spongefox visits carl’s jr burger @ 1u
When we were at VivoCity in Singapore, we passed by a Carl’s Jr outlet. Captivated by the glitzy advertisement of big burgers with fresh lettuce, tomatoes and awesomely massive chunks of beef patty, I wanted to have a go at the burger. But Pinky reminded me that we just had lunch, so unfortunately I had to give it a miss 
The buzz was that Carl’s Jr reopened an outlet in Malaysia. Apparently they had one in the bird park (there is a bird park in KL?!) but it closed down. The new outlet was to be in 1 Utama, where everything is under one roof and it’s a pain to walk around because it’s so freakin’ huge that you lose track of what you want and begin to wander aimlessly bla bla bla bla bla.
Spongefox wanted to have dinner there. Since I already had dinner, I chose to accompany him because I wanted to see for myself this Carl’s Jr burger thing. I’d heard that it was not cheap, so I wanted to find out how much, and if it would be worth it, etc.
Spongefox can’t decide on his dinner
Erm, I was a tad surprised at the prices. Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but it is surprising to see burgers being sold at RM15++ to RM 25++ in a place very much resembling a fast food outlet. Later at home I read up a bit on Carl’s Jr, and they want you to know that their burgers are of the same quality as in a sit-down restaurant. Okay, but American Chili’s burgers are still slightly cheaper lor… damn you currency exchange rate.
Spongefox’s meal
I think Spongefox had the Guacamole Bacon something or the other, plus a large drink, plus a serving of fries with cheese and (Mexican) chili. Cost him about RM30 with a bit of change, I think? He said it was worth it though, as he is a Carl’s Jr fan, and the outlet in 1U eliminates a reason to go to Singapore…
Samuel L. Jackson would have said, “Uhmmmm, this is a tasty burger!”
Unfortunately (for me), porker bacon is not available in the Carl’s Jr in Malaysia. You would have to make do with chicky bacon, and I doubt it would be as nice because the porker by default has more fat than the chicky, hence making the porker bacon more delicious by the Chinese standards. Spongefox loved it though.
Why is Mexican chili not spicy?
The fries wasn’t so good. Cold and… lifeless? You know like how McD fries, when served piping hot is like so full of life and you bite into them and they taste so good and all that? Oh well. Adjectives fail me atm. On the feedback form, Spongefox suggested that they do something about their freedom fries.
Spongefox wolfs down RM25 at one go!
But overall, Spongefox was happy. Good, we like a happy Spongefox! At one point he exclaimed, “if my life was a corny song, right now it would be Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction.”
Uh-uh. By the way, Ramly burgers are only RM3 each, semua taruh.
Tags: carl's_jr
Back in Abu Dhabi and all over the UAE, Carl’s jr is known as Hardee’s. The reason? Beats me?
Even since watching Harold & Kumar, I’ve been dying for White Castle? Remember those back in teh early 90s?
Hardees and Carls Jr used to be totally different chains, different menus. In 1997 Carls Jr bought Hardees and started merging the product lines. Hardees has been in the Gulf for a long time - I remember going there in Saudi Arabia way before the merger. So they probably kept the Hardees name to maintain brand continuity. Conversely in southeast Asia Carls Jr had more of a foothold.
In addition to the one in the KL Bird Park, back in the 1990s there used to be a Carls Jr on Jalan Tun Perak near Masjid Jamek, which is a McDs now.
While the whole price to value ratio was rather skewered, teh Carl’s Jr burger was still awesome.
On the flip-side, in terms of price to value awesomeness burgers, nothing beats the burgers at Williams.
Ramly burgers would be slightly more awesome if they were bigger. Although the Ramly burgers that I had in Penang were fairly larger than your standard issue Ramly burgers.
Yeah I had Hardee’s version quite a few times in Saudi. It’s not so expensive there though, similar price to McD/KFC.
I’ll have to check it out, if teh fox says it’s good I have trust.
La Cucaracha: I heard there was a White Castle in KL before? Then it closed down? Not sure how true it was anyway.. I only came to KL circa 2000…
rajulkabir: how long have you been here already?!
spongefox: need to try it myself one day, sans fries
ST: it’s next to the Chicken Rice shop!
Hey Suanie,
All those rumors of White Castle sightings are true. I vividly remember one in Petaling Street area, just opposite Kota Raya way back in the mid 90s.
mmmmm…I’m can almost visualize the steam coming out of their signature square buns…a miniatur-ish version of conventional burger.
And to think that it wasn’t even on my list of fav fast foods until i saw the Harold & Kumar Goes to White Castle dvd!
white castle really existed for a short period in KL. Like La Cucaracha said, it’s opposite Kota Raya. If i am not mistaken, it’s at where petaling street’s Nando is at right now. cant remember how it tasted though.
spongefox rox!