After months of being locked away thanks to Covid-19, it was liked being released from prison (No I have never been arrested / jailed) and the only person that seemed to have enjoyed staying indoors was my wife Sareeka. 

The downside of the curfew being lifted is that there is quite a lot of people out on the streets being careless about their own safety. That being said, we had our face masks on as we headed to @thecheesecakefactoryme for a lunch date. The restaurant has taken the upmost precautions to ensure the safety of their customers by closing off every second table to maintain social distancing norms. Everyone wears a mask but one thing that hasn’t changed is their exceptional service and warmth. 

Bikash (@senbikash) was our server for the day and he made us feel at home with his friendly attitude. I already knew what to go for since this was not my first visit to @cheesecakefactory.

For starters, we ordered the ‘Chicken Pot Stickers’ (SR. 56) and ‘Strawberry & Passion Fruit Mojitos’ (SR. 29 each). I knew what the wife would like and since ‘CHICKEN IS LIFE’, I recommended she try the ‘Chicken Madeira’ (SR. 101) while I went for the ‘Hibachi Steak’ (SR. 121) which had my attention. The menu is now a scannable QR code which will direct you to a link where you can order your meal. 

‘The Chicken Pot Stickers’ are basically Pan fried dumplings served with soy ginger sesame sauce. The chicken had soaked up the lovely flavour from the soy but it felt a little dry and did remind me of the Gyoza’s that Wagamama serves. 

The ‘Chicken Madeira’ is a best seller and for good reason. The chicken breasts are sautéed and topped with fresh asparagus and melted mozzarella cheese and probably baked. The asparagus retains it’s crunch and it is further topped with mushrooms, madeira sauce and served with their creamy mashed potatoes (Allow the Madeira sauce to mix in with the mashed potatoes and you will absolutely enjoy that combination). 

‘Hibachi Steak’ hit all the right notes in terms of seasoning and quantity. Lovely chunks of medium rare hanger steak topped with shiitake mushrooms, onions, served with Wasabi mashed potatoes served on a bed of bean sprouts and served with a side of ‘Tempura Asparagus’. The meat was tendered to perfection and combined with the heat of the wasabi mashed potatoes and the dressing, it didn’t take more than 5 minutes to wipe my plate clean. These mushrooms are meant to be eaten with meat and I loved the subtle heat of the wasabi that they had infused the mashed potatoes with. The asparagus could have been crunchier but that’s just my preference.

No trip to ‘Cheesecake Factory’ is complete without enjoying their cheesecakes and I ordered my favourite ‘Mango Key Lime Cheesecake’ which was overkill but a much needed pampering session after staying indoors for the longest time imaginable.

Thanks you Cheesecake Factory was yet another wonderful experience and a special shoutout to Bikash.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/zkkbzpvPN5djubJF8