Americanization is a term that first appeared to me in one of my General Paper (GP) articles for A' levels. I vividly remember that this term came along with synonyms such as McDonaldization and consumerism. Basically, it is Westernization as we all already know it.
Westernization has inevitably been around since Singapore was a former British Colony, and we couldn't have stopped McDonald's from coming in during the 1970s. From then on, the local food scene has not stopped seeing new fast food chains, like KFC, Burger King, Long John Silver, and fondly remembered A&W.
In recent years, the emergence of new malls has seen more and more Western fast food chains opening. One of the most popular one being Subway. And now, there is lesser known Quiznos Sub, still yet to really expand Popeye's Chicken. And Singaporeans do love it, from the way Subway has expanded, and the queues at Popeye's.
The latest edition then, would be Wendy's in December 2009. Apparently, as report in the news
here, there were queues then. I think the buzz has pretty much died down now because I did not quite see the lunchtime working crowd coming in when I was there this morning.
I always like restaurants with outdoors seats. Enjoy the sunshine. =)
Wendy's has been around since 1969, and they were in Singapore more than 10 years ago, but pulled out. This time, they are brought in my Kopitiam, which plans to open up to 35 branches in the years to come. You may read more of Wendy's history and its founder, Dave, on their official website
here. There, you will also find the pdf files of the nutrition values in each of the food items.
Since Wendy's is opening their 2nd branch at Jurong Point soon, I decided that it's time I make a special trip down to Lau Pa Sat to try it out! =)
The Breakfast
I chose the McDonald's Big Breakfast style of course, which is called the Turkey Whole Breakfast at Wendy's, because that's my favourite, and the others, like the burger and wrap are basically the "mini" version of the Big Breakfast.
It comes in the standard English breakfast style, as we all probably already know it, that is, an egg, bread, some sort of fat, like bacon, sausage or ham, and coffee or tea. In Singapore, we have hash browns as well.
English-style breakfast with custom coffee.
From a health point of view, the English breakfast is definitely very well-balanced and nutritious. Only, I'd substitute the fat with unsaturated fat like olive oil on the toast bread, nuts or salmon instead. Bacon is just... ... Not to my liking. It reminds me of kian he, which is salted fish.
The real problem only comes when you overload it with oil, like in McDonald's (of which I am still a loyal fan of). KFC is slightly better. But really not much. LJS is a LOT better in terms of health, but so lacking in taste nobody can palate it. I do believe in the existence of nice-tasting healthy food.
That said, I'd like evaluate to this from a slightly different perspective of health and quality real food, rather than just whether it's tasty or not, because I believe that in terms of taste, nothing can beat McDonald's, for me. So if I only look at that, it'd be very biased. I am more looking out for a unique proposition that can make me choose this new fast food over my childhood McDonald's. (Nothing beats childhood memories and tastes that one grows up with.)
The Egg
I attacked the egg first because I can't live without my daily dose of the nutritious yellow cutie pie. Yellow just brightens your Monday like the sunshine. Don't you think? Especially when I was sitting by the almost full-length glass window of an air-conditioned place, watching the soft sunlight streaming in after days of thunderstorm that roared way into my dreams, that gleaming breakfast looked all the more welcoming in contrast of black days before.
Folded omelette that is achievable at home.
I really like the texture of this omelette. It squishes up in my mouth, rather than crumbles like the scrambled eggs from McD. This was a surprise as the holey rolled-up piece of yellow didn't half look like anything silky or smooth or creamy.
It tasted blend, as I couldn't even detect a pinch of salt. This very much reminded me of the days when McD had tasteless eggs as well, that was a good 18 years ago. However, the difference is that Wendy's gave that home-cooked feeling because of the oh-so-normal look. I mean, to be honest, which part of my photo makes it look super tasty to you? I just wanted to convey that sense of no-frills, no patterns, that clean and neatness that would come from my mum's breakfast, if she were to make omelette with toast bread and bacon.
McD obviously looks ultra spiced up to appeal with all that oil. I only have to roll the scrambled egg away, and I can see those liquid underneath. This doesn't happens with Wendy's at all. It's just that plain-cooked simple egg. Therefore, very, very healthy I'd say.
Health Point of View (POV): 5/5.
Taste Point of View (POV): 2.5/5. I only pass it because of the good texture.
Bacon
I hit the bacon next because it reminded me of Burger King, whose breakfast I do miss because of the tiny round hash browns. LOL!
This pretty much tasted like bacon should. What else but salt? It wasn't fried till ultra crispy, but it really didn't matter to me, because I would still be eating salty fat anyway.
I was actually impressed with the leanness of the bacon they choose. No thick white strips of fat at all! I'd say, yes, very quality food. Seriously, if any eatery sells you more fats than meat, it's selling you rubbish. Please do not waste your money on that. Unless of course, the dish is pork belly or pork leg.
Bacon with no clear thick white fatty strips.
I remember eating pork ribs in China that were cut into tiny cubes, and 98% fats. My friends and I were so disgusted we learned our lesson never ever to order pork ribs anywhere. Beijing is weird. That's just the way they sell food.
Rating: 5/5
Given that this bacon tastes like all other bacon, I feel that the distinguishing point to it is the well-chosen lack of fat part. So much better than Burger King's, which shows no effort to weed fat bacon out at all.
Bread
Looks nice. As a bread lover, I can't say no to soft white bread.
Clean and neat soft white slightly grilled bread that looks appealing to me.
This was slightly disappointing as it tasted pretty normal. It gives me the feel of supermarket bread being toasted lightly, that's all. It is, a bit, teeny teeny bit buttery, and had a little little little bit of fragrance. But it is definitely far from nice to eat. Just a normal bread.
Rating: 3/5
I do like that homely plainness. But for this, I really did rather choose McD's special airy toasted breakfast burger buns that I have not seen replicated anywhere else in this world!
Hash Brown
I love this hash brown! I really do love it. This is so healthy, well crisped, yet with that hue of butter infused inside rather than spread on top. The others just feels like salt-loaded or MSG-loaded potatoes when put besides this.
Crispy with a hue of butter. Just a hue. Feel healthy enough for me to eat.
Rating: 5/5
Give me another Wendy's Hash Brown any time!
Coffee
I was pretty excited over this because I saw the word "custom" printed on their cup. I really love brand-unique coffees, and I wasn't disappointed.
Custom Bean, as they call it.
Wendy's cup has that pure espresso feeling. Just purely coffee kind of bitter. Thick enough yet not over-powering for people who do not like coffee. I think this is very much drinkable by everybody, as I myself do not like bitter tastes, and I cannot take Nescafe pure dark coffee, but I did manage the whole pure cup of this, no sugar, no creamer added. (I always feel forced to add sugar to the bottled Nescafe, because as mentioned, I cannot take it.)
Dark, and thick enough pure coffee.
It actually really reminds me of Oriole Cafe & Bar. Really. It's the same taste. I just know it's that same espresso taste. However, the Piccolo Latte has more milk. (Of course, because Piccolo Latte means a bit of milk added.)
Yup, so coffee lovers, if you want a big, big cup of that kind of pure not so thick espresso (that you can only can a tiny tequila shot of), here's the one. And cheaper too! It's nothing like supermarket. Supermarket coffee, no matter how pure, will not yield this taste. Strange, but that is just so.
Rating: 5/5 *** Can I give this 6/5? haha.
If you work in the Lau Pa Sat area, this is the cuppa java to go to. =)
Restaurant Ambience/Condition
It is well-lit, well-spaced, has nice paintings and all, but unfortunately, I'd choose not to dine in if I had to go again. I'd rather takeaway, and go sit in some non-airconditioned tables in LPS, because there are houseflies ALL over. I was actually trying to find a seat without those flies, and I failed, even though I was one of the 5 customers there early in the morning, and I had pretty much every seat to myself.
Well-lit all over, with relevant posters framed up and hung on the wall.
I have half a mind to write in to NEA for them to check and rate this fast food joint again. The flies landed on my bread, my coffee, my... ... everything. =(((( This is when I bring in the dialect, "sian", which here means sickening and tiring.
Rating: 0.5/5
I cannot emphasize how important it is to provide a clean and hygiene dining place, especially when there is air-con.
Service
Many of the staffs were new to service line, and don't quite know how to even take orders and pack the food etc. So I will try to find fault. Generally, they are okay, they follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), greet, take your order etc.
Rating: 3/5 Can be improved.
To be continued in Part II, LUNCH! =))
Read more "Wendy's: Quality is Our Recipe Part I (Breakfast) - Americanization in Action..."
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