Food Blog | Valentine's Dinner at Ros Marino Johor
Transferring some content from my other blog today, and this is just a post detailing my experience from Valentine’s Day 2017 at Ros Marino.
Ros Marino is an Italian restaurant serving pastas, pizzas and all sorts of desserts. Today’s post will just be talking aboutme and my girlfriend’s experience at Ros Marino last year, and just telling you how we (well, I guess maybe just me) felt about it. (DISCLAIMER: THIS IS OLD CONTENT FROM MY PREVIOUS BLOG, JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE USEFUL)
Is it Halal?
Ros Marino’s owners claim the food is halal (dishes can come with halal certificate - I did this after some searching online), but as with a lot of places like Ros Marino, it serves alcohol.
Where it Is
It is on a busy row of shops in Taman Pelangi. Most noticeable landmark to find that particular row of shops would be CIMB Bank. It is on the left of CIMB, a few rows up and just before An Mour cafe, which is another pretty famous Johor-based cafe.
Address: 65, Jalan Kuning 2, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor
Operating Hours:
Everyday: 12-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm (Closed on Monday)
Phone Number: +60 7-333 9033
Booking Proccess
I won't normally make a meal over just anything, but I thought this was worth mentioning. The booking process was slightly annoying if you asked me. I called them initially for a booking - they said they would WhatsApp me the menu before proceeding. Called them two days later and mentioned I haven't gotten the menu yet - this time I insisted they reserve a table for me first (thank goodness I did) - and they said that they would send me the set menu. Their response was a little vague, so I had my concerns.
They proceeded to NOT send me the set menu.
They then called on the day itself to clarify once more. Safe to say, I was still a little salty from not having seen the menu yet.
What it Costs
Not sure about their actual menu prices, but this was true for Valentine’s Day 2017.
One comparison I can make would be to Eight at Lido Hill (Danga Bay area), and boy was this cheaper - and more filling as well. I guess the experience of Eight at Lido Hill can't really be matched anywhere in Johor (closed now), but I definitely feel I got more value from Ros Marino. The total came up to RM 257.20 - we didn't really have wine or anything, so I guess that might have affected the price slightly.
How it Tastes
As always with the special occasion that is Valentine's Day, they've only got set menus. The appetizer included a salad and this pasta that was absolutely delicious. Then for the main you had a choice of chicken or a lamb chop kinda dish. Have to admit - one thing that I'm happy they did was: keep me full.
Not only did I feel that the food matched the occasion, as well as tasted good, it did one thing that a lot of restaurants have failed to do on more special occasions - make me full. The dessert was this lovely chocolate cake with this pseudo-ice cream/whipped cream hybrid. Overall, the food was good.
I would say the service was wonderful. Despite doing the typical Malaysian 2 round of dinner for Valentine's Day, the service was very helpful, and more importantly for me, they felt like they wanted to offer you a happy night on that special occasion, and those kinds of little things are what I really appreciate in a restaurant. Furthermore, they throw in a rose for your significant other to top the night off. In all, I was very happy with the service that Ros Marino provided.
Overall Rating
7.5/10. A VERY safe place to take your partner for Valentine’s Day. (at least from experience) They put in a lot of effort to make your night enjoyable, and the food tastes great as well. Probably my personal best pick in JB for Valentine’s Day as of right now.