ur grandma stays in Ipoh eh? wink wink ...

Anonymous said...

they are here! I had it in seoul, korea n boy they were good! was sad that its 'uninspiring' :(

sc said...

hey, that's the old shakey's shop right? woah, think i'll be frightened by those over enthusiastic staff! hehe.. shall try the fish, looks succulent :)
happy chinese 'niu' year!

~Christine~Leng said...

oooo.... now only I know there's this eatery called Popeye! :)
will sure give this place a try when time comes :)

backStreetGluttons said...

If ever Olive opens tomorrow or day after , we will know its because of your this post

Happy New Year !

HairyBerry said...

oh, popeye's in malaysia now! awesome! u know, when i saw the word "biscuit", i thought it was those crunchy biscuit kinda biscuit..haha!

happy cny, c&c! if y'all cant finish the booze y'all bought, u know who to call...haha!

CRIZ LAI said...

What a name for an outlet. Any spinach burgers? :P

Happy "Niu" Year to you and all in the family. May this year be a healthy, wealthy and prosperous year for everyone. :)

http://crizfood.com/

Big Boys Oven said...

Gong Xi Fatt Cai!

Ciki said...

GONG XI FA CHAI...! Thanks for all your comments and see you after the hols :D


BON EAT!

worldwindows said...

I have this in HKG airport I think Terminal 1. Wonder if it is the same.

Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family.

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Okay, now I'm hungry for good fried chicken. And I don't mean Popeye's or KFC.

Happy Niu Year! Thanks for stopping by our blog!

Babe_KL said...

May the year of Ox bring you all the happiness, good fortune, health and prosperity you wish for.

choi yen said...

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!!

Anonymous said...

Okie, got it. Dump the chicken, load up on the fishies. Hehe.

Have Cumilicious, Cikiestic, Oxpicious year! :D

thule a.k.a leo said...

wow... something that actually come to challenge KFC's dominance in Malaysian fried chicken market... after futile attempts from A&W, Merrybrown... let's see how it fares ok???
It's near my house... so will try that when I have the craving for fast food soon...

Anonymous said...

Just had the fish there for lunch. So fresh and flakey! There was indeed great TARTAR SAUCE to go with it. Best Fish and Shrimp I've tasted. Better than expensive Manhattan Fishmarket.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

PS said...

Just tried it for a farewell lunch just now. I ordered ala carte 2 pieces of fish. Quite nice that it has tartar sauce. My favourite is indeed the Mashed potatoes! It's different from KFC's one that the gravy has small slices of chicken. My bf tasted chicken hot and spicy. Okay juga.