| rev:text
| - After reading the 1 star reviews, I was reminded of the last time I ate here (2yrs ago). The place was rediculously crowded, the wait staff was running around like it was their 1st time working at a restaurant, they had what looked like 5th-9th grade girls (owners daughters?) serving drinks and seating people.
".....hey, let's open up a restaurant, how hard can it be? it's not rocket science...."
There were several 10-seat tables with lazy-susan's (sorry if your name is susan) that were reserved while throngs of customers waitied for the 4-person booths and smaller tables to open up. Meanwhile, there were 3-4 tables waiting to be cleared as the waitresses looked like they were swamped. Bringing out 1 order what looked like every 10mins.
we reluctantly conceded to taking a booth and 2 small tables for our family of 15 all the while eyeing the 10-seat banquet style tables with hand written scraps of paper shouting "reserved"
it took forever for them to come and take our order. the waitress was making us nervous with her fast talking and sense of urgency to get back to serving food to the other tables.
so to make it easy, we just ordered double-portions of about 10 different dishes and we never saw her again until our 1st entree came out.
the whole dinner took in excess of 2 hrs
i remember saying that there are plenty of other places to eat with the same quantity, quality and price and much closer to east chandler where we live.
fast forward to august 27th, 2010....I entered this place again with fear and trepidation.
so i thought of a new strategy, have my wife who speaks fluent cantonese call in a reservation for 10 and we'll get the royal treatment. as i listened to the jiberish dialogue, and my wife promptly hangs up the phone, i asked, "she didn't even ask for a reservation name or phone number?"
wife: NO
greaaaat. it was not an official reservation i shouted! we'll get there, and the there will be no 10-seat banquet style lazy-susan equipped table available and the hostess will look at us and say, "what name was it under?"
so for the next 5 mile drive, i was thinking about what i was going to say when i arrived to our destination.
"....hi, were chinese and have a reservation for 10....."
"...reservation for 10, for the mayor of chandler.."
so when i swung open the door, the waitress/hostess greeted me with a "how many?" gesture (don't ask me what that's supposed to look like) and i held up both my hands with 8 fingers and 2 thumbs outstretched.
much to my surprise, she smiled and pointed to the 10-seat-lazy-susan.
for those of you who had a "bad service" experience, i have to let you in on a little secret:
this is going to sound racist, but if you don't speak the lingo, they're not gonna carry on a "hi, how are you, and how's your family" conversation. I don't speak a lick of chinese and if i were to eat here alone, they'd snuff me.
since my dutiful wife is fluent, gregarious and has a lovely demeanor, they love her and chat her up. they make recommendations, ask her how old her daughter is, how cute it is that she can speak cantonese too. and i'm sure they're asking why doesn't your chinese-looking husband speak chinese? is he one of those "slow" ones?
i having been raised for 3 generations in AZ, used to think, "these people really look down upon me for my ignorance"
but i've come to realize that perhaps they just feel more comfortable speaking to someone in their native language as opposed to the semi-complicated english(?)
in my 47 years of eating at 100's of different chinese restaurants, i can only count on 1 hand the few that have had great "western style" service. (think PFChang, pei-wei, panda express, noodle ranch). does that make me stop eating at chinese restaurants? if that were the case, then i would have to avoid eating at the top 10 chinese restaurants (as far as the food, price and quantity goes) in phoenix.
3 out of 4 i can live with.
good food, good quantity, bad prices, bad service.....i will go but only if someone insists on going
good food, bad quantity, bad prices, bad service (see wong's place)....if family members drag me there and are paying
bad food, good quantity, good prices, good service.....no way jose
you get the picture.
turns out there are as good places that are
1) closer in proximity
2) as good quality
3) same prices
4) same service (with wife or mom in tow)
so it's not a must have place to run to
if you live in chandler and awhatukee, you have my 4 stars
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