FOOD: Chicago Rib House – 1 Utama, the “NEW” Old Wing

I thought for a while before writing this review, even wondering if I should.

In the first place, I went to Chicago Rib House after reading many many raving reviews online. Secondly, after much thought, I’m pretty sure ours was an isolated case.

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Hence, I’ll be fair here and while I’ll still be honest & share with you guys what happened, I’ll focus more on the taste of the PORK BURGER (yes, this is another of my pork burger series) than dwell on the unfortunate “food poisoning” incident.

To start off my porky lunch, I attempt to allay the guilt by ordering a salad. This Oriental Salad (RM15.90) caught my attention as the menu described that the salad cames with mandarins oranges and a peanut based sauce.

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When it was served, I was immediately disappointed with the ingredients.
Going a bit off topic here…this is my peeve about F & B outlets that offers salads on their menu. It’s challenging to find good salads these days. Most restaurants, if not all, charge a bomb (or to me it is expensive) for a few miserable leaves, quarters of tomatoes and proceed to drown everything in some generic sauce and they call that a SALAD! Is it so difficult to offer good, decent salads??

My salad above was just plain lettuce with tomatoes and a few cloves of mandarin oranges. All that for RM15.90++! That’s almost RM20!

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If there’s any consolation, the peanut sauce was decent. Pour it over the lettuce, eat it with a clove of orange and enjoy the match of tangy juicy orange with savoury nutty sauce. While the salad is not bad, it still doesn’t justify the price.

BOC Pork Burger, topped with bacon, onion rings & cheese.

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This was what I was there for. The presentation was certainly promising, though the sliced cheese put me off. What the heck, for RM27.90, I’m sure CRH could do better!

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Anyhow, the snob in me doesn’t eat sliced cheese so I shove it aside and immediately halved the burger to inspect the patty.

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The texture of the patty tells you a lot about how well it was made. A pork patty should ideally not be too finely minced or dense, which essentially means that too much fillers were mixed in. The meat should be loosely packed and able to hold its shape when handled with the hands. Generally, pork is pretty fatty meat but the ratio of fat to lean meat involved will have marked differences in the end result.

Having said all that, CRH’s pork patty was decent and well seasoned. The overall ensemble was rather plain, with the usual lettuce, tomatoes and sauteed onions thrown in. Seriously, a good cut of quality cheese would have elevated the taste of the burger. I’m not big on the rubbery Kraft singles.

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And then comes the our half rack Pork Ribs with Honey Mustard, RM32.90.

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The marinade, whatever it was, wasn’t memorable at all.

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The meat?
I thought it had a very funny smell and the marinate was more of a coating than actual marinate as it surely didn’t permeat the meat as it should. Thus, me being the rather sensitive type, was able to detect very strong gamey taste as I chewed on the meat.

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We left most of the ribs untouched. Even the remains as you see below were actually after several “forced” attempts to finish it as it would be a waste if we don’t. But eventually we gave up as it did tasted pretty foul.

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Now this is where I have to relate the after-meal story. My dining partner, Justin vomitted shortly after we left the restaurant and was unwell the whole day. Myself had a short bout of diarrhea the day after.

We took a photo with the girl at the front because Justin insisted. Since we spoke, I took the opportunity to inform her about our weird tasting/smelling ribs. I relate the same to the waiter serving us as well as another guy that was ushering the customers to their seats that day. All of them simply nodded and didn’t even volunteer to check if there was anything amiss with our ribs.

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I gave up after seeing their non-responsiveness and waved it off as “bad ribs place” and swore not to return. I had thought the ribs just tasted bad, but it was only after Justin told me he vomitted that I suspected that it may not be that the ribs tasted bad, but it could be that the ribs we had were contaminated.

After all, CRH did many raving reviews and nobody compained that the ribs tasted bad/weird.

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Even if it’s an isolated case, I don’t think I’ll ever re-visit CRH. I can’t erase my mind off the taste & smell of the ribs I had!

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Chicago Rib House
Lot F346, First Floor Rainforest,
1 Utama Shopping Centre.

Tel : 03-7727 3210

This Post Has 34 Comments

  1. Nikel

    Many many like their ribs..

  2. stupe

    Doesnt look promising. I stick with craft brew

    1. rebeccasaw

      Oh yes, Craft Brew has been consistently good I heard. The last I visited was eons ago!

  3. missyblurkit

    hmmmm… very expensive salad (quite absurd for what they served and that price tag).

    the pork burger certainly looked disappointing. am disappointed by the choice of cheese. surely they can do better with that price tag.

    the ribs…ouch! perhaps this is due to the festive season? but still this only means missing QC. not too sure if i wanna try them now.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yea, I think it was due to QC. I was more disappointed that the staff never did anything about it when I told them it was “smelly”.
      Another gripe I’ve got was the price tag. Just cos ít’s ribs doesn’t mean you can hike up prices like nobody’s business. Absurb la F & B outlets nowadays..

  4. minchow

    Absolutely agree on the need for the salad composition to be taken seriously! Especially if it costs as much as a main! Sorry to hear about your rotten experience; the nonchalant response and inaction of the staff upon hearing about the meat is disturbing. Must approach with caution, or not approach at all.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yups!
      I think it’s a long while more before salads are ever taken seriously. Oh yes, pretty rotten experience really.. as rotten as the ribs we had!

  5. Simple Person

    Woo hoo .. First time i c rebecca is on fire..
    I tasted chicago n i don’t c that it was so bad..
    I took d pork burger n the spare ribs..
    Pork burger was slightly below average … my comment – not moist n not juicy enuff….
    i find that the spare ribs is good .. maybe i order d original …. juicy n tender…
    to me it is finger licking good…..
    mayb luck was not on u that day.. LOL……

    1. rebeccasaw

      Good tht we tried the same thing. And we could agree that the pork burger could be better, and perhaps the ribs, like I said in my post – it’s probably an isolated case.
      Still, it left me with a really bad impression.
      On another note, yea..I was seriously pissed! Hehehehe… Fire! Roar!!!

    1. rebeccasaw

      I’m not as fussy as her for sure! But this one was really foul!

  6. ulric

    Wow…this was totally out from the left field…

    From ur photos it looks like totally run-of-the-mill food…can get cheaper n better at some cafes 🙂

    1. rebeccasaw

      Indeed lor!
      Even the food at the “old” new wing were cheaper and better!

  7. JoinMe

    Hi rebeccasaw
    Kindly be informed that this post has been reprinted on JoinMe.com.my, thanks. ^^
    P/S: We have put your name and link credit back to this article.

  8. Merryn

    I pass by this place almost every other day. Was so tempted to try them after reading so many rave reviews about them but i guess not now.. The salad is just plain sad.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yes, the salad was one. The ribs were so-so only (but my isolated case really scared me). The burger is not great also.

  9. Kelvin

    The rib isn’t consistent.
    That’s all I can say after going to the place more than 12 times since it opened.
    Out of that 12 times, 3 times I had it at perfect 10. Tender, juicy and well seasoned.
    Other times, lacked of taste due to not properly seasoned, too dry or both.
    But I was lucky as my experienced hadn’t been as bad as yours.
    Also, I noticed that when the waiter/waitress asked you how’s the food, I don’t think they expect negative response or trained to handle complains.

    1. Rebecca

      I think u described it perfectly!! Can’t argue with someone who’s been there 12 times.
      Yea, telling the waiter/waitress of any feedback is almost like tallking to a wall. God damn…

    1. rebeccasaw

      Yup read your review. That’s why i wanted to try, so many raving reviews online. I’m disappointed but my friend Kelvin goes there like every week. So he’s review is the best. And he has left his comment above.

  10. IcedNyior

    Pathetic looking salad. I think Chilis makes a mean version of the “asian” salad (im not sure if the still have it in their new menu tho).

    Ive been eyeing this place but havent gotten time nor company to go but your review puts me off a bit. Not so much the fact the meat was off, but the fact that staff didnt even bother to take it back to check. Dissapointing service imo

  11. Jared

    i hate it when i have to pay so much money and then go home to suffer for it. Looks like contaminated meat and have to be careful cos this is one way the worms get into our stomach and breed there.

    1. rebeccasaw

      I know right!
      Sigh. I think my friend Kelvin says it best. Since he’s such a regular. Don’t think I’ll go back again.
      Many ppl find the ribs good, but I think it must be cos they haven’t tasted better!

  12. jo cee

    love your blog! its exceptional because you show the prices of food and drinks! very informative for budget foodies like myself! thanks! 🙂

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hey jo cee!
      Thank you for your kind words 🙂 If u got any queries, please drop me a comment or email anytime! 🙂

  13. EatPigAndDieLikeOne

    Bullshit la Chicago staffs have to work like dogs serving dead pigs to you gluttons out there who only know how to eat and shit and eat. You might as well save that money to have your coffin ready made.

  14. CRH

    Good news Rebecca! CRH 1U permanently closed.

    Congratulations! !

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