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| - Ugh. I've been here quite a few times as it`s a regular lunch meeting spot for myself and a friend, and we were both left uber disappointed this time. The food has always been really tasty and enjoyable, but my feelings of this visit were feelings of being more than underwhelmed and me questioning if I would ever go back. I would have always defended this spot in the past as the dishes are really tasty (well, the one dish I've had that I've kept gravitating to), even though there is a lack of ambiance and a very rude owner who makes you feel quite unwelcome at times - from the moment you walk in, you almost feel as if you are intruding in her space (she's barked at me multiple times when I've come in.. not the most hospitable greeting), oftentimes she is busy yelling at either the wait or kitchen staff (I prefer a bit of a more... civilized dining space then listening to domestics in the back), or tied up talking on the phone to friends to even acknowledge you when you go to pay your bill (I have never once been brought the bill to the table). With such a lack of service, it makes me reluctant to even leave a worth tip for shoddy service, or lack thereof. So sub-par "service", bad ambiance (the place is lacking atmosphere and is pretty tacky on the interior), and this time terrible service and really disappointing food.. so here we go..
We ordered our old faithful go-to dish: spicy stir fried beef with vermicelli noodles (instead of rice). Usually comes with a nice portion of vermicelli and beef, in a super tasty spicy curried sauce, with a spring roll and sauce on the side. The place was dead inside (we were the first there and another table got there a few minutes following us). The food came out very quickly, which was great as we were both hungry, but we were brought rice instead of the noodles. We mentioned it to the waiter, so he took our plates, started walking towards the kitchen, then came back and said he would bring us vermicelli on the side. My friend said he was there a few weeks back and the same thing had happened, so he was a bit frustrated, especially given that the restaurant was so empty. I can understand confusion when the kitchen is busy and overloaded, but not in a restaurant with only 2 tables of 2, with only one table having put an order in to the kitchen..
Our waiter brought us a very small portion of vermicelli (hi - we'd both ordered with the noodles and neither of us wanted the rice... ) which was just dry, cooked vermicelli: YUM! (Sense the sarcasm...?).The whole love affair with this dish is the spicy sauce from the beef mixed in with the vermicelli (not a dry plate of noodle). The sauce was already absorbed into the rice, so it's not like we could mix it (and frankly, I really didn't want the rice). I asked our server if we could have some sauce with the noodles (again, it was half a portion of a regular serving of noodle), and he said no, as they would have to make another serving, and that would be an additional order. Hi. NOT good customer service, especially considering it was their fault and were completely reluctant to do anything to correct it, other than offer a half portion of vermicelli. One of my pet peeves is life is cheap people and chintzing out on the least expensive things in life: rice. vermicelli. potatoes. I mean, come onnnn....how much would it have cost them to offer vermicelli for us both (trust me, I cook vermicelli at home, and a bag of it is CHEAP!!! We're talking $2 bag that would feed 10-12 in Hanoi Bistro-sized portions), as we had ordered... so yeah, that just didn't sit well with either of us. Happy customer (on your screw up) or disappointed customer that may be an avid yelper. .?! I dunno.. I guess your call... ;)
So we both did end up eating the rice (there was no way that vermicelli was filling us up), which was burnt, crunchy and stuck into big burnt lumps. Nice. Realized it after my first bite when it got completely stuck in my molars (sorry - had to share that tibit lol).I'm someone who tends to steam a lot of rice at home and know when it's been burnt into the bottom of the steamer; this was definitely burnt and scraped off the bottom of the pan onto my plate. I am actually really surprised they would serve that...
So all in all, I'm just left very disappointed this time..In retrospect, I'm sure our waiter never took our dishes to the kitchen as he more than likely feared being berated by the owner (which actually wouldn't surprise me). Granted, I guess I would rather pass on a domestic and eat my meal in peace.. However, I am left feeling like we paid a lot for a substandard meal that we didn't want, with really awful service... I was reluctant to leave a decent tip but I guess no matter how much I'd love to do that [or leave a penny for my thoughts :)], I just can't be that person..
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