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2014-02-18
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Red and loud, that was my first impression of Just Acia, which offers Asian dishes from the "Best of Asia" at "great value". While the decor is attention grabbing, I find the environment, with the somewhat casual canteen-style seating arrangements, to be suitable for groups of friends and family to have a nice, chatty meal together.There were not much people when we went on a weekend mid-afternoon, so we were seated pretty quickly by the friendly staff and given a piece of order form for our ord
Red and loud, that was my first impression of Just Acia, which offers Asian dishes from the "Best of Asia" at "great value". While the decor is attention grabbing, I find the environment, with the somewhat casual canteen-style seating arrangements, to be suitable for groups of friends and family to have a nice, chatty meal together.
There were not much people when we went on a weekend mid-afternoon, so we were seated pretty quickly by the friendly staff and given a piece of order form for our orders. Basically, you just write the quantity of the items you want on the order form and bring it up to the counter to place your order and pay for it.
The food offering here is a fusion of Asian influences, with most of it being Chinese, Korean, Japanese and some Thai. There are set meals featuring the standard Asian staple, the rice, as well as noodle like the Japanese udon or ramen. Alternatively, there are also Western-style pasta sets for something a little more diverse, like the Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Chicken Teriyaki set. We decided to get the Steamed Dumpling Rice Set for ourselves. This was a late lunch and we were hungry, so we also ordered a few sides before our main sets came.
Samosa ($0.90 for 4) First dish to come to our table. And yes, it's only $0.90 for 4 pieces! The skin is quite crispy with a crunch to it and the curry-tasting flavour is aromatic but not overwhelming.
Deep Fried Chicken (Small) ($3.10)A rather tasty treat, the chicken is very crispy with a slightly powdery batter on the skin. The meat is quite juicy and I like that the oil has been well-drained and it didn't come across as too oily.
Steamed Dumpling Set ($6.30)There is really a mix of Asia in this set, with a set of dumplings, a bowl of white rice, miso soup, and a side of kimchi. The dumplings are decent but the skin, though slightly chewy, is a tad too fragile. It breaks apart easily upon picking up, but the dumplings are quite soupy on the inside. We also like the miso soup, which is full flavoured and not diluted like some soup I've tasted elsewhere.
The coffee, soft drinks and ice cream that come with the set are free flow. There are two types of ice cream here. The soft serve ice cream is nothing to scream about as it is not very smooth and feels a little like finely crushed ice. But the ice cream from the tubs, with a variety of flavours like cookies and cream, peppermint and strawberry, fare slightly better with its creamy texture. For better tasting beverage and dessert, feel free to mix both soft drink and ice cream together to make your own ice cream float!
At just $6.30 for the dumpling set meal with free flow drinks and ice cream, it is really quite a steal. While the main set and the free flow ice cream are more than filling enough for the average diner, we find that it is also worth spending a little more to get extra sides like the tasty Deep Fried Chicken to go with the meal (maybe cut back on the ice cream a little to make space for the sides, although we still went for two helpings of ice cream each!). Even with sides, each of us paid less than $10.00 for a complete meal here. And despite sharing the sides among us, we still left the place feeling very bloated! Service is also not bad here. The staff are friendly and quite helpful with queries. While paying at the counter, we asked if the samosa contained any meat like beef. The staff wasn't sure and we thought that was the end of it, but he took the effort to go and check with the kitchen for us, which we appreciated. And they don't even charge service charge here!
All in all, the food is decent enough for the price (and certainly very filling). If you are undecided on the type of cuisine to have for lunch or dinner, you can consider Just Acia to get a mix of Asia on your plate!
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