T.G.I.Friday’s!

 

I like Friday’s concept of using mock service as part of their training programme and maybe, marketing as well. I’ve never been lucky all my life until my reservation for two at Friday’s was confirmed. Elated, I went with high expectations and excitement.

Our reservation was the 2nd time slot at 11.15am and as we approached the entrance the friendly staffs greeted us with excellent hospitality, while the others scurry to make preparations for the day. We were given monopoly money for us to  foot the bill to train their crews. “Welcome to Friday’s!” echoed along the way as we were ushered to our table. Even though me and my lunch partner felt at home with the almost perfect service, we gave our first thumbs down for the warm setting of the outdoor seating area. The fan installed on the ceiling never rotates and poor me had to dine in sweats while my lucky food partner was enjoying the fan. Maybe a cooler would be good?

Chocolate Milkshake $6.90

We were given a few choices from the prepared menu. Friday’s is another place on the list that serves free flow soft drinks ($4.90) and of course, they serve ice water too. We also had the chocolate milkshake, which wasn’t to my liking as it was too milky for me. But, what’s a milkshake without milk! Initially, we ordered the  banana milkshake but it wasn’t available so the crew came to change our order. He had to repeat it twice because he stood on the wrong side of the table! His manager was beside making sure he said the right things politely. We felt quite bad about it.

Sesame Jack Chicken Strips $10.90

Quite a decent appetizer with huge serving, enough for 4-5 pax to share. The golden brown, chicken strips were drizzled with Jack Daniel’s sauce. One bite into it you could savour the crunchiness of  the Japanese panko breadcrumbs and the toasted sesame seeds. While the Jack Daniel’s sauce didn’t taste a lot like the real Jack Daniel, I loved the bits of soaked onion that gave the extra tang with a tinge of sweetness. The only letdown was that the appetizer was a tad too cold when served.

Cobb Salad with Bleu Cheese $18.90

This was served together with our main course left us trying to free up space for the table clumsily. We tried the salad last as we didn’t want to have our main course cold. Oh wow, the Cobb Salad was indeed a colourful sight and boy, it was huge! Stacked atop the crisp and fresh lettuce were generous toppings of chilled and diced fire–grilled chicken, crisp bacon, avocado, Cheddar cheese, egg, black olives, tomatoes and bleu cheese on salad greens. Out of 4 choices, we had our salad tossed with Bleu Cheese dressing, as recommended by the crew, served in a separate bowl.

Jack Daniel’s Chicken and Shrimp $36.90

Once again, Friday’s managed to pair their famous sauce nicely with the juicy fire–grilled chicken breast served with crispy Cajun–spiced fried shrimp and more sauce for dipping. Juicy chicken breast? Not. It takes skill to whip up a good dish of chicken breast. What tasted like a piece of hard and dry white chunk of meat was a big no-no for us. The shrimps were nothing to boast about either. Thankfully, the sides saved the day. We gave thumbs up for the sides as the brocoli was well cooked, neither over nor under cooked that usually leave the vegetable too dry or tough for consumption. The mashed potato was a delight as well, with lingering taste of Cheddar cheese nicely incorporated. While there were hits and misses, we felt the main course wasn’t worth the money given the mediocrity of the food.

Apart from the warm service extended to us at the mock service, the food wasn’t anything to die for. With good service and the right attitude however, the quality of food could be improved with consistent feedback. Certainly, the management at Friday’s was very open to feedbacks and I’ll definitely return to try their steaks and baby back ribs.

T.G.I.Friday’s
#01-K5, The Heeren
Orchard Road
Singapore 238855

Pictures taken using Canon EOS 500D.