After our roast meat meal at Restoran Ya Wang @ Jalan Segget, we ventured out to the streets again for further exploration and found ourselves stopping by It Roo Cafe for a second round of feasting. That’s what food-hopping is all about, isn’t it? Eat, eat and eat! 🙂 Well, no complains, really. Haha.
Image source: Google Maps Malaysia
Above is the walking guide for reference if you’re coming from City Square/JB Sentral. Same thing as before, look for the exit at ground level of City Square (next to MacDonald’s) that leads to Jalan Wong Ah Fook and just follow either of the above routes to get to It Roo Cafe.
A modest outfit with a homely vibe. Space was limited so tables and chairs were placed very close to one another. Good thing was, there was air-conditioning in the indoor seating area so it was still a pleasant place to dine-in despite the very hot and humid weather.
The menu wasn’t excessively huge but it had a good mix of Western fare, Chinese dishes and light bites.
Since It Roo is reputed for having the ‘Best Chicken Chop In Town‘, we decided to order each of the grilled and fried chicken chop and both sauces of mushroom and black pepper.
This was the Fried Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce (RM15 approx. SGD5) that came with sliced button mushrooms (hidden below the chicken), coleslaw, fried potatoes and slices of cucumber and tomato. I loved the deep brown colour of the mushroom sauce that looked ‘deceivingly’ robust and rich but upon tasting it, I was disappointed that it had an intense flavour of chicken seasoning powder and hence it wasn’t naturally flavoursome as I expected it to be if it was made from fresh chicken stock. And even though it was supposed to be a mushroom sauce, I couldn’t taste any earthy flavour of mushrooms in it. It was more like an artificial chicken gravy with sliced mushrooms served separately.
I was however, very pleased with the fried chicken cutlet made of boneless chicken leg meat that was crispy on the outside yet not overly oily and tender, juicy on the inside. The batter coating was also just nice and not too heavy or thick. In fact, I thought the chicken tasted good on its own or with sweet chilli sauce. The mushroom sauce just didn’t do justice to it.
I also enjoyed the crunchy coleslaw and fried potatoes that were freshly cut and fried. Yum.
And this was the Grilled Chicken Chop with Black Pepper Sauce (RM15 approx. SGD5) served with the same sides. The black pepper sauce was similar to the mushroom one except that it was slightly peppery and I would have liked it better if it was even more peppery/spicy. The grilled chicken was also tender and succulent but the skin wasn’t charred (or at least browned) enough so we had to skip the skin that was soft with a lot of unrendered fats beneath.
Though I couldn’t agree that this was the best chicken chop I had (I think the best I had was at Wow Wow West @ ABC Brickworks Food Centre in Singapore), I wouldn’t mind coming back for the fried chicken chop but I would have it with the black pepper sauce instead of the mushroom one which I just didn’t fancy. And just a little tip if you don’t appreciate the strong taste of artificial chicken seasoning, just mix in some sweet chilli sauce to the black pepper (or mushroom) sauce to add more depth and change the taste.
Add a glass of iced home-made barley drink for RM2.80 (approx. SGD0.94) to go with your meal. It wasn’t very sweet and it was perfectly refreshing and thirst-quenching for a hot day like this.
Do note It Roo Cafe is halal certified and it charges 6% GST and RM2 (approx. SGD0.67) for the plate of peanuts on your table.
It Roo Cafe
17 Jalan Dhoby
80000 Johor Bahru, Johor
Malaysia
Tel: +60-07-2227780
Opening hours: 10.00am to 9.30pm daily