Skyscraper

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Kowloon Cafe - Another Red Lemon

From now onwards, anytime we storm out of a restaurant, it will be referred to as a Red Lemon. For those who haven't read my post, Red Lemon is actually the name of a restaurant. It was where we walked out since our meals took so long. It tends to happen that somehow dinner or lunch always takes too long and we are late for things.

Well, it happened again when we went to watch Iron Man. Paul, Jo, Kin and I went to Glen Waverley to watch the movie. We were deciding what to eat. We initally thought of going to Grand Tofu as it is very cheap and fast. However, when we spotted the newly opened Kowloon Cafe on Kingsway in the Glen, we thought we would give it a try. We had bought our tickets and there was still 50 minutes to the movie. The restaurant was only a quarter full, so we thought there was plenty of time.

After ordering drinks, we watched as the waitresses brought drinks to the wrong tables, food to the wrong tables, customers sending back food that was cold. This was not a good sign. We were right next to the kitchen and heard the massive confusion going on. This is one place that needs Gordon Ramsay to come and help them get their act together.

A bowl of won ton came for Jo. She was hungry so we said for her to start eating. By the time she finished, none of the other dishes had arrived yet. Of all the dishes, Kin's ham and eggs on rice should have been really fast and should have arrived instantly. Usually that's what happens at other Hong Kong style cafes in Glen and Box Hill. So after 30 minutes had passed, I asked the waitress if they could hurry our food a bit as we had a movie to catch in 20 minutes.

I did hear the waitress go into the kitchen and say they needed to make our food, which meant they hadn't started it yet. Yet another 10 minutes passes and the deadline we gave ourselves had arrived. We got up and was just about to leave when they brought out my Portugese baked chickein on rice. We told them that we really had to leave and where the other dishes were. They still weren't ready. Anyway, I suggest that Paul, Kin and myself quickly gobble down this dish, which we did in record time. Then we walked to the counter to pay for what we had eaten and told them we had to leave. They head waiter or maybe owner then said our food was coming. We told him that it was too late and we had to catch our movie. He finally said ok and apologised for the delay in food. We paid and went to watch our movie.

This is one place that clearly needs to get their act together. I understand that they have just opened, but they really shouldn't open until they can better serve customers. All night, all I was were mixups and confusion. People were sending back their meals and waiting. Some diners on a table may have their meals whilst others just sat there adn waited. The restaurant are doing themselves a disservice by not hiring trained staff or training their staff. They are ruining their own reputations already and alienated customers from going back. Not only that, customers will tell their friends as well about not going there, such as I am doing now. I will give them another try in a few months, but until then, I'm steering well clear of that place.

9 comments:

  1. I loved this place. There was a lot of space everywhere. Heaps of space between the tables, heaps of space on the tables and lastly heaps of space in the bottom of stomach.

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  2. Anonymous, very good. There was definitely a lot of space everywhere.

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  3. lol, on a more positive not I am going to Rockpool tonight. Just thinking whether to have the wagyu again, or one of the other fine steak cuts :)

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  4. Jon, I was thinking the exact thing the other day. I was thinking of going back to Rockpool, but if I did, would I get the wagyu again. The wagyu was fantastic, but then I also want to try other steaks and dishes from Rockpool.

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  5. jon! Your comment had nothing to do with Kowloon Cafe. Please send any personal or non related comments/questions via PM.

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  6. blogspot moderator, I don't mind people commenting about non related things to the article, especially since its about food anyway. You should ban this Anonymous person, always writing nasty things about me and insulting me.

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  7. //[CHG ACCESS STATUS]mod.permission user.anonymous FULL

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  8. I like this place, it's very spaceous, new, the service is nice and warm (compared to other asian cafes) I would recommend little traditional chinese dishes in there, I hope they'll put up the large LCD screen soon

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  9. Anonymous, then you should go here more often. I'm sure they will serve you quickly.

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