Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster

Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster
51 Tampines Avenue 4
#01-102 Our Tampines Hub

930 Yishun Avenue 2
#B1-53 Northpoint

221 Boon Lay Place #01-170

7 Everton Park #01-01

Multiple Outlets Islandwide

http://www.tenderfresh.com.sg/

Meal Flat Lay

Halal-Certified Heartland Franchise With Decent Dishes

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 4
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $10 per person.

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Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster began in 1979 as a humble hawker Western food stall in Whitley Road Hawker Centre, then gradually expanded across Singapore over the years, mostly in heartland coffeeshops. Since I last wrote about them however, Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster has refreshed their concept, and are now offering a standalone casual dining experience, mostly located in shopping malls, over and above their coffeeshop stalls.

Ambience at Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster is usually modern casual, with plastic and wooden furniture closely packed within a brightly lit place. Long booths accomodate large groups, and the place can get rather noisy and bustling.

Service at Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster is completely self-service, with ordering, payment, and collection over the counter. There isn't much need to interact with staff, as the menu is helpfully detailed with attractive visuals, so engagement is mostly limited to transactional actions.

Food at Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster is Singaporean hawker western food, with a focus on chicken - fried, barbecued, or roasted. A central kitchen ensures quality is similar and consistent across the board, and taste is decent average. Portions are sized for individual dining. Prices are higher than most coffeeshop western stalls, budget about SGD $10 per person for a meal here.

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Tenderfresh Classic Facade

Golden Rooster Facade

A decent, straightforward Bandung (SGD $2) here. Slightly too sweet for my liking, even after I asked them to tone down the sugar, which I suppose they ignored.

Bandung (SGD $2)

The Smoked Duck Salad (SGD $7.50) has fresh, bright, crunchy lettuce, and juicy sweet cherry tomatoes, sprinkled with cubes of salty savoury smoked duck. Completed with a hard boiled egg and a drizzle of thousand island sauce. Decent salad to accompany a meal, I rather liked this.

Smoked Duck Salad (SGD $7.50)

The Cheese Fries (SGD $4.90) feature long thin shoestring fries, coated in a mix of mayonnaise, nacho cheese sauce, and salt. Underwhelming though, not worth ordering at all. Skip this.

Cheese Fries (SGD $4.90)

The Onion Blossom (SGD $6.90) has a large, whole white onion, coated in a salty savoury buttermilk batter, and deep-fried. Nicely crunchy on the outside, tender and sweet on the inside. Loved it.

Onion Blossom (SGD $6.90)

The Calamari Rings (SGD $6.90) are decent, having a golden batter with a light chew. Wish it was more crispy though. The squid rings have a bouncy texture, but are rather thin in size, with a light savoury sweet flavour. Average appetizer, could be better.

Calamari Rings (SGD $6.90)

Calamari Rings

The Wasabi Prawns (SGD $7.50) were surprisingly good. Fresh, meaty shrimp / prawns, with a lovely delicate sweet briny salty flavour, coated in a crisp batter, covered with a light wasabi mayonnaise, and served piping hot. So satisfiying, you get the juicy chew of the shrimp / prawns, then the slight sour tang of the sauce. Highly recommended!

Wasabi Prawns (SGD $7.50)

Wasabi Prawns

The Chicken Nuggets (SGD $4.90) are pretty decent in value, with 8 hot pieces of freshly fried chicken nuggets. Has a crisp exterior, with a tender interior, the juicy chicken nuggets meat being nicely sweet savoury salty in flavour. Served with a side of crisp, thin shoestring potato fries, golden brown and warm. Good snack.

Chicken Nuggets (SGD $4.90)

Chicken Nuggets

The Honey Glazed BBQ Spring Chicken (SGD $18.90) features a whole / half chicken, glazed with honey and slowly barbecued. Served with a side of coleslaw and fries. The chicken meat is tender and juicy, coming clean off the bone, with a delicate sweet savoury flavour. Love that the fat has mostly been rendered out during the barbecuing. Good!

Honey Glazed BBQ Spring Chicken (SGD $18.90)

The Signature Golden Fried Spring Chicken (SGD $18.90) features a whole / half chicken, coated in a buttermilk batter and quickly deep-fried. Served with a side of coleslaw and fries. The chicken meat is tender and juicy, coming clean off the bone, with a delicate savoury salty flavour. Love that the fat has mostly been rendered out during the frying. Good!

Signature Golden Fried Spring Chicken (SGD $18.90)

The French Herb Roasted Spring Chicken (SGD $10.90) features a whole / half chicken, roasted with French herbs like rosemary and thyme. Served with a side of coleslaw and fries. The chicken meat is tender and juicy, coming off the bone easily, and has a bold savoury herbal flavour. Worth ordering!

French Herb Roasted Spring Chicken (SGD $10.90)

The Chicken Wings Barbecued (SGD $1.40 per piece) have a juicy, tender texture to the chicken meat, with the barbecued skin having a nice chewy savoury smoky flavour. Good!

Chicken Wings Barbecued (SGD $1.40 per piece)

Chicken Wings Barbecued

The Chicken Wings Fried (SGD $1.40 per piece) have a juicy, tender texture to the chicken meat, with the fried skin having a lovely crisp savoury salty flavour. Good!

Chicken Wings Fried (SGD $1.40 per piece)

Chicken Wings Fried

The highlight of the Ayam Masak Merah Chicken Chop With Rice (SGD $8.90) was the slightly sour, slightly spicy masak merah / spicy tomato sauce. This lends a fiery kick to the meaty, juicy slab of boneless chicken thigh, which itself has a smoky savoury flavour. The rice and coleslaw were just decent, sidekicks to the star here.

Ayam Masak Merah Chicken Chop With Rice (SGD $8.90)

Ayam Masak Merah Chicken Chop With Rice

The Mee Goreng Pasta With Crispy Chicken (SGD $10.90) is an East meets West fusion dish that manages to be the best of no worlds. Lacking the rich, bright freshness of pure pasta, and missing the smoky savoury spicy flavours of real mee goreng, this is a middle-of-the-road approach, having a sweet sour savoury flavour that is both lacking and unusually weird tasting. Neither here nor there, this dish really frustrated me. It didn't help that the chicken had a thick batter, and little actual chicken meat. Horrible dish, I didn't finish it.

Mee Goreng Pasta With Crispy Chicken (SGD $10.90)

Mee Goreng Pasta With Crispy Chicken

The Happiness Plate (SGD $7.90) brings happiness, with its trio of juicy fried chicken, refreshing coleslaw, crisp shoestring fries, and smoky garlic buttered bread. The chicken has a lovely crisp skin that is savoury salty, while the chicken meat is juicy, succulent, savoury sweet, and comes easily off the bone. Has a good amount of fat, which is easily removed. So tasty. Highly recommended!

Happiness Plate (SGD $7.90)

Happiness Plate

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The following are some photos I took when dining at Tenderfresh Classic & Golden Rooster back in 2011. Camera phone technology wasn't as good as it is today, neither was food presentation a consideration for most hawkers back then.