Ottawa Foodies

9

We went on March 12, but I’m writing today to try to be as calm/fair as possible. The restaurant is located on Baseline. The décor is very nice. The servers aren’t the sharpest on the block, but were friendly/polite. The food was average in taste/presentation/freshness. We sat at a grill table and found the meat overly fatty and the shrimp (when cooked) mushy. After glancing at the bill (my fault for not checking closer), we paid/left to catch the bus(s) home just before 7pm. En route, I noticed they had overcharged. Instead of $21.99 each (weekday dinner), the bill listed $23.99 (weekend dinner). These same prices were listed clearly on the menus and in the ad we had from a March 9 Chinese newspaper, which also listed a 10% discount per person because of the new opening (we did not receive the discount). I called the manager from the bus and asked him to correct the charge. That’s when the experience went bitter.

He denied the charges were wrong and said the menus were old (they’ve been open for about 3 weeks now). After discussion, he said to wait for the owner to call me back. Later, he and the owner said the same thing, along with other reasons like the waitress told us the price change, or he did, then he did as an extra charge for sitting at a grill table, or the ad was wrong (which matched the prices in the menus we used at the table), etc. According to the owner, the new prices/extra fees were handwritten on all the menus (not on ours). While we were being seated, I had asked the manger whether their “price” included everything. He said the price was all the same. No mention of any price changes or an extra cost if seated at the grill table. As well, the ad did not specify 10% off only if you paid in cash, nor was this info posted anywhere. A few hours/phone calls later, between me/my mother and the manager/the restaurant owner/the bank, after being called a liar and a picky customer by the restaurant folks, who claimed they couldn’t cancel/redo a card transaction (bank said otherwise/pin not needed) but then wanted my pin number, etc. The result was the manager came to my building lobby to deliver the cash for the difference at 11pm.

We found out yesterday that a group of Mom’s friends tried the place earlier in the week and had a similar experience with “price adjustments.” They also put up a fuss in Chinese. It wasn’t until after one guy switched to “good” English to complain that the restaurant backed down and corrected their bill. I do not believe the customer is always right, and believe we all make mistakes. However, businesses/ should be fair and honest. I used to work for a bank, and my parents ran a restaurant for over 30 years. We know how it should work. On the phone and later in person, they tried to blame it on miscommunication. Please believe me when I say there was none. Between me and my mother, we speak fluent Chinese and English. The Chinese manager’s English was excellent. Something smells fishy to me here and it’s not the sushi. So my suggestion, go and try it out, you may love it. But be sure to pay close attention to your bill and speak up, loud, if you notice something similar. Me, my mother and her friends plan never to return to this place. But the best of luck to those who do. (sorry for the length of this entry).

Now open in the Walmart plaza at Baseline and Clyde/Maitland. Went on Sunday afternoon and will wait until my second visit before I review the food in detail. It's a combination of various types of Asian food including sushi, dim sum and Korean style grilled dishes. Cost at lunch is $14.99 / Dinner $23.99 but there are a lot of additional selections at dinner.
There is a $2 surcharge if you want to have a "grill" table where you cook your own meat, otherwise it is done elsewhere and delivered to your table. There are some items served on a buffet, like soups, spring rolls, steam buns etc., and the rest of the items are ordered off the menu. Decor is kind of over-the-top bordello chic, with lots of crystal chandeliers, black marble, crushed velvet and rhinestone embellished tufted banquettes. Very busy on Sunday afternoon. Will be trying it again soon.

14

3

I have never written a review for a restourant before but because a friend of ours decided not to come to this restourant because of the two reviews I made it my goal to sign up and give an honest review. So here goes: the styling of this place is more like a nightclub then a restourant the booths are red / pinkish leather and there are huge chandeliers above, but there is normal booths along the windows aswell if you don't want to feel like your on the set of scarface. As for the food, we got everything we ordered within about 15 mins which is not bad given the amount of food we ordered. There is also a buffet with pre cooked stuff on the side so you have something to munch on while you wait on your order (all inclusive in one price). Everything that we ordered pre cooked tasted good. The uncooked meat for the table BBQ however is un-seasoned raw meat but they bring you different sauces to experiment with, so make sure you use lots of the sauce or else the meat will taste kind of plain. Overall the selection variety is very good, the food tasted great (if you prepare it right) and I would recommend this place to others, but not too often, because it is all you can eat and that might cause problems in the long run :p