An Enlightened Lunch At Tony Roma's

"Eh! Bukan Tony Roma's tu tak halal ke?", asked an office-mate of mine while we were at the pantry making drinks one day.

The topic was arranging for a monthly department lunch and she was told Tony Roma's is not a halal outlet by someone.

There is a difference between a non-halal outlet and an outlet that doesn't receive a halal certification, I told her. An outlet can't get a halal certification if it sells alcohol for drinks even though the food itself has no alcohol mixed in it.

Anyway, I also got similar reaction by my non-muslims friends who queried over why they see tudung clad patrons in Chili's or TGIF yet some of us muslims would not step in such outlet.

I don't profess to be an expert in these matter and for me, it is up to individuals to decide themselves whether they can or cannot patronise any outlet.

But I did pose the question over to Tony Roma's people.
I don't know if anyone remember this but I used this statement from TR as a reassurance that my food is indeed halal. 

It's just that there's no JAKIM halal mark slapped on my food.

It somehow reminded me of the non-halal imported turkey case yonks ago. It's non-halal because it wasn't slaughtered the correct way, yet some people think we cannot even touch the turkey carcass. I have one colleague who still insisted that she sees the halal certificate from the hotel I order our yearly office Xmas turkey. I respect her for that although I usually am just OK with verbal reassurance. 

But of course, everyone has their own prerogative in this matter and mine is that, I'm OK with Tony Roma's. Don't lynch me over my opinion. That's all.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to have lunch at Tony Roma's in eCurve and had the opportunity to have a long chat with the people in charge who were very obliging in answering my queries.

One interesting fact to note from our conversation was; while the training for the chain's chefs is done at the HQ in Florida, Malaysia has now become the training centre for chefs from Islamic countries such as Pakistan. That's good progress for the chain in my opinion.

Anyways, I was at Tony Roma's to have lunch with a few friends and that's what we did.

Enjoy our lunch.

And enjoy, we certainly did.

Trying out their new menu that is available from Sep 7th to Oct 18th, 2015; we decided to order from the new menu and shared the dishes.
The Virgin Romaritas. All of them.
Clockwise from top : Romarita, Strawberry Romarita, Mango Romarita and Wild Berry Romarita. I had Wild Berry and it was delish!
 Bread, of course. A must too. I love 'em.
 Salmon with shrimp in lemon sauce. It was nice, but I wanted meat. Hahaha
Beef short-rib with cranberry demi-glace. The short rib is heavenly and I totally love, love, love the mashed potatoes as the sides.
Filet mignon with fried onion rings & demi-glace.

It was cooked to perfection; medium rare and everyone agreed that the onion rings was great.
Another plate of filet mignon, with rice and vege.
The highlight for a meal at Tony Roma's for me is their lamb ribs. I love their lamb ribs more than their beef ribs.

And to make it more special, I was told that only the KL outlets offer lamb ribs. So... if you're in KL and heading to Tony Roma's, why not have lamb ribs?

I have the perfect excuse to enjoy them too. I just ran a full marathon a couple of days before my visit here. ^^
Om nom nom.
The carnovires had eaten most of the protein and left the grains at this time. Hahaha

We ended our meal with some coffee and feeling fully satisfied.

Can't wait for another makan trip to Tony Roma's soon, with my family.

My two boys are already complaining over the fact that I didn't include them for lunch that time. Bwahaha.

Comments

  1. Nom nom nom. I am drooling over the ribs. What a feast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lamb ribs is highly recommended. Try it! :)

      Delete
  2. loves the Filet mignon and lamb ribs...jom makan again with our boys.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum Yum Yum!!! I love what you just posted. I must really try that mash potato next time since you like, like, like, like it so so so so much! ....wakakakaka

    I have always respected your stance since years ago, over all these food issues esp when one is in overseas. I never forgot all your explanations as I had several extremists in my office before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha

      But yes, the mashed potatoes is really nice.

      About food especially when one is abroad... I always am in the opinion that knowledge is the best decision maker.

      Talk to the chef or the staff. Understand the ingredients.

      Sometimes, it is hard to explain about our religious restriction and I did fall back to "I am allergic to" excuses. Hahaha

      Delete
  4. huh??!! Mak Glam always goes to TR wat.. and I'm actually shocked when I read the first half of this post that some claim it's not halal or not to their accepted halal level.. Mak Glam is always my window to the Islamic world which I have little knowledge of, hihihi ^^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's no 'paksaan' in Islam.
      So if ppl say it's not acceptable to them, fine.
      But I have my views too.

      Delete
  5. I'm not going to comment on the food, Mak Glam shows them often mah.. but Ah Boy like Columbus found America, so rarely we see Mak Glam so "static" in photos, haha!! aiyoh, no looking at camera, baju suit lengkap, no V sign, mulut tutup and the elegant way she's holding the fork and knife!!! so fine lady lah~ :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha

      Makan with other people so elegant sikit lah! :P

      Delete
    2. Amboiiiiiii!! Mulut semut karamel ini baru telan 5kg gula.
      Wakakaka

      Delete
    3. So long he never use that caramel sweetness dy. Hahaha

      Delete
  6. I haven't been to Tony Romas. The food looks good and the ribs look like quite a big portion!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Maybe your office mate is like me. I always thought Tony Roma's have oinks in their food menu and hence is not halal. Turns out their ribs are beef ribs and lamb ribs huh...

    I guess I am used to different level of strictness when it comes to Muslims. Some are like Mak Glam, some are more... careful. You know I used to travel to the US with Malay colleagues, I've seen some of them refuse to eat any meat except in restaurants with the logo, or else they will only eat seafood. I've also seen some who try to encourage the careful ones by saying "belasah je, apa nak takut? ini lembu juga, and you know how good US rib eye is? hang tak makan, menyesal hang nanti!". Of course I just shut up when I see them, but sometimes it is quite amusing too to see their exchange of words.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tony Roma's in Malaysia doesn't serve pork ribs like its counterparts elsewhere.

      It's been that way since day 1, just like THIF n Chili's have been here in Malaysia.

      Delete
  8. I love dining there, love their big portion meal, worth every penny!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very pretty mocktails & the food sure looks yummy! Haven't been to the one in SG for ages........ xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good points there. Some are like what RG said ...more strict.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thing is, who are we to judge also.

      Everyone has their views and opinions.

      And I also just want to share my views.

      Delete
  11. I love their steak, their ribs and most of all...you will think me weird but i love their fried mushroom...hahahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why on earth would I think you weird over your favourite food? Hahaha

      Delete
  12. I am searching for clarification about halal status of Tony Roma, and I am pleased to know that they truly have centre for Muslim Chefs. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts