Before Nando’s was hatched in Singapore and Johor Bahru in 2010, the closest place where I could get my hands on their flame-grilled peri-peri chicken was their Sungei Wang outlet in KL, Malaysia where I used to travel to quite often for business. Even though Singapore and JB are just neighbours and one probably wouldn’t expect the same franchise restaurant in both locations to be of differing standards but I really thought the chicken used in Nando’s Malaysia had the edge over Singapore’s because it was really more juicy and succulent than the one I had here. Similarly, I share the same sentiments about KFC. KFC Malaysia is just tastier than Singapore’s. Hmm.

The husband and I decided to cross the Causeway for a day out. Despite the many food options at City Square, we still settled for Nando’s in the end. I needed to breathe fire with their hot sauces, I told the husband. Lol.

It was just before noon and the restaurant was literally empty so we could just sit anywhere we wanted.

And we picked a table just next to where the sauces were so I could help myself to them anytime, lol.

Except for ketchup which was BORING, we had to have a variety of sauces to go with our meal. My favourite had got to be the garlic and mild peri-peri because the extra hot and hot peri-peri were just too overpowering for me.

The husband ordered the Butterfly Chicken Breast with 2 REG sides (RM20.90) of potato wedges and coleslaw. Even though this was the chicken breast cut, the meat was tender and moist. I loved it being flame-grilled, giving it a BBQ-style smoky flavour and wished there were more ‘burnt’ parts to it. The wedges were pretty addictive as they were served hot and crispy with a sprinkle of paprika that gave a mildly spicy kick. The coleslaw was crunchy and not watery. The dressing tasted like those from a bottle, quite ordinary.

I had 1/4 Chicken with 1 FINO side (RM18.90) of three-bean salad because I like chicken with bones. Same as the breast, this was also moist and succulent. The three-bean salad was just made of beans from cans, mainly kidney beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and cannellini beans. The taste was a little acidic as the beans weren’t rinsed properly and they didn’t come with any sauce to mask its original ‘canned flavour’ so we added the salad dressing sauce from the bottle to make it more palatable.

Both of our chickens had the mild peri-peri sauce as we wanted something in-between so we could customise our own spiciness if we wanted to with the available sauces. And it was also what I liked because its tanginess level was very acceptable.

The best perk about having Nando’s in Malaysia is that prices are way cheaper there than in Singapore due to the currency exchange. For example, a 1/4 chicken cost RM12.90 (approx. S$5) in Malaysia but it is S$10.90 in Singapore. A Jumbo Platter for 4-6 pax to share cost RM115 (approx. S$45) in Malaysia but it is S$89 here. So basically you can enjoy the same meal at half the price in Malaysia which is quite a deal. For our meal with a mineral water, it only cost us just under S$20 after taxes. Cheap and good!

Nando’s @ City Square
Lot MB-07, Level B1,
Johor Bahru City Square,
Jalan Wong Ah Fook,
80400 Johor Bahru,
Johor Darul Takzim
Tel: +60 (07) 226 7555
Website
Opening hours: 10.00am to 10.00pm daily

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