The Alshaya Food Tour: Texas Road House; Overseas Weekend feasts with VITAGEN LESS SUGAR

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As some of you might know, I've recently ventured to the Middle East and back. In a research collaborative with the Alshaya Group, Dubai in a big to scrutinise a couple of major International food groups and assess it's viability in the South East Asian Market. You can read more about my unbiased verdicts here and here.

Sounds like a noble affair doesn't it? In actual fact, the non-stop whining and dining had tumultuous effects on the poor ole' tummy. Not to sound like an old prude, but efficient digestion has never been one of my strong suit. Thank goodness for VITAGEN LESS SUGAR that came to the rescue after four days of heavy feasting.

VITAGEN is available in a LESS SUGAR version, specially formulated for consumers who are healthy conscious and concerned about their sugar intake. Faced with a weekend of round-the-clock gourmandizing, the last thing you would want to do is to ingest hidden sugars while consuming your digestive aid. Hence, VITAGEN LESS SUGAR comes in useful, chock full of the goodness of probiotic cultures (good bacteria) that are able to withstand the assault of the stomach's gastric juices and arrive at the intestines, still fine and dandy, to fight the harmful bacteria. Besides having the goodness of probiotic cultures intact, VITAGEN LESS SUGAR is the only cultured milk drink in Singapore that is high in prebiotic fibre- containing a whopping 7.5g dietary fibre, constituting 28% of our healthy daily dosage.

With the calamity in my stomach dealt with, I now trod to my last dining destination with guns ablazing.


Our last joint for the Alshaya Food Tour to be on the chopping block is Texas Roadhouse. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, the Texas style joint (as name states) is an American chain restaurant that specializes in steaks. The pleasures of dining in are motley; if you enjoy hearing the word 'Legendary', you'll revel in the fact that this word (which so happens to be TRH's slogan) is repeated to you 8 times during the walk-in introduction by the amicable staff handling your table - talk about subliminal influence; then there are the collection of stuffed animal heads and memorabilia that hang on the walls, a portrait of Tim Mcgraw making me swoon; lastly, the unpredictably large portioned dishes that are both rich and varied.

For a start, we dived in straight for the Combo Appetizer (AED 59) to get the best of all worlds. Picking from a choice of 5, we derived a medley of potato skins, buffalo wings and rattlesnake bites. There is a wild thrill to be had from the rattlesnack bites, it's gold cornmeal crusted exterior hiding waves of pleasures from melted cheese and bits of fiery jalapenos within. The same can't be said about the potato skins that were seemingly a tad tough and dry despite a healthy amount of cheddar cheese and beef bacon flung over the top. Nothing that a little sour cream wouldn't solve. Then there was the buffalo wings that were good, albeit a tad lacklustre in the piquancy of its dressing, the non-deliverance of its spicy memorandum, not sitting well with me - that blue cheese dressing though was pretty spot on.

If you've got room for additional carbs, do give the sweet bread rolls a try. Baked in-house at intervals throughout the day to guarantee freshness, these warm pillowy buns are endowed with a slight sweet note, further enhanced by a good generous dash of whipped cinnamon butter on the side. A good alternative to the cut-and-dried crusty bread rolls and salted butter we usually find only at fine-dining establishments.





Some other, more interesting starters at Texas Roadhouse include the Texas Red Chili (AED 17) and the Chicken Tortilla Soup (AED 17). The former has a extremely alluring balance of homemade chile paste and beef; and get this, NO BEANS, yes, so I uncovered to my delight that a true-blue classic Texas chili doesn't include beans or tomatoes. So there's no need for me exhaust my efforts ploughing through every spoonful removing those goddamm beans - what a relief. The latter, the Chicken Tortilla Soup has a depth and complexity that is a bit foreign to my palate, chicken broth thickened with a slurry of cornmeal and then chock full of crispy tortilla chips, the soup is loaded with surprises from spiced chicken to mixed greens and tomatoes; things that I couldn't come to appreciate after bumping into a non-agreeable obstacle that is the congealed texture of the broth.

A slab of TRH's Award Winning Beef Ribs (AED 79) is plonked down on the table and instantly cameras are whipped out to document this ultimate carnivore trophy that is the succulent symbol of the Texas obsession with beef. Smothered in their homemade barbeque sauce, the tender cut yields with little resistance to the fork; the fat and collagen running evenly through the slab, producing that juicy, silken almost gelatinous like texture. This my friends, should be eaten with no-holds barred; you can wipe the sticky barbeque sauce and the delirious smile off your face later. That can wait.

Or get acquainted with the section of the menu "Burgers", my obsession that can't be silenced, manifested itself in the form of  a towering stack termed as the Jalapeno Burger (AED 55) at the table. Stuffed with, you guessed it, FRIED Jalapeno above melted cheese and a juicy patty, the looks of happy disbelief as I raced to grab all the battered and crisp fried spicy pickles, says it all. TRH, you should consider introducing this as a standalone appetiser! You've got my vote.


The T-Rex in me cried out for a Bone in ribeye. As much as the photo isn’t quite the best representation for the humongous size of the ribeye, I believe that my humble descriptions would boost its reputation sky high. 565g in weight, this hefty monster packs quite a punch, delivering a piece of meat that’s got a good amount of salt and pepper before hitting the searing hot grill. Despite its undulating thickness throughout, the steak was done an acceptable medium rare (as requested) thru and thru. Marking the prowess of the line cooks as they slave over licking flames.

Beef Brisket
Another dish that I never fail to order is the Beef Brisket (AED 77). Slow cooked till agonisingly tender, these silvers of proteins melts in the mouth with ease. Each slice dissolving into a stockpile of fats and juices enhanced by a mildly salted congealed pan gravy. I would have wanted the brisket with a bit of a char on the outside for a slight contrasting texture, but that would be asking too much is it?

Big Ol' Brownie
When it comes to matters of the sweet heart, abort mission on the Big Ol’ Brownie (AED 28), ours assuming cardboard status upon landing at the table. Instead, set your sights on the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae (AED 28), akin to an inside-out ice cream sandwich, here, two giant scoops of vanilla ice cream engulf a humongous chocolate chip cookie. Work up a bit of sweat as you fiddle your way thru the thick cookie, flecked with a light touch of sea salt to balance out the overly sweet concoction.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae
Now that the gluttonous feast was over, it’s back to sleep off the debauchery in Singapore. And what better morning beverage to wake up to, than VITAGEN Less Sugar.  It’s prebiotic fibre helping to support the growth of good bacteria in the intestines for better digestion. Each pack of VITAGEN Less Sugar costs $3.05/pack and is available at all leading hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol kiosks, provision shops and minimarts. To ease your life, VITAGEN offers home delivery service, call 6282 5949 to have VITAGEN delivered directly in to your doorstep.




Skipping the weekend feast is not an option, maintaining your gut health for it is

For the majority of us Singaporeans, giving up on weekend feastings is out of the question, instead, keep your digestive system healthy with VITAGEN LESS SUGAR – be good to your gut and take one after your meals!

Instagram, tweet or upload your feast photos with #sgweekendfeast and #vitagensg for a chance to dine with Chefs Sam and Forest Leong at an exclusive BBQ! You also get a chance to win weekly and daily prizes such as holidays abroad, private yoga or pilates classes and more!

Contest starts on the 31st Aug all the way through to 4th Oct ‘2015 so hurry on over to www.sgweekendfeast.com for more information.

Texas Roadhouse
The Dubai Mall
Unit LG112-2 Lower Ground Level
Dubai, UAE

Operating Hours:
Daily: 10 30am – 1100pm

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