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Motormouth From Ipoh

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Pizza Hut Trumped Shakey's .... BIG time !!!

Not too long ago, Shakey's Pizza was opened in Tesco Pengkalan, in Pasir Puteh. Memories of happy childhood times at Shakey's at BB Plaza in KL (which has since, ceased operation ...) flooded me the moment I saw the sign belonging to Shakey's Pizza, indicating "Opening Soon" over at Tesco Pengkalan. Yippee! Least we have another option, other than the giant conglomerate (THE Hut) dominating the pizza scene in Ipoh ....
And so we went for lunch, one fine day .....


Watery (dunno) chicken or mushroom soup .....
We should've heeded the hint before entering. Peak lunch hour, with value-for-money sets being offered, yet the place was near empty. Solitude's fine, for a quiet lunch, yet eating in a fast food settlement without the clanking of cutleries, and rapid flow of patrons, food and staff zooming in and out, plus a boisterous crowd, just ain't gonna cut it.
The soft & soggy Parmesan Bread Sticks .....
As there were four of us (KYT, TallGal, Mr Z and yours truly), it was a no-brainer on how to order. Much alike The Hut's set meals, there are sets for one, for two, four and six (I think, couldn't be bothered to check, really). We had the set for four, which came with the complimentary (compulsory's more like it!) soups, bread sticks, soft drinks and of course, pizzas.
Pizza #1

Pizza #2

The soup was tasteless, diluted, and starchy. The bread sticks were soft, and when dipped into the cold soup (yup, it was FAR from piping hot!), became soggy. And the soft drinks were diluted and tasted nothing like what they're supposed to. REALLY! Suspected they add water, or lots of ice into them. Hmm, but can the pizzas save the day?
Obviously, judging from the pics above, no. HELL NO !! The cold pizzas, with an unidentifiable cheese topping (it was hard, tasteless, and tasted artificial), and sparse ingredients (even the chicken sausage and filament sticks were horrible), successfully made the pizzas = INedible. It was THAT bad, I did not bother to jot down the names, nor keep the receipts.
But the meal roughly costed us RM50+, and we vowed never to return. Whatever happened to Shakey's Pizza? I still remember way back then, in KL, the Shakey's was so good, with generous portions of ingredients, oozing cheese, and different flavours from Pizza Hut. Sigh .....
The Other Pizza Experience


Good things are meant to be shared? Canned chicken soup, but warm, and satisfying


Good service, & attentive staff bringing the all the condiments you'd probably need

Fresh from the oven - Parmesan bread sticks


Hawaiian Supreme


Hawaiian Tuna

And the CNY special : Golden Fortune Cheese Crowns (or something ....)
Tried and tested, among all the Pizza Hut outlets in Ipoh, the one in Ipoh Garden South serves the BEST pizzas among them. Just brace yourself for the wait on certain days, as they're short-staffed at times.
Hot pizzas, with crispy crusts, and melted, oozing mozzarella cheese, as well as all the parmesan cheese powder and Tabasco sauce you could ever want, I felt right at home here.
Of course, Ipoh ONLY has Pizza Hut, and the tragic Shakey's to satiate our pizza cravings. This, in terms of fast food and affordability, not including those pizzas from other restaurants. We do not have Canadian Pizza, or even Domino's, for that matter. Pathetic, no?
(P/S : Gratitude & accolades to KYT+Mr Z+FCOE for the FREE lunch !!!)
So, do you have any pizza experience(s) to share?

15 comments:

minchow said...

Eeeekss! Plastercine pizza! I have fond memories of Shakey's RM12 or thereabouts buffets, does anyone else remember that? I remember going ballistic for the potato skins. These days I don't trust fast food chains for anything... if they can mess up a Coke, they're bound to mess everything else up!

Anonymous said...

OMG, even the soft drink is so diluted!I wont go for another visit again..:(

Anonymous said...

My New Year wish for you would be for a Domino's to spring up in your vicinity soon. :D

worldwindows said...

I prefers Pizzahut or pizza from any genuine Ristorante. And only certain Pizzahut as quality not consistent. I like the one in IOI Mall the most.

ahlock said...

Shakey's pizza did live up to its name, shaky review, shaky customer satisfactions, shaky value for money...

As for The Hut in Ipoh Garden South serving the best pizza among the three outlets, you wanna know why? Its a few stone throw away from my home, thats why!

Bua ha ha....

Anonymous said...

hihi... :)

ooooo... reli tat bad ar?? luckily it's not near my place.. so, i wont purposely go Pengkalan juz for their *YUCKY* PIZZA... hehe

Anonymous said...

The Shakey's in Leisure Mall has closed... :)

J2Kfm said...

550ml jar of faith : I have yet to try their buffet, but I guess I wont ever visit again.

TallGal : yeah, never tasted such bad fizzy drinks b4.

Life for Beginners : know what? I've been waiting for a Burger King and Domino's for so long, it doesnt matter liao ... haha.

worldwindows : I agree with you!

Ah Lock : you're stayin somewhere there? ahaha... sure sing K a lot eh?

WonderMouth : go lah, try once, then c what's your Wonderful opinion. :)

jason : closed down as well?!! wow. they're on a bad streak

aisookacantik said...

Hey guys!!! I like IZZI Pizza!!! check out their pizza and pasta! They have 3 outlets in Klang Valley, Bukit Bintang, Jusco AU2, Keramat and Uptown. Log on to www.izzicompany.com/my. You wouldn't want to miss their promotions!!! What I can say about Izzi is "GREAT FOOD, GREAT SERVICE and GREAT AMBIANCE" !!!

Selba said...

Wooohoooo... I LOVE pizza hut!!!

J2Kfm said...

Aliyah : I've went to Izzi over at Bkt Bintang, for their 75% promotion, came out REALLY cheap! :)
read that over here : http://j2kfm.blogspot.com/2008/08/izzi-restaurant-citibank-65-discount.html

Selba : hows the one in Indon different?

Selba said...

Well, I don't think we have the parmesan bread sticks, pizza #2 and as for the ketchup sauce and sambal sauce, the brand is different! Our is made in Indonesia, hehehe..

Selba said...

oh.. and forgot to mention, the pizza hut in indonesia doesn't serve parmesan cheese anymore to sprinkle on the pizza, I think the reason is because cheese is quite expensive these days.

J2Kfm said...

Selba : sambal?!!! sure not?! that's cool! :) so you guys stil stick with garlic bread? that's even better.

Johnny Ong said...

news on Domino's and Shakey's - http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_9_39/ai_n12414381/