Morganfield's

Mall Food: a phrase that N likes to use to describe overpriced food with no quality or thought into producing whatsoever. Mall food tends to be mass-produced, flavourless and gimmicky. They can be reproduced in your own home kitchen for a fraction of what you pay. To be fair, some of our regular food haunts are located in malls, which from a business perspective, is advantageous to the establishment. Malls are hubs where large volumes of people tend to gather, and where most walk-in business can be made. Their proximity to public transport systems such as the MRT and train services contribute to their accessibility and convenience of getting there.

So, when Mum and Dad chose Morganfield's as a lunch venue on Labour Day, I was less than enthusiastic. Before this visit, I had come twice before to Morganfield's and can only remember it to be sub-par at best. The vegetables were over buttered during my first visit, and the price point did not justify the quality of the food we paid for. Despite this, I agreed to go along with my parents' decision.

For a Public Holiday lunch service, the restaurant was unusually quiet. There were about four other tables besides ours in the relatively large restaurant. Personally, this is one of the red flags I've learnt to recognise when eating out with N over the years. Not wanting to spoil my experience even before trying the food, I pushed aside any negative thoughts and focused on making conversation with my parents. Soon after we were seated, my parents and I placed our orders. Dad had the wagyu beef (obviously), Mum the fish and chips and I ordered a half rack of black pepper baby back ribs.

The food portions in general were large. Each protein came with a serving of carbohydrate (mash for me, baked potato for dad and fries for mum) and vegetables (frozen vegetables for dad and I, and coleslaw for mum). My ribs were basted in a sweet/savoury black pepper sauce and were tender. Ribs take a long time to cook and can become dry if not done well. Morganfield's does decent ribs that remain moist and tender in the barbecue. I would be surprised if they fail at delivering even this to customers, especially when the ribs are touted to be their specialty dish. I also liked that they seasoned the potatoes adequately, and didn't use instant mash like most other establishments. The frozen vegetables were thankfully not buttered, but it would have been a step-up to serve the side of vegetables in a more creative fashion (e.g a vegetable gratin?).

The wagyu ribeye steak that Dad ordered was on point. It had a good marbling and was seasoned well. Served with herb butter, the same frozen vegetables as with the ribs, and a baked potato, Dad seemed to really enjoy his choice.

I didn't get a picture of Mum's fish and chips, but she was served such a large portion that we helped finish her fries after she tapped out. No obvious complaints from her as far as the fish is concerned.

Would I return to Morganfield's again? Probably not by choice, and even more so if I had to pay. Although the food was better than I expected, I'd rather spend my money to support restaurants that put more heart and soul and creativity into their menu.