Note: As of January 2021, Mad for Garlic is no longer part of the Love Dining programme.
Mad for Garlic review: Amex Love Dining benefits
This post is a review of ‘Mad for Garlic’ – a Korean-Italian restaurant where every item on the menu has garlic in it. A dream for garlic lovers, the restaurant supposedly enjoyed success in Korea, where there are over 40 outlets. In Singapore, there is only one restaurant, and that’s in Suntc city.
I’ve loved the American Express Love Dining programme since forever – it gives me up to 50% off when I dine at participating restaurants. Among all the credit cards that have the love dining benefits, my favourite is the Platinum Charge card, thanks to the multiple lifestyle benefits it brings.
And Mad for Garlic participates in Love Dining. Score!
Restaurant and Menu
On first glace, the restaurant feels mysterious: dark earth tones in the front, a long wine display shelf on the side, and a seating area in tones of gray and black.
But after a while… the place started to feel quite dark. The pictures i post here are edited and ‘lighted’ up for my readers to see the restaurant layout clearly, but in reality, the lights were super dim and visiting on a bad day would just add to the gloominess.
The menu somewhat resembled an Italian restaurant – think selections of pasta and pizza were available. But the korean elements of rice and beef options also came through.
Check out their website for the full menu.
Food: Fried Rice and Steak
Not being terribly hungry, we decided to order one main each and got a garlic fried rice and garlic steak.
Garlicholic Rice
The aroma of fried garlic was obvious from afar – one can literally smell fried garlic and a few seconds later the garlicky rice appeared. Fried with garlic pickles, asparagus, tiny shrimp, anchovies and topped with some dried chilli – fried rice lovers can appreciate its fragrance. Taken hot, it was enjoyable.
Duck Leg Confit
And then – we heard a sizzle…
Garlic Steak
Sent to us on a hotplate of smokey goodness, behold the Garlic Steak – resting on a bed of onions, topped with generous amounts of both chopped and sliced garlic, and accompanied by mushrooms.
Garlic Steak – served on a sizzling hot plate
One could taste the steak – it wasn’t super tender but it wasn’t too tough either. Generally texture was alright. The garlic flavour was almost overpowering; the meat felt like it was literally infused with garlic. Some may hate it, but being garlic lovers we embraced this with glee.
More Garlic than Steak
A word on Customer Service
I rarely say this for a restaurant that participates under the amex love dining programme, but we were genuinely disappointed.
The food wasn’t fantastic, but dishes were good / above average restaurant quality. However the service quality mega sucked. When we went the restaurant was almost empty, and the server looked annoyed to serve us, and it felt like she was impatient and generally irritated that she had to take our order. Questions were not really answered – and we were given a ‘whatever you need to know is on the menu’ kind of attitude.
At first we considered ordering dessert, but after given the cold and dismissive service, the mood was soured and we decided against it. In fact, we immediately went to ANOTHER cafe in Suntec City to snack – Hoshino Coffee, and were so glad that we made the switch.
Usually, I am a big fan of the American Express Love Dining programme. Honestly, I can vouch that, to date, EVERY participating restaurant I’ve visited has either given either positive or fantastic experiences. As far as Love Dining goes, this is truly an exception rather than the norm.
Would I return to Mad for Garlic? Overall, while the menu is unique, unfortunately, the service was a turn off. Guess I’m not that mad for garlic after all.
AMEX love dining (50% off)
In this Mad for Garlic review, as an holder of the American Express Platinum Charge Card, under the Love Dining Benefits, (minimum order of two qualifying mains for two adults) I received the following dining discounts:
- Garlicholic Rice – $23.00
- Garlic Steak – $42.00
– Sub Total: $65.00
– 50% for Amex Love Dining, minus – $32.50
– 7% GST: $2.73
– 10% Service Charge: $6.50
– Total cost: $41.75 for two adults
Note: Mad for Garlic also participates in the Entertainer App by HSBC. While I chose to use Love Dining this round, I could have used The Entertainer App if i wished. Users of the App can use an alternative promotion of getting 1-for-1 mains instead.
Alternative promotion – 1-for-1 mains with Entertainer App
Want some Love Dining?
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Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for credit card applications may be subject to change by American Express. Readers are recommended to check with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.
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