Saturday, December 18, 2010

Complaint

Chef,

I am writing to you because I was truly disappointed with the food served.  The long delay in between each dish and the final bill which was presented made the whole evening completely unpleasant.

I was at your restaurant on 17 December 2010.  We arrived at 8.15pm.  Prior to this I called you on Thursday and specifically told you that I would be bringing an acquaintance over to your restaurant.  I had great faith in the food you serve because I have had many pleasant experiences at your place.

He had an appointment that evening which he rescheduled because of my telling him that I had already booked his meal with you. I had bragged about how good your food is to the gentleman.  So we came all the way braving the very bad traffic jam from Bandar Utama.  There was a certain level of expectation from us.

The sashimi was a real letdown.  Save for the salmon belly, the rest of the sashimi was very poorly sized.  We were given half piece triangular shaped sashimi which was smaller than those found in the eateries elsewhere.  I was a little taken aback but said nothing at first.    I then noticed that there was no presentation at all except for the igloo and scallop shell.  I complained to the waiter when I finally came to my senses.  No effort was made to rectify the situation.

We were served three pieces of beef each.  I had always been served four pieces on all other occasions.  I did not pick a quarrel because your staff said that this was Kobe beef and that the price has escalated.

By this time, my friend was already getting fidgety.  The interval in between each meal was a little too long.  Between the sashimi and radish stew with king crab, there was a 25 minute interval. It was already 9.45pm when the beef was served.  I noticed that our dish was timed in such that it coincided with that of the other twenty over group diners who were having similar set meals.  Toward the last two courses, my friend asked for the dishes to be served simultaneously.  The whole 7 course kaiseki dinner took over two hours to complete. We were both restless.

When the additional tempura meal was served, I told him the restaurant must be  making up for the shortcoming.  I still had faith in your restaurant.  Maybe it was just a hiccup in the kitchen.

The bill came to RMXXX per person.  You told me earlier that it would be RMXXY each.  Last Friday my friend came over with his family and paid RMXXY each.  They had similar courses served but with the pregnant fish, which I had requested but was not served.  We were served baked salmon instead.  I find it unacceptable that the serving and food grade were reduced but price increased.      

Your staff informed me that the price is indeed RMXXX. The price of beef has escalated. (I was served less beef but paid more.) Furthermore we asked for an additional course. If I knew that I would have to pay for the additional course, I would have made a selection instead of allowing your kitchen to dish out what ever they pleased. 

At the end of the day I was RMZZZ poorer but still unsatisfied with the course meal served while having to apologize to my friend for having to get him to reschedule his appointment to come for this extraordinarily long dinner.It was a double loss situation for me.  I forked out RMZZZ to promote your restaurant to him but he was certainly not impressed because the portion of food served and presentation was completely different from that I had bragged about to him.

I am quite sure that you sense my disappointment from the tone of my letter.  I hope that you would do something to rectify the situation.  If the bigger portions are only reserved for specific customers, do let me know so I can act accordingly.

Yours Sincerely,
carpe diem

5 comments:

William said...

By all means let the public know which restaurant this is.

SynchingZincInc said...

Not many restaurant offer Kaiseki's. Didn't tried though as the idea of not being able to select or opt out certain food is a big no no to me..lol Better a Japanese gourmet buffet :)

- a L E x - said...

The complaint should be sent to the restaurant manager as well.

Skyhawk said...

Agree with William...

carpe diem said...

William & Skyhawk...I'll let them off the hook this time.

SynchingZincInc...A real Kaiseki is worth the money. It is the quality that matters.

aLex...The chef is the boss!

loan