Brickland Western

Brickland Western might be a name that sounds pretty new for most, but this name would probably ring a bell with those residing in Choa Chu Kang. A concept by the folks behind Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles (PGFN), Brickland Western was a concept that was exclusively available at the now-defunct Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles’ outlet at Keat Hong Community Club just right across from Lot One Shoppers’ Mall; Brickland Western previously being a concept which was only serving up breakfast previously at the aforementioned location. Both Brickland Western and Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles had since been relocated, making their move from an independent shop unit at Keat Hong Community Club to the Kopitiam Corner food court at Choa Chu Kang Centre — Choa Chu Kang Centre being the building conveniently located beside Lot One Shoppers’ Mall and Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange. Brickland Western occupies a shop unit which is located right beside Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles, while Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles is in turn situated in between Brickland Western and the outlet of Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang there. With this move, Brickland Western now offers a wider variety of western fare; its focus now being on “Old School Singaporean Style Western & Fried Chicken”. The menu now comprises of sections dedicated to All-Day Breakfast, Old School Western, Sizzling Hotplate, BW Fried Chicken, BW Pasta and BW Sides. One can also opt for a variety of other side dishes which Pandan Gardens Fishball Noodles have to offer directly at Brickland Western as well.

Having been craving for western cuisine that is served up on a hotplate for quite a while, we decided to go for the Hotplate Chicken Chop after skimming through the menu at Brickland Western. Falling under the Sizzling Hotplate section of the menu, all hotplate items come with elements such as the choice of protein that one had decided to opt for, baked beans, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes and the patron’s choice of protein. The menu also described the hotplate items to also come with 1x Garlic Bread, though the garlic bread itself was nowhere to be seen with the Hotplate Chicken Chop that was served to us. Collecting our order after the buzzer had rang, the Hotplate Chicken Chop comes sizzling hot as we carried it back to our table — the sauces still bubbling from beneath. One thing we really liked about the Hotplate Chicken Chop is how they seemed to have ensured that the hotplate is still hot, keeping the the food served atop of it warm; this is as opposed to how some outfits tend to use the hotplate simply as dining ware, where the functional use of the hotplate is simply disregarded. We felt that the entire Hotplate Chicken Chop was fairly pedestrian otherwise here; the grilled chicken itself was reasonably tender and suitably brined for some flavour; the brown sauce, though savoury, was mixed into the sauce of the baked beans at certain portions — this also made the brown sauce feel particularly bland at certain areas where that has occured. They were pretty generous with the mashed potatoes here; a rather big scoop that also came with brown sauce drizzled over it — this was also fairly ok, with the mashed potatoes feeling a tad dry and dense, though not too bothersome in general. Amongst the three remaining elements, we enjoyed the onions the most — some of the onions were partially caramelised from being cooked on the hotplate, which provided some sweetness to the dish. The mixed vegetables also seems to be prepared with a dash of butter; a welcomed move considering how we seen not much of a fan of these usually — certainly made it quite palatable.

Having tried the Hotplate Chicken Chop from Brickland Western, one thing is definitely certain about Brickland Western — they do not seem to be that sort of establishment that attempts to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they do seem to happy to stay relatable, serving up old-school western cuisine like one would expect to find in western cuisine stalls served up in coffeeshops and hawker centres around the neighbourhood. While we only have had the Hotplate Chicken Chop during our visit to Brickland Western which we found to be inadequate to accurate paint the entire experience of the other dishes that they have to offer, we found the Hotplate Chicken Chop to be rather average at best — though due credit has still got to be given with how they did serve up the dish with the hotplate still hot; a detail that seems to be ignored quite often at establishments serving up hotplate dishes of the late. Also worth a mention would be how the western fare at Brickland Western does come with pretty big portions — the scoop of mashed potatoes being particularly generous; definitely would work well for those whom have larger appetites all into big-plate western fare. Otherwise, we would like to think that Brickland Western might be better with the other dishes that they serve up such as the BW Fried Chicken that they also serve up; the All-Day Breakfast range also being one that is rarely found in establishments of its type. Prices of the Western fare at Brickland Western is rather typical to that of other stalls serving up western cuisine in food courts, coffeeshops and hawker centres; the lowest-priced, individually-sized main dishes starts from $7.80; those featuring either Lamb or Ribeye Steak being the more expensive items coming just under $15. We wouldn’t really recommend making an out-of-the-way visit to Brickland Western; this is pretty much an establishment for the folks residing around the area — a stall serving decent Western cuisine with a touch of their own dedicated to the residents in this part of the island.