Empire State: Looks Familiar?

Up that never ending escalator of Iluma, this will probably be the 1st restaurant to catch your eye. With its decor of cheerful colours, American theme and free snacks while queuing, wait a minute, doesn't it sound like the style of another restaurant?



Yes, Empire state is a sister outlet of New York New York, under the same management but with a different name, colour scheme and slightly tweaked menu. Honestly, I don't really like NYNY, average stuffs served in a hip setting . I could never understand the long queue outside its Citylink outlet after eating there twice. However, it was a sleepy weekday and there wasn't any queue outside this one, so my girlfriend urged me to give it just one more chance.


Seafood Ring ($6.90)

Okay it was my fault for misreading this. I thought they were selling calamari rings so I was surprised to find processed fish paste beneath the crumbs. If you ignore the fact that you could probably get this at any fairprice supermarket and deep fried it yourself, it really ain't that bad.


Squid Ink Pasta ($14.90)

Calamari? Checked. Spaghetti? Checked. Black as, black? Checked. Squid ink taste? No way. This was pan-fried so dryly and heavy in garlic taste that you could blindfold me, feed me this and I will bet its some Chinese chef attempting fusion with pasta in a wok. Credits to the large portion though, they sure are generous with the carbo load.


Chicago Dog ($10.90)

My girlfriend was fairly disappointed when they told her that none of the sandwich options were available, a fact which she complained should have been labelled on the browsing menu before customers walk in. In the end she had to settled for this, a jumbo chicken sausage sprinkled with onions, pickles and mustard cheese sauce. We felt this was overpriced as its not really as large as it seemed to be. It tasted alright though and once again they fill you up with large amount of fries.

Bill for two was $38.45 after taxes. Well to be fair, it wasn't that bad, really. The settings and booth seats are great for gatherings, menu is extensive enough (I hope they have sort out the sandwich problem already) to cater for everyone. But if you are looking for a great tasting meal at reasonable price, oh well. As for me, no more chances.