Claudia experience, share & review

Nando? Nandos? Nando’s!!! Finally Nando’s opened their very first outlet here in Singapore! The chicken in me heard the calling by this Legendary Chicken and submitted a photo of Yuniko and me for “Nando’s Peri-fect Combo Contest!”. Thanks to relatives and friends who ‘liked’ our adorable combo pic, I won myself a table for 4 at Nando’s before their official open on 9 May 2010 (that’s TODAY!).

As part of their on-the-job training, Nando’s ran a week of preview for selected and lucky fans from their facebook fan page. So I was one of the lucky many who got to try the Peri-Peri Chicken! All the hype on Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken, is it really that good? Let me break it down for you… *coughs*

First, here’s something interesting we received at the door…

Don’t these resemble some currency? LOL!

Since its a training for their staff, everything have got to be simulated as real as possible. Hence though we dine for free, we’ve to call for the bill and pay with these play money! So fun!

The Uniqueness at Nando’s

Looking at the menu, you’ll find that the choices aren’t many, and are mostly… what else? Chicken lah! But the beauty is to match the type of flavors to go with your fresh grilled chicken. My personal favorites are the Lemon & Herb and Extra Hot Peri-Peri!

The flavors on the chicken wasn’t enough for me, I had to top them up with the sauces on our table! That’s the other uniqueness at Nando’s, you get to have as much sauces as you want! My tummy is feeling the heat still as I typed this post. That’s how much Extra Hot Peri-Peri I had! *flaming*

Getting Your Tummy Ready

To kick off the Peri-Peri meal, we layered our tummy with the Peri (Chicken) Soup with Garlic Bread.

My first look at it and I wasn’t impressed. Was engrossed going through the menu for our main orders and almost forgot about the soup! But after the first sip, I couldn’t stop! The slight Peri taste added in this usual looking creamy soup makes it oh-so-yummy! And the garlic bread was toasted just right and crispy!

Rating this soup 3.9 out of 5.

The Chicken Meals

Since we had $150 to spend, we gave all types of available chicken a try. Hold on to your scroll mouse and here we go…

1/2 Chicken with 2 sidelines topped with the Mild Peri sauce. The serving is good for 2 to share. Chicken was fresh and tender. Sauce was good. The only sad part was the meat from the chicken breast wasn’t quite flavored. That’s where the free-flow sauces on your table is for!

Rating this 3.2 out of 5.

3 Chicken Wings with Chips topped with Lemon & Herb sauce. These are good! Wings were well marinated and the sauce gave it a tangy taste.

Rating for the wings… 4.3 out of 5.

Grilled Chicken Strips, Mediterran Rice with Coleslaw topped with the Extra Hot Peri sauce! Loves the grilled chicken, but no love for the rice. Rice would have been better with more butter and flavor.

Rating for this dish as a whole… 3 out of 5. (For the grilled chicken alone… 3.5 out of 5)

Chicken Kebab with 2 Sidelines topped with Mild Peri sauce. Since its a kebab I was expected it to be slightly more grilled/ roasted. Chicken meat was aright, but I love the mushroom stuck in the center of the skew. Wish the whole stick was mushrooms!

Rating for this 3.3 out of 5.

Choice for Sidelines

Adding all the 4 main chicken meals we had, there were 4 sidelines for us. So out of the list of about 12 or 14 sidelines, we had…

1. Old style chips (normal chips without the peri)
2. Grilled Vegetables
3. 3 Beans Salda
4. Lime Leave Potato Salad

On top of these, we also tried the Peri Corn. Not knowing which flavor to take, we each ordered one flavor! So we had Lemon & Herb Peri Corn, Mild Peri Corn and Extra Hot Peri Corn! *gulps*

My favorites out of the above sidelines are…

Extra Hot Peri Corn – this burned me lips out! After checking with the friendly lady from Nando’s, found out that the Extra Hot Peri on the corn is slightly different from the one on the meat or in the bottle. This was super shiok! I WILL order this each time I’m there for sure!

Rating it 5 out of 5! I <3 corn!

Lime Leave Potato Salad – love the lime creamy dressing! If I’m not wrong, it’s call the Lime and Cilantro dressing. I can just have this sideline as my main dish for lunch. With the Extra Hot Peri Corn of course!

Rate this 4.6 out of 5.

I need to get some of these for office! Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce! *licks*

And remember this!…

Ho! Ha! Hee!

Nando’s Peri-Peri Chicken
200 Victoria Street
Bugis Junction, #01-85 to 87
http://www.nandos.com.sg