The restaurant was not very crowded when we visited on a Wednesday evening. My friend wanted to gain Mileslife rewards points so we ended up here. If not, Cali also has tie-ups with Eating or the Entertainer App which you can use to get some discounts.

From the kitchen, expect quintessential West Coast flavours like the smoky singe of barbecue, zingy and crunchy salads, and generously-filled sandwiches. It’s a menu full of rib-sticking American favourites. Think a mountain of barbecued baby back ribs dripping in a sweet-and-tangy glaze, grilled chicken with a serving of delicious honey mustard, chewy pasta resting under a heaving mound of 12-hour slow-cooked beef ragout, and pizzas that you can customise with your favourite toppings. Keeping in step with California’s Asian obsession, there’s also a small section of Asian plates, like Lamb Satay coated in thick peanut sauce, tender Teriyaki Fish, and a curried Chicken Tikka Makhanwala served on fluffy pilaf.  The Baby Spinach Salad ($12) was not very appetising. We felt that there was too much oil drizzled on the salad and the spinach leaves did not have a crunchy texture. The nuts scattered on the salad had a slightly rancid taste.

The Herbed Roasted Chicken ($28) was served after we finished the salad. Apparently, it is free range chicken breast with ricotta cheese and sun dried tomato stuffing, topped with crabmeat remoulade, sauteed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The chicken tasted alright and there was nothing to rave about for the flavours. It just felt quite simple and mundane. 

As for me, I ordered the Baby Back Rib ($32) which was the chef’s recommendation. It was basically baby back ribs with bbq sauce and served with fries. The bbq sauce was quite salty. The meat for the ribs was really tender so I enjoyed this dish. However, they gave too much fries such that I could not finish. Overall, this dish is one of the better ones on the menu.

Besides the typical American pizza, pasta and main courses, there is also a section in the menu dedicated to Asian cuisine. I have always been sceptical by the label ‘Asian’ because it is the largest continent in the world and not all countries can be represented equally. Here at Cali, they have salmon teriyaki, chicken tikka, butter paneer masala, sweet and sour chicken. As you can see, most of the dishes served under the Asian section are Indian, Chinese or Japanese.

Overall, I would not come back to Cali. The service was not fantastic, the staff could not see us waving our hands to place order because the line of sight was blocked by a pillar which is a design flaw in the restaurant. They were fast to clear our plates when we were done though. The quality of food was average, especially for one that is linked to a hotel. Expect to spend around $30 a person on average here as the cost of each dish is also on the high side. Perhaps this place would cater to hotel guests who are lazy to go somewhere else for a meal, but other than that it does not draw in the crowds due to the lacklustre offering.