Saizeriya is something reminiscent of a Country Mana X Jack's Place. This unassuming outlet has everything pseudo Japanese-Western about it, from the bowing waitress a good 20 meters from the entrance greeting you to the way it claims the cuisine as their own. You're guaranteed that Hamburg Steak and Spaghetti dominates the menu.

From what I hear, Saizeriya is one of those ventures that rose from the dumps. Apparently the business almost went bust a while back, when the brainchild decided to slash the prices off everything on the menu by 70%. And the rest as they say, is history. Suffice to say, the prices stayed and the customers thronged. I'm not entirely sure how much of this is true, but I'd confidently say that this place is cheap. In a good way.

I won't go into detail about each item we ordered, but what I particularly enjoyed was the Ribs Steak. Never mind what it's called, especially if it doesn't involve any part of rib in it. It was basically a rib eye that was moist, tender and came medium just as ordered.

The smoked duck was an interesting choice. Thin slices of smoked duck drizzled with Japanese-type Worcestershire sauce and a slice of lemon squeezy. Together, it curiously becomes a little firework of flavours. Also worthy of mention is the Scallop Mushroom Spaghetti. Served in the more unconventional way of a potent soup base, the flavours balance out nice and light when put together. The other dishes were pretty mediocre, but easily worth the price, with the portions being quite decent.

So the next time you crave something pseudo Western, skip the food court and you'll be laughing.