owned

I've had some very strange and bad experiences in the last 4 days and am wondering if it's just me or has anyone else been having problems with restaurants and the whole service sector.

So Saturday night 3 of us go out to a well know western food chain in the food street between Gurney Plaza and G Hotel. My meal and my Sisters meal arrive totally stone cold, and my other guests meal arrives 15 mins later than our meals as they said they burnt the first steak and had to cook another.

I approached the manager and she was very apologetic and said that it was there fault and that we didn't have to pay for any of the bill. I offered to pay for the large amount of beers and drinks we had, but she insisted we still pay nothing. This was the correct way to deal with there mistake, but its a pity they made such a huge error in the first place. I will not name the restaurant as they dealt with this in a proper manner and I think they will learn from this experience.

Sunday night was at the Hillside and everything was perfect.

Monday night the 3 of us went to Uncle Albert's in Straits Quay. This all went wrong due to the fact the guy taking the order could only speak 4 words of English. Even though he read back our order when we placed it, most things were totally wrong. So wrong it was a joke really. A burger that was ordered with no cheese and with a side order of garlic bread became a burger with cheese and loads of garlic, no fries and no garlic bread. I didn't say anything as I don't really want to give my feedback to place that skimps on front line staff. If you really are that cheap that you try to save by employing staff with very little English, when most of your clients only speak English, then you are not getting any help from me.

Tonight which is Tuesday 2 of us went to Ingoff's German restaurant. Again even though the order was repeated back to me my order was totally wrong. The other person with me had a steak which was only half eatable due to too much fat and other crap in the meat. I told the guy in charge and all he said was, 'oh I'm sorry' and then presented us with a bill for the full amount.

So whats going on. 3 Bad meals in 4 days. Are people starting to cut corners as they don't make so much profit, or is the 5 star alignment getting to everyone.

I also have had no water for 2 days at my house and the Maxis internet has stopped working for hours on end.

Gunnar45

I aslo got disappointed at Ingolf's which I feel has deteriorated in quality.
And, when having a sausage dish, they charged RM 1.40 for mustard!!
Plus that the waiter didn't seem very competent.
It looks like some restaurants don't realize that waiters should be professionals and that they are reducing costs by employing unskilled labour for this.

winston_1

Hang on, you are choosing to live in a foreign country and you believe that it is a right they learn your language?

If someone from Malaysia came to England would they expect you to have any words of Malay?

JC3

If I go to a Malay restaurant I would not expect the staff to necessarily speak English.

Here in Penang English is very widely spoken. The problem in Malaysia is that restaurants sometimes employ foreigners who cannot speak English, cannot speak Malay, cannot speak Hokkien, and cannot speak Mandarin or Cantonese. Often from Bangladesh or Nepal.

Where the menu is in English, I believe the waiting staff should be proficient enough in English not to mess up the customer's order - or should have a supervisor at their side whilst taking the order until such time as they can cope.

Some better restaurants start their non-English speaking staff on 'Water Duty' whilst they learn the language.



JC3

Gunnar45

I think that the restaurants in Straight Quay mainly aim at a more affluent community and expats, so it is not strange to expect the waiters there to be able to speak English.
After all it is a matter of attracting customers!

So, knowing to speak English is not a matter of expecting someone to speak 'your language'.

And looking at UK today it would not be a difficult to find restaurants where the staff speak exotic languages :-).

InVinoVeritas

"Today we want individuals who have high self-confidence, who can communicate, especially in English. Like it or not, English is a prerequisite in this world. So we cannot be emotional anymore, we cannot feel that we don't need to learn English,”

columbine

We've been here over 10 years and every time we ordered steaks (done medium) they never came right. Some times still raw inside and still partly cold, some times thoroughly well done, on One rare ocassion we hit the jackpot! The waitress would take raw or bloody steak back to kitchen, zap it under the microwave and that spoils the rib eye steak. We've learned if we want a properly done steak we do it ourselves at home.
But if you crave for a cheap steak (rm30+) and just must have it, then go to Mitzi at Tesco, take a 50:50 bet and microwave zap to well done, but remember to tell them not to drown the poor steak in the sauce hehehe ;0)

Gunnar45

Since I live in Penang, I wouldn't waste my money on ordering a steak in a restaurant here.
Apart from being expensive, it is also one of the easy items to cook and one can buy excellent chilled beef here.

There are some steak houses in KL like the Brazilian Samba Churrascaria in KLCC.

JC3

That’s a good point Gunnar.

Have you tried Steak Frites, 23 Love Lane, George Town, yet?

I’ve been meaning to try for ages, but haven’t been yet. As it only serves steak, one would hope they might get it right!

Here’s the most recent reviews from TripAdvisor:

• This was a total surprise, reasonably priced good quality steak generally does not exist in this part of the world but this was fantastic. Thanks to the owners and staff.
• If you want steak and chips this is the pace to go. That's all they serve. Two sizes of steak and their own sauce, chips and a side salad. No choices on the cut. But cooked to perfection. For a discerning customer like myself this is up there with any of the best steaks I've ever had. This place does...
• “Best steaks in Penang!”
• Second time in Penang. We really like this restaurant, they have small menu only two main dishes, but there are delicious steaks!

I am also hoping that when the Hilton Doubletree Hotel at Miami Bay opens this year it will have a decent restaurant or two with steak on the menu. With a Hilton Premium Club card HPC members can get 50% off the food bill when two people dine. Anyone know the planned opening date?

JC3

InVinoVeritas

Sounds like you need to review this place JC and post it in the Penang Food thread!

Gunnar45

I think I'll wait until Hilton opens, it is next door for me.
Latest I heard was that it would open in June, but not from a reliable source.
(Pool talk)
By the way, I prefer my steak with a baked potato, not so fond of chips.

ex reg

Going to Penang for a week in a couple of weeks and although we've been many times and had good food there my missus has been checking up some of the places we like and Trip Advisor hasn't been too complementary. We haven't been up there for 4 years or so.
Some of the places have been mentioned above.

Would appreciate any mention of places not to be missed.

columbine

If you like Chinese food, try Sea Queen at Straits Quay. It's at the far end facing the sea.
I like their service and honesty. I'm allergic to oyster sauce. The Chinese lady server made sure the dishes we ordered a day earlier didn't have that. Then called the next day to inform me a pork ribs dish has oyster sauce in the marinated meat. Appreciate the honesty.

JC3

Whilst you're at the Rainbow Paradise (RP) I'd suggest dinner at Vintage Bulgaria (Hillside, Tanjung Bungah) especially their ribs and shopska salad. Also for good food service and atmosphere head up to Ferringhi Garden at Batu Ferringhi (best to book - ask for a table by the waterfall).
In between the RP and the E&O is Markus in Pulau Tikus, a modern Italian restaurant that I think is excellent for a smart dinner with very good service and not too expensive.

If you're shopping at Gurney Paragon, TWG on the ground floor does a decent set price lunch, and Italiennes just outside is good for lunch too.
For a cheap and cheerful lunch at Straits Quay Marina we go to Blue Reef (a fish & chip joint on the ground floor). We also like Nonya Breeze on the upper floor.
For some more local Malaysian options see the Penang Food section of the forum.

Have a great trip!

JC3

ex reg

Thanks.