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| - Boo. Hiss.
Okay, despite the name 'bistro' attached, Hong Kong Bistro is only a half-step up from fast-food Chinese. I grew up back east with the best Chinese place just down the street from me, so I have to try all these close places in the hopes of finding a gem. Keep looking.
The food isn't ALL that bad, maybe a two-star. I've had worse at Panda Express and other MSG-happy dives. But the service is excruciating.
They are "under new management" and I tolerated them a lot better when they were brand new and under the "original" management. I don't know who these people are who are running this place now, but it's a joke.
I went recently to get takeout. I'm standing there waiting for this uber-creepy guy to run my credit card, and he's leering at me, and he says, "Declined" as the sheet is printing from the card machine. "What?" I ask. "Declined," he laughs. Then hands me the slip to sign. Humor is lost in the translation.
Then today was a nightmare. 35 minutes for one lunch special and some crab puffs. This skinny, pimply woman with absolutely no handle on the English language was running around screeching "I new! I new!" and not helping anyone. The phone was ringing, customers were coming to the counter to ask for refills... A little boy waiting when I was exclaimed to his father, "I don't understand anything she's saying." Yeah, neither did anyone else.
When she was done screaming into the phone repetitively (I guess the guy on the other end couldn't understand her either) and I finally had my order taken, it was like pulling teeth. She actually got on the PHONE and handed it to me, "Here. Manager," and HE took my order. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? Where the hell is he that he can't schlep his ass into the restaurant to save this poor wretch?
When I got my food after 35 minutes, it was cold and awful. The beef lo main was at least edible, the crab puffs were icy and the fried rice, was ugh, just awful.
And now, to quote Marge from "Fargo", "Just feel like I'm gonna barf."
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