New York New York Deli @ 1 Utama, Petaling Jaya

New York New York Deli… okay how shall I describe this place and its food? To sum it all up it was a BAD experience. My husband and I and several friends spotted this place2 days before its opening. The place looks very comfy and bright; an ideal place to eat and chat with friends or family. We had a look at the menu displayed outside the restaurant but it was scheduled to open only in 2 days time. We made a promise to come back to try the week after.

A week later…
All of us walked eagerly to the deli. Our minds filled with pictures of burgers, hotdogs, bacons and all sorts of yummy things. We got a place to sit as soon as we arrive (no waiting line…hmmm). Placed our orders using numbering system… get this, the waiters do not understand English!!! Alamak… New York deli woh!! I ordered Spaghetti with meatballs and the guy just looked at me not understanding. He said ‘give number’. Oklah… first error never mind hope the food is good. We gave the numbers for our dishes.

Most of us got our food within 30 minutes but one of our friends got his fish and chips more than 45 minutes later. Lucky for us we are not rushing for our movie. Anyway, there is a long story regarding his simple fish and chips. I’ll save it for the last.

Our drinks came first. The oreo chocolate chip was ok. My Caribbean Breeze was alright; it’s a mixture of mango and pineapple. The Bloody Eyeballs was unique; there are 2 eyeballs look alike floating in the drink, it is made of lychee and blueberry. Ice Caramel Swirl was so-so. The Ultra Rich Chocolate was nothing special. You can get better in Coffee Bean. The Root Beer Float and Coffee Float were ok.

Now, let’s get to the food, which is the main CONCERN here.
My husband got his Spaghetti Bolognese and Meatballs first. It was good. The dish consists of two quite large meatballs with tomato paste mixed with minced beef sauce spaghetti. It was appetizing.

Then, my Big Big Breakfast arrived. One look and I was disappointed. First of all it was NOT BIG! Secondly, the bacon is not bacon. It looks like processed meat white and dark red coloring. Taste like it too! Accompanying the bacon were 2 cocktail sausages, 2 small pancakes, unflavored scrambled eggs, one spoon of baked beans, 2 sliced button mushrooms and a piece of sliced raw tomato. This dish is truly not worth trying and extremely not worth the price. I think I prefer hotel buffet breakfast better.

The Mushroom Swiss Burger was normal. The meat was quite dry. The beef meat was topped with a slice of cheese with some mustard and chili sauce. Nothing special. Ramlee burger better.

The Hawaii Teriyaki Burger got thumbs up from my friend. The meat was juicy. It was oozing with teriyaki sauce. And it was topped with pineapple and which earned its name: Hawaiian Beef Burger.

The Philly Cheese Steak Burger was alright. Can try. The meat strips were quite thick and juicy and it was topped with mayonnaise and a slice of melted cheese.

The Hawaii Teriyaki Chicken is not bad. The meat portion is small though. The pineapple on top of the chicken gives it the Hawaiian flavor just like the burger.

The Mushroom Cappucino soup was something different. Its like mushroom soup with a hint of coffee flavor. (Waiting for the friend who tried this to give his comment).

Now we have reached the CRUCIAL part.
The 3 biggest mistakes!!!
First mistake: Wrong pizza!
We ordered Hawaiian Chicken Pizza. What was given was Chicken Caesar Pizza. Now, we did ask the waiters what were the dishes they brought. All they do is give blank looks and go look for their captain. However, for this case, my friend was so hungry we just finished the whole thing with no questions asked. Now, you wonder how we find out that the wrong pizza was served. Half an hour after my friend finished his pizza, a waiter came to serve his Hawaiian Chicken pizza. I really wonder he ate who’s pizza. The poor guy/ gal must be waiting long for their pizza.

Second mistake: Unsightly Fiery Buffalo Wings
When we got the chicken wings, we did not realize what it was because it looked so different from the picture. The flour does not stick to the meat, the meat was a bit black near the bone and so very oily. I think it was frozen for too long. It is not fresh anymore.


Third mistake: Rotten Fish
Now, fish and chips are the simplest dish in any Western restaurant. So, how can one screw this up??? The fish meat is rotten!!! It smells terrible. First mouthful and you feel like throwing up. I have nothing more to comment. It is so horrible, words just fail to describe it.

When it comes to settling our bill, the waiter did not even know to bring a pen with him for the patron to sign the receipt. When we indicated for a pen, again he just stares back and looks confused. 4 waiters who served our table were all like that. There were more than a dozen of these foreign waiters while only two local captain available. Needless to say the service was neither effective nor prompt. Will I come back? A definite no.


Food Review

Food Type: Western (Halal)
Address: LG311, One Utama Shopping Centre1, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Price: Average RM28 per pax
Operating Hours: Daily (10am-10pm)

Taste Rating: 4.5/10
Ambiance Rating: 8/10
Service Rating: 2/10
Value Rating: 5.5/10

Overall Rating: 5/10


Additional Ranting from Editor Mart:
Agreed with your article but its lightly salted. I like mine with extra "SALT & VINEGAR"!!. Let me "elaaaahh-boh-rate"

1. Ver-burl Co-mmu-neee-k-shion
I love this restaurant. Its the 1st of its kind to hire waiters that is able to speak but doesnt speak to the customer. You get me? They are train to process "numbers" from customers. You dont order a chicken chop , burger or fries. You tell them you want 1547, 657 & 338. Classic! Wait, here's the best part, waiter bring 2 plates of burgers and TA-DA!. Eat your buggers customers coz we dont know what we are serving & practically we just dont care, call our managers if you like coz we cant speak a damn word (although we can, but likely you wont understand "numbers". TQ). Thats why my friend got serve the wrong pizza w/o noticing. Here's my perception of the interaction between the waiters, (waiter 1) 0110 110 111 001 10 (waiter 2) 110 1111 011 010. Take your time to decipher it. End of rant else i`ll go extremely sarcastic. Here's my suggestion, save your money, fire all of them, put up 2 counters with the managers that can speak and your all set! Sweet. You can thank me next "century" when i visit your place again.

2. Bob catch Shif. Shif weird smell. Bob like weird smell.
Let's start shall we. Shif & Chips, dory shif which taste like @#$%, serve to customer. Customer says it taste like @#$%. You sent to the "kitchen". Kitchen dissects and performs autopsy. Kitchen careful picks up a fork and takes a slice of the shif meat, gives it to "Ah Boon" (our pet baboon). Ah Boon dead. Kitchen fears for the worst and informs manager. Manager returns and informs customer, we are sorry, your shif is indeed @#$% with a capital (-ED) behind. Would like another @#$% shif ?. No, Thanks. Ok.

Quote "It is so horrible, words just fail to describe it." - I have help you describe the un-describe-pable

Next up, Bluff-alo Wings. Just to sum it up, its looks like some fried mice to me from the pictures or some fried lizards. Utterly disgusting. Whats with the 1 parsley there ? So happen to drop it.

3. Pressure-tentations
Food presentation looks worst then the next door mamak stall servings. Even Bro Ba-ca can do better.

4. Ah Ma, Ah Beng next door holding a can of pineapple say he been to Hawaii liao
Hawaii Teriyaki Chicken/Burger Receeeepeee
1. 1 slice of Pineapple
2. 1 patti of meat
3. 1 burger bun - optional

Instructions:
Carefully open a can of pineapple. Make sure its freshly bought from the next door Cold Storage. To avoid customer's contact, I suggest a rear entry with a flashbang to blind them while you make a haste to grab a can. Note: you dont have pay, its your neighbours anyway, just credit to the account. Grab a can opener and carefully remove the lid. Now carefully put on some glove and remove a slice and put onto plate. Caution, do not use force when picking up the pineapple slice, as you might break it. Use a cloth to soak up the excess water from the slice. Next, fried up the patti of meat until cooked. For best confirmation, any burn smell means its definitely cooked!. Burger buns can be lightly fried or toast to your preference. Once everything is in place, place the burger buns down first, follow by the meat on top and last but not least, the pineapple. There you have it. A Hawaii Teriyaki Burger. Stay Tune next time, for next receepeeeee