Kenny Rogers - Surabaya

Posted by thefoodgrapher August 21, 2013

Kenny Rogers - Surabaya

The Famous Singer's Chicken Restaurant

Kenny Rogers Roaster - Grilled Chicken Rotisserie

Kenny Rogers Roaster adalah salah satu franchise terkenal dari Amerika Serikat, hasil kolaborasi musisi Kenny Rogers dan mantan gubernur Kentucky John Y Brown Jr yang pernah memiliki KFC pada tahun 1964 sampai 1971. Menu andalannya adalah ayam panggang rotisserie.

Tahun 2012 lalu cabang terakhir di Amerika Serikat ditutup, dan saat ini Kenny Rogers Roaster hanya beroperasi di sekitar Asia

Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken restaurants that was founded by country musician Kenny Rogers and former Kentucky governor John Y. Brown, Jr., who had also owned Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. The menu was originally centered on wood-fired rotisserie chicken. After closing all of its US operations, Kenny Rogers Roasters now operates only in Asia. The last US based location was in Ontario Mills, California, which closed in 2012.

Kenny Rogers

Saat ini Kenny Rogers Roaster dimiliki perusahaan Malaysia, Berjaya Group, dan masih cukup sukses mengembangkan jaringan restorannya di Asia Tenggara, walaupun sudah tidak memiliki cabang lagi di negara asalnya, Amerika Serikat.

Right Now Kenny Rogers Roaster is owned by Malaysian based company, Berjaya Group, and still thriving in South East Asia, despite having no more restaurant in it's home country, United States.

Kenny Rogers Roaster - Muffins

Kenny Rogers Roaster - Side Dishes

Kenny Rogers Roaster - Chicken Rotisserie

Rasa makanan di sini mengikuti lidah barat, di mana bumbu yang digunakan relatif sedikit dan rempahnya tidak 'nendang' seperti ayam panggang Indonesia. Cara masak begini sebetulnya ada baiknya, untuk menonjolkan rasa asli ayam, sebuah langkah yang baik andai kualitas bahan dan kesegerannya memang istimewa, kebetulan untuk kunjungan kali ini, saya rasa kualitasnya biasa saja. Untuk penggemar rasa khas asia bisa menambahkan sendiri sambal dan saus tomat, serta merica.

Saya sendiri lebih suka dengan makanan yang spicy, jadi tidak terlalu ngefans dengan jenis masakan di sini. Side dishnya sendiri juga minim rasa yang kuat, mirip dengan rasa makanan diner di AS. Untuk side dishnya saya masih lebih suka dibandingkan dengan ayamnya sendiri, karena lumayan susah mencari jenis side dish serupa di Surabaya. Mash Potatoes, Mac & Cheese dan Pasta nya cukup menggoda.
Untuk hidangan manisnya, ada muffin Kenny Rogers yang cukup terkenal, saya sempat melihat ada customer yang komplain di FB Kenny Rogers saat muffin ini habis

The taste of the food here seems to be suitable with western cuisine standards, particularly USA, which is kinda bland for Asian. Indonesian usually like their grilled chicken spicy and savory, putting little emphasize on the original chicken taste, which is the opposite route of the US counterparts, where they usually prefer the gamy taste of meat, rather than covering it up with seasonings.

Being an Asian, I do like my chicken a bit on the spicy side, so I must say that I'm not a big fan of Kenny's chicken. The Side dish though is another matter. Though similarly a bit bland, I still like it quite much. There's not many restaurant serving up a complete US Diner style Sides like Kenny Rogers Roaster. I like it all, the Mash Potatoes, Mac & Cheese and Pasta.
Another crowd favorite is the muffin, I just saw a person complaining about muffins not being available in one of Kenny's chain, which is a testament of how much people loves it :)