Last week, I was driving past Aman Suria when I noticed an American eatery full of diners. I was shocked to see such a crowd, however, when I mentioned the name of the place to Yobi, and ZiYan, we went into a war over its name ahaha. I thought it was called America on a Plate but the whole name was actually, Betty’s Midwest Kitchen: America on a Plate. I looked around the internet and the reviews were pretty positive with a particular appetizer grabbing the headlines for its catchy name and unique appearance. In addition, Betty’s are one of the very few restaurants in town that brings you an extensive menu of pork dishes. Driven by good reviews and massive crowds, it did not take long before mom and I decided to give this place a try. And please note, booking is compulsory from what I noticed.
That’s love. PIG PIG PIG PIG PIG. An American Diet. Now where are the cornfields?
When I reached Betty’s, I took out my DSLR, tinkered with the settings and POWER DOWN. Out of battery mate. But no worries, IPhone to the rescue, but not so much really. The phone camera has its issues. =.=! We started of the meal with the soup of the week which is the sausage and ham soup.
A very chunky soup @ RM8. Quite hearty but it was not mind blowing or exceptional to the taste buds. I felt that the soup ought to be cooked longer to make it taste better. Also, it felt quite watery! Nonetheless, it was a large serve of soup that was shared among my dad, mom, little darling and I. And it was very filling.
To satisfy my curiosity, I had to order what was known as the “Dog Food”. Catchy as it sounds, the name was not the only factor that was going to get the name of this dish stuck in our heads. The appearance and presentation of the food itself was quite controversial seeing how the dish used to serve it look somewhat like a dog bowl even though it probably isn’t, and instead is a baking dish.
The Dog Food @ RM9 was a serve of chips drenched in gravy, served with cheese. Oven baked. There are problems with every aspect of this appetizer. After I was done with this, it was hard for me to understand the hype surrounding this dish. It barely fits the description one of a kind as some people mentioned. In fact, this was one of my usual uni food except UWA does it a lot better minus the cheese. The sauce was a let down in particular. This appetizer was not one that brings out your appetite for the main, but instead, it chooses to drown out the mood with a whole load of blend and creamy carbs. Not one for me definitely. Will remember the look on my parents faces forever ahaha. And please don’t get critical on older people, my dad loves his French fries and my mom goes for more western food than most people do.
Letting bygones be bygones, we were ready for the mains. We ordered three to share and they came out pretty quickly. All was served within 15 minutes which was an amazing figure, considering the crowd that was present. Oh and from here on, I will let the pictures show the weakness and lies of the IPhone’s capability!@#!
This was the pork chop with country gravy. I liked the tenderness of the pork chops. The mash was a tad disappointing and I could not quite understand the “onion relish”. It was nothing more than sautéed onions. The mesh could have been more buttery and I would have welcomed any added taste. Cheese, onions, garlic, anything really. This dish was liked the best but can be too creamy if eaten alone.
After that, I decided to try what was supposed to be one of Betty’s in-house specialty. The Classical Meatloaf.
Described as “A classical Midwest-style pork meatloaf. This hearty, wholesome and tasty dish is served with our house mash potato, peas, onion relish and our very own beer-based dip.” At first, I thought the sauce, presumably barbecue that used to glazed the top of the meat loaf, was too sweet. It remained that way for awhile. Scooping some sautéed onions and it did not taste too bad when paired. The mash together with the meatloaf, onions and sauce was pretty good. Not kick ass but at least a 6/10. Would have liked the loaf to be a little firmer.
And the last main out was the fish and chips. A surprising order, but as the whole family was not too keen on having all pork on the dining table, something different was ordered.
I personally liked this quite a bit for its fish was well coated and the wedges were nicely done with a fairly tasty “house Tartar “ which had a hint of mustard. Despite all the praises I would give this dish, the homemade salsa left me confused. Neither did it look like one or would it have tasted like one. Then again, it is incorrect to expected all salsas to look like the Mexican ones. Foods are always varied. Two things I find unjust about the food is the beer batter and Tartar sauce. The delicious beer aroma was nowhere to be smelt like the ones in Perth and the Tartar sauce felt more of a Mayonnaise mix. No pickles or whatsoever. @,@
With heaps of mash left untouched, we decided to waste our spaces no more and to finish the night with a dessert. And to do that, we ordered an apply crumble!
In all honesty, it was OK. Having it once is fine but I would not have seconds. I liked the ice cream, but hated the crumble. It tasted like the factory made ones which I always eat, heated in the micro first. I feel that there is always a need for an apple crumble, at the very least, to have its top bit slightly browned and brittle for that added crunch. Betty’s left it to the Cornflakes to do the job. By sprinkling little bits of cornflake bits all over, there was suddenly magical crunchiness which I appreciate very little. But how can I blame them? I was served this dish approximately 45 seconds after ordering it. It was not warm enough for one to even appreciate how this dish would normally go so very well with scoops of vanilla ice cream. Disappointingly OK. And if its not too much to ask, I would like to ask for some cinnamon which I so rarely every do so.
At the end of the meal, there were so many things that I enjoyed and hated. If there are things I could change, I would definitely have not ordered the dessert and the Dogfood appetizer. Maybe I would have ordered the ribs instead! Another horrible but truthful fact was how the country sauce was overused. I am not 100 per cent sure whether the sauce used in the meatloaf mash, pork chop and Dogfood are the same but they definitely tasted so and ever more so in terms of appearance. Overall, the food at Betty’s is not one that I find worth queuing if you do not have a booking. However, it would not be fair to have it written of your books of “to trys” because I was unable to try the other dishes which other bloggers liked such as the succulent and finger licking good pork ribs as they have described.
WenY
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