California Pizza Kitchen II

I was always curious about the interesting pastas on offer at California Pizza Kitchen, and since the peking duck pizza did not turn out to be much of a disaster (in fact, it was quite good actually), I decided to give Daphne a little pasta treat.

Kung Pao Spaghetti: 4/5


"A classic Kung Pao sauce with garlic, green onions, peanuts and HOT red chilies. Also available with chicken, shrimp or chicken & shrimp."

Well, trust the Americans to think a few dried chillies would be that "HOT". It came out a mix between sweet and spicy, and I have to admit that I enjoyed this dish more than I expected. The first couple of forkfuls needed a little getting used to, but it was fine from there on. The nuts added a bit of crunch to the noodles, even if I chose to pick them out as mini-appetisers for myself. Go ahead and add some cheese to the spaghetti, or even chilli flakes if this is not spicy enough for you. Some may feel this is a little too sweet for them but I think it's tasty and just nice. The chicken was very tender while the prawns were succulent.

Jambalaya: 3.75/5


"Blackened chicken and shrimp in a spicy Jambalaya sauce with crawfish, Andouille sausage and Tasso ham served on linguini fini and topped with fresh green onions."

I initially wanted to order this but couldn't because of the pork sausages and ham. Daphne said this wasn't too bad as well, in fact she prefers this to mine. It's a very filing portion and she couldn't finish it, so ladies might want to order one to share especially if they are on a carbo watch. The linguine was slightly drier/harder than my spaghetti though, so you might like to ask for a change of pasta to spaghetti.

Service
Contrary to online forums slamming the service here, I think service was actually very good! The staff were very polite and obliging, and I do believe California Pizza Kitchen has hired extra pairs of hands to deal with the dinnertime crowds on weekends. They did take quite a while returning me my bill though, but given the crowd it's quite understandable.

Price
$20.90 for the kung pao spaghetti (chicken and shrimp)
$22.90 for the jambalaya pasta

*Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
Forum the Shopping Mall 583 Orchard Road, #01-42
Mall is located next to the Hilton Hotel.

Additional Comment
For their menu, click here.