MNS Western Cuisine

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

Formerly the premises of Formosa, a new tenant has taken over the end-unit at The CEO building in Bukit Jambul. Branding itself as MNS Western Cuisine, the doors are opened for a soft launch today.

The restaurant's floor space is one and a half, but the half-floor upstairs is still closed. Therefore, seats are rather limited when we arrived. To make up for it, there are dining tables outside on the curb, but the idea of dining outdoors does not appeal to us.

Starting with the Mixed Grill (RM20.00), the platter comprises of a beef steak, a lamb chop, a slice of chicken ham, chicken sausage and some sides.

The steak is the main star on stage. The cutting is quite thick, therefore the center is still red and juicy with flavors. The waiter did not ask how well the meat should be done, but fortunately it was cooked to medium - just the way we like it.

As for the lamb chop, it gives a different type of dining experience. The lamb is cut near the ribs, therefore there is a good mixture of lean and fatty meat. In my opinion, it was grilled just about right.

The ham's taste is reasonable, but it would have been nicer if some gravy is provided as the ham can be quite dry from the grill.

The chicken sausage has cheese fillings in the middle. This type of sausage is seldom used in many Western restaurants because of the higher cost and the fact that many people do not fancy this. But I love having molten cheese oozing out as I land each bite on the sausage.

As for sides, there is a serving of fries, salad and a bun. No major complains here, but we think the fries are a bit overdone. Less time in the frying pan allows the interior to retain its starchy texture. Otherwise, the fries feel like dried-up crackers.

To make up for the absence of chicken in the Mixed Grill, we also ordered a serving of Grilled Chicken With Cajun Spice Sauce (RM10.00). This dish features a piece of grilled chicken thigh with spicy tomato sauce. The sides on the plate are identical as the previous.

The chicken itself is tender and juicy. Instead of the usual black pepper or brown gravy, MNS serves Cajun sauce (made from tomatoes and spices) instead. The overall dining experience is reasonably good.

One awkwardness here is the use of "butter knife" in place of a proper steak knife. It is not easy to cut a piece of meat using the knife provided. Perhaps it still works on fish, but definitely not suitable for steak.

The food at MNS Western Cuisine is quite impressive and reasonably priced compared to similar Western restaurants in the vicinity. The serving time is reasonable considering that it just opened today.

MNS Western Cuisine does not serve pork, but we do not see any sign that it is halal certified. I wonder the reason for omitting pork (among the best delicacies this world has to offer) from a Western restaurant when there is no plan to be halal-certified anyway.