California Pizza Kitchen, Forum Shopping Mall Orchard Road

Friday night. Time for another sumptuous meal. Hehe. So like our usual dilemma, we didn't know what we wanted to eat.We were considering of going to Holland Village to avail of the 1-for-1 voucher at an Italian restaurant but we didn't know how to get there from Orchard road.

So I dug deep into my tummy to think what was I craving for...

Tortilla Chips! So all the way from Plaza Singapura we walked to the other end of Orchard to CPK. It was probably a good 2 km walk - perfect to work up an appetite. (As if I have to.. haha)


Now CPK has been one of my favorites even way back in Manila. Whenever my budget permits, I would go to CPK for a reward meal. I even celebrated my first bday in Singapore in CPK. Naturally, I was expecting another glorious meal.

For starters, we ordered "Spinach Artichoke Dip" ($13.90) - Menu says "Served hot with blue & white corn tortilla chips".

This is where everything started to go downhill. The tortilla chips were NOT hot at all. Not even warm. In fact, they tasted old. So old it wasn't crispy at all. I really wanted to complain. But it's not really my habit to complain when I eat out. If it won't kill me, I'll just let it go. Besides, I really didn't want to spoil my mood, even if my appetite was already spoiled.

Next we had "The Original BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad" ($16.90) - Chopped lettuce, black beans, sweet corn, jicama, cilantro, basil, crispy corn tortilla strips and Monterey Jack cheese tossed together in our herb ranch dressing. Topped with chopped BBQ chicken breast, diced tomatoes and green onions.

I'm glad this tasted great - as always. A good save from the pathetic tortillas. My only comment was the mediocre piece of lime. C'mon, if you're going to give me a piece of lime that's smaller than my thumb, might as well not give it to me at all. Seriously, when I squeezed it, there were more seeds that came out than lime juice.

sorry. forgot the digicam again.

Lastly, we had "Original BBQ Chicken Pizza" ($19.90) - CPK's most popular pizza, introduced in their restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1985. Barbecue sauce, smoked Gouda and Mozzarella cheeses, BBQ Chicken, sliced red onions and cilantro.

Now I specifically remember saying we want it Neapolitan style - thin crust and crispy. I don't know how the waiter or the cook can miss a word such as "Neapolitan", if I said "crispy" or "thin" they probably could have missed it. But Neapolitan?!

In short, our pizza was soft and soggy. I should have just eaten gardenia bread with toppings if i wanted a soggy pizza.

All in all, I was pissed. Of all the times I ate at CPK, they decided to screw up this one time. The one time where I will feature them in my blog for the very first time.

Eversince I've been reading Waiter Rant (look for the link in "My Reads"), I've been extra careful not to piss off a waiter. Unless you want spit on your food. Plus, I always make it a point to say "Please" and "Thank You" - which I always do anyways.

One thing I am proud of is that my parents taught me to always "Smile", say "Please" and "Thank You", on top of knowing how to say "I'm Sorry".

But no apologies to CPK. Here is my disappointed rating:

Ambiance - 3.5
Service - 1.5
Food - 1.5
Presentation - 3
Value for Money - 2.5
OVERALL - 2.4

ADDRESS#01-42, 583 Orchard Road, Forum The Shopping Mall
RESERVATIONS 68360110/63399883(delivery)

"Live, Love & Eat!"