Oz Aussie Outback Roast Chicken & Fusion Cuisine

Oz Aussie Outback Roast Chicken is a new kid in town located in the same row (opposite Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant) as the lousy Spices of Penang, Red Com computer shop.  I heard that the have been in operation since April this year but I just discovered it recently thanks to All About Ipoh Facebook page. From the limited amount of photos available, I was skeptical on how serious or passionate about serving Australian food or is it just another moniker for generic Western cuisine... Well, curiosity kills the cat... most of the time but not always.

My curiosity is rewarded with The Aussie Slow Cooked Lamb Stew (RM20.90), which deserves special mention. The meat is so tender that it can fall of the bone without much effort from your fork and knife.  The thick gravy is very robust, hearty and flavorful which further proves that the lamb is stewed for a reasonably long period of time. The gravy is a similar resemblance of a good old bowl of Oxtail Soup. Roasted potatoes, a scoop of coleslaw, to ensure it is a complete meal. A slight small preference of mine is have a side of mashed potato or better still... a piece or two of garlic bread for me to polish the gravy, which comes with carrots, peas and onions! The presentation in the photo maybe a bit sloppy but rest assured this is a recommended dish!

This is the Chicken Mushroom Pie (a main course from the 3 options available in the Set Dinner) which comes with a side of coleslaw. The pie and its filling are served piping hot.

They are not skimpy with the portion as you can find chicken breast meat, mushrooms and onions in it as the creamy sauce oozes out. Despite being a pie, it is just right for dinner and may be too much for light eaters during lunchtime.

This is the Chicken Chop with BBQ sauce. It comes with their baked rice (a bit mushy though) and a side of coleslaw. The BBQ sauce is blended well and I'm sure the chef had gone through a lot of trial and errors to come out to a near perfect concoction which brings out the smoky aroma to the well grilled chicken drumstick.

Last but not least, a visit here without ordering their signature roasted chicken is no different from dining in KFC and ordering Fish Burger only. Their Quarter Outback Roasted Chicken (RM17.90) comes with customizable sides and gravy. For the gravy, there are BBQ sauce, Herbed Bread Sauce, Onion Sauce to name a few. A wide variety of sides also awaits the diner: Mashed Potatoes, Roast Potato, Coleslaw, Ceasar Salad, Rice, French Fries, Onion Rings - and your job is to pick 3 out of them! The chicken is roasted to perfection, still tender with slightly crisp and charred surfaces. It comes with apple and bacon stuffing, the apple being caramelized and soft :) The meat however is not heavily seasoned so you may need to rely on the sauce if you do not like slightly bland tasting meat. The Onion Sauce which I took is actually a derivative of a brown sauce, which is a bit too thick too my liking and if the chicken is served hotter instead, it would score a 10/10 in my scale.

Currently, they are running a promotion for the month of July. Senior Citizens (55 years and above) are entitled to a 50% off on their second set meal purchased for both lunch and dinner. The Set Dinner is priced at RM14.90 which includes a drink (mango cordial/guava cordial/barley) and dessert. The Chicken Chop and Mushroom Chicken Pie shown earlier are part of the set.

 Photo above grabbed from their Facebook page

 This is the Lemon Cheesecake - minute serving but I must commend their effort in giving quality desserts other than watermelon or single scoop ice cream in most other places' set meals. For a RM14.90 set, I couldn't ask more for rich cheese cake but the lemon tinge ended the meal on a refreshing note.

 The Banana Pudding was on the slight letdown but like I said, for this price, I won't ask for more. Perhaps, they could omit the coloured rice decoration which kinda made the desserts look a bit "kiddy". If you are dining here, go for the cake instead.

All in all, the food here exceeded my expectation and my family left satisfied. Definitely not a wannabe new kid in town considering the simple decor involved and despite this place not being air conditioned (think about failures like Sakai Cafe and Warm Snow Beer - which are always on Groupon). The storm created by the chef coupled with the friendly and attentive nature of "cowboys" (waiters wearing hats) will ensure the Oz received warmly by the people of Ipoh. 

Now, do them a favour, try it for yourself and if it appease your tastebuds, spread the word around (and my blog post too). Happy weekend peeps! :)