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2012-01-02
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I thought I should cool down for a few days before writing a review of my brunch experience at this restaurant on Christmas Eve. We took our relatives from Canada there as a treat and decided to give this restaurant a try instead of going to our usual brunch places. What a mistake.In short, it was a pathetically terrible experience from the time of booking to the moment we left the restaurant. (1) The FoodThe brunch consisted of a buffet as appetizer, a main chosen from a short menu and a "Chr
In short, it was a pathetically terrible experience from the time of booking to the moment we left the restaurant.
(1) The Food
The brunch consisted of a buffet as appetizer, a main chosen from a short menu and a "Christmas dessert' (meaning no choice).
(a) Appetizer buffet
The buffet was laid out in two what looked like bar areas. The selection was limited and the quality was so-so overall and much lower than buffets of the same price range:
- salad - various leaves and dressings - OK
- hummus and babaghanoush - the dips were OK but the pita bread that went with them were tough as cardboard
- Japanese fish balls salad - 狮子狗沙律 - OK - but in a high-end restaurant, seriously....!
- caviar and egg bushcetta - dry and tasteless
- parma ham, salmon, oysters - OK
The style and quality of the food could only pass for a $200 buffet.
(b) Mains
Three of us ordered "US Prime Rib", according to the menu.
We all asked for the beef to be medium-well. We got one over cooked, one medium rare, and the other bleeding. When I told a waitress about the last one, without asking for it being recooked, the response was "if you had told us earlier we would have given you a replacement". No apology. I told her that we didn't need the dish, it was just a comment. The waitress simply walked off.
From our collective years of eating prime ribs, we were sure that what we were given was NOT prime rub but some other parts of the cow. Perhaps it was the rump.
(c) Dessert
There was no choices for dessert - it was a "Christmas Special" - a chocolate mousse dessert that was not memorable.
(2) The Staff
This was the key cause of complaint.
(a) First Contact
When I called to make a booking, the staff who picked up the phone pretended not to understand Cantonese and kept saying "can I help you", in "English", when she was clearly not a native speaker of English. Neo-Colonialism Not to mention that she took down my email address incorrectly and I didn't get the booking form until hours later. Yes, they needed a completed booking form and a deposit to secure a booking.
(b) The Table
It was a party of five people. We were shown a table set up for eight. The table was made up of two small tables put together with the result that two people would have their plates straddling two tables. There was no indication from the staff that they would change the setting so that the five of us could be accommodated comfortably, even thought there was plenty of space to do that. We had to ask for the unnecessary cutlery to be removed.
(c) Kids Option
I vaguely remembered that when I booked the table I was told that there was a kids option - as we were going to have a nine-year-old in our party. I asked one of the staff about this when I arrived, the response was "only for under 3", looking very annoyed with "why ask" all over his face. OK......
(d) Ordering the main
Within 45 minutes of our arrival (note this was meant to be a three-hour brunch), we were asked to order the mains. We told them we needed a minute to look at the menu. The response from the staff was "please hurry up, the food needs time to be cooked".
OK......
(d) Throughout the meal
We had at least two staff standing close to our table who were chatting in Cantonese frequently punctuated by foul language. It was very audible as it was a small restaurant.
(e) And this was bordering on funny
The staff responsible for shaving the ham (1) did not wear gloves and (2) kept EATING the shavings. I told a senior-looking waiter about this, who didn't respond. And then I heard the ham-eating guy saying loudly "so that's what everyone does" ("𪠳， 𠮶𠮶都喺咁咖啦！”） Classic!
I think there was a real hygiene issue.
(f) The Seafood Bar
Next to the ham was various seafood platters. There were no serving utensils for the salmon so I told the staff about this. No response. Then she reluctantly turned and talked to another member of staff who slammed down a pair of tongs next to the salmon.
(g) Generally
The staff looked like they really, really didn't want to be there - I mean all of them. They did everything grudgingly and took out whatever grievance they had at the customers. That's quite remarkable.
(3) The Details
The basic stuff really.....
The dessert (which was ready-made and there was no choice) came after the coffees were cold.
The napkin had a flag printed in Chinese simplified characters the name of the factory that made it.
We were given wet tissues (!), which was unusual in itself - and it was the type that you would be given at a dai-pai-dong fried crab eatery. This was Harlans.
(4) The Decor
It was dark with all the windows covered. Not a brunch atmosphere. The buffet area was small and very, very far from lavish.
张贴