Nando’s might not be very well known in the US, but it has certainly made a name for itself in Malaysia. Famed for their roast chicken – South African-style –  the restaurant has a Mozambican and Portuguese vibe.

H and I got to sample their buffet after an event at IOI City Mall Putrajaya, so.. tuck in we did. 🙂

Famed for their flame-grilled chicken, each table is furnished with bottles of their signature sauces – Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot and Extra Hot Peri-Peri – which, as their name suggests, get increasingly spicy. The peri-peri sauce which is popular in former Portuguese-African colonies like Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa, is made from ingredients like crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, basil, oregano and tarragon. This gives it a distinctively salty and sour taste.

Since our event booked the restaurant for a buffet-style lunch, we also got to try a few other items on the menu. I had a side of wings to go with my chicken thigh, grilled vegetables, coleslaw and a chicken pitta wrap.

The food left me disappointed because I’ve had Nando’s elsewhere and it was pretty good. The chicken thigh was not cooked well on the inside, while the wings were wayyy too salty. The grilled veges were oily, limp and bitter, while the pitta was soggy (I think it had been lying around for awhile on the buffet line).

On the flipside, the mushroom soup wasn’t seasoned well enough and super watery. You know a place’s quality is in big trouble when the best item out of all of the above is their garlic bread. .__.

Maybe it’s because they had prepared all the buffet food in advance as opposed to a normal walk-in customer that will have their food prepped fresh-to-order, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back here again. Give it a try at other outlets though, I know they serve decent chicken.

 

Nando’s IOI City Mall Putrajaya

LG 53 & 55, Lower Ground Floor,

IOI City Mall, 62502, Putrajaya

Open daily: 10am – 10pm