| rev:text
| - So recently I had written another review about this place - mostly about the disappointing service that I had receive there. Namely, the fried chicken I had sent back due to the pink color on the inside was not replaced, but reheated, and the meat became dry. At this restaurant with this level of pricing I thought that kind of service was unacceptable. I also named a few other menu items that didn't meet my expectations.
but I was not at all ready for the pure awesomeness that followed my review.
Apparently my review had caught the attention of Robin, the store's general manager, who had messaged me inquiring further about my experience. I then proceeded to write a longer email to him explaining my thoughts on the situation and the service and menu items that I thought needed improvement.
Not only did he answer all of my questions and concerns thoroughly, he sincerely apologized for the experience I had last time, and re-invited me to eat with a friend at his restaurant. on the house.
He sat us at the chef's rail and personally introduced many dishes to us, and what he liked about each one. He talked about the painstaking process of trying to develop each dish, and how each menu item had gone through 4-5 steps of refinement before they thought it would be acceptable for the public palate. He gave us his thoughtful and insightful opinions on why he thinks the quality of food served at R&D is superior to many other restaurants that sell similar food for less, and even took us on a tour to the back of the restaurant, and showed me how they hand made the noodles in the lobster chow mein. We toured the cellar and saw all of their supplies and where they dried the peking duck. Everything was clean, and they really did use the best ingredients. Apparently one bag of smoked plums, directly shipped from Hong Kong, costs the restaurant 150 dollars. He explained in detail why he thinks the price point of the restaurant is fair given the quality of the raw materials and amount of energy and effort put into the preparation. He asked us for further feedback on the dishes that we had that night.
Just to inform you we had:
the lobster chow mein
scallops
the octopus
the ceviche
and 2 oysters
all were very fresh and well made. Our favourite was the ceviche - we loved how the avocado puree really complimented the citrus in the dish.
yes we got greedy and got 3 desserts: the smoked milk ( which is our favourite - I understand the taste may not be for everyone but I loved the smoked woody taste paired with the ice cream and pastry, it felt like I was in the wilderness and sitting by a camp fire), the banana split and the creme brûlée. All of which were fantastic.
The service was fantastic, and the waitress thanked us for giving their restaurant a second chance, and hoped to see us again.
Now you may read this and think that I'm a sell out -and hey, I do admit I like free stuff- but I never thought that my grumpy review would gain the attention of the restaurant, and the fact that they apologized and gave us a free meal is a level of service that I have not personally experienced. and I'm only a lowly average rater who's checked in at like 2 places in the past year. I really appreciated how seriously they've taken my concerns and tried to change my opinion about their place. And just for that, I give them 5 stars in this review. I also found the food to be fantastic the second time. I guess dining is really about the experience, and service does play a large part in that. I thought the food was awesome this time around though, don't get me wrong.
Thanks so much to the staff at R&D for making our night!
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