Chine

On Saturday we meant to take the parents of a good mate of mine, to lunch. We ended up going to restaurant near their house and his parents ended up paying for that lunch. It was a little embarrassing for us, because we had been the ones to organise this and suddenly we found ourselves becoming the guests instead. One of my mate’s young sons had wanted to go to the toilet so I took him there. When I came back that little boy’s grandfather had taken away the billing slip (it was a yum-cha lunch). It could well have been a ploy between grandfather, father and that little 2-year old to deprive us of the chance to treat them to lunch and if so I should have been on to it because that little rascal had been going to the toilet every 5 minutes.
Anyway the lunch was very good – it was at the Taipan restaurant in Doncaster East and the service was prompt and courteous which was a welcomed change for a Chinese restaurant in Melbourne.
I wonder why Chinese restaurants have such notoriously bad service. The waiters and waitresses rarely smile, get visibly upset when you ask for things and often throw you a repartee which is curt and rude and unwelcomed. I guess many put up with it either because that’s how waiters and waitresses behaved in Chinese restaurants all over the world or that the food is often very good and cheaper than in other restaurants.

I often find it very unacceptable however and on many occasions, have made my displeasures known. We once went to the Jarrah Room on Spencer Street just across the street from the station. It was shockingly bad service. The waiter was pushing us around, taking our stuff and chucking it on the table and was ordering us to make way to let them put in more tables, when the restaurant got a bit crowded!! Of course I didn’t budge and they had to settle for a very unhappy but stubborn customer plonked in the middle of their path but if only they behaved better throughout and asked politely it would have been a non-issue with us. If you are living in Melbourne and are reading this – avoid the Jarrah Room on Spencer Street like a plague. The food is nothing to write home about and you’d get much service in a funeral parlour run by Dennis Wise.

It is however, very different with Vietnamese restaurants. Maybe it is just a trait with these Hong Kong or China trained waiting staff and that is just normal behaviour for them. We visit Vietnamese restaurants frequently and rarely ever faced such problems. There’s a shop in the Centro at The Glen which you should also avoid like a plague – this is the “Udon”. The food is very ordinary but God help you if you are served by a small sharp-faced lady in particular. She is in a perpetually fouled mood and she just shows you that foul mood without any attempt to sugar coat it. If ever you needed something other than what they habitually provide, she will snap and let you know in no uncertain terms, that you are out of line. I had my last meal there many many months ago and it would take an extremely hungry me with no other choice before I go there ever again.

On the other hand like I said earlier, Vietnamese places are often much better behaved. Take for example this place in Glen Waverley called The Proud Peacock. The food is reasonably priced, it has a few gems on its menu (try the deep fried whole flounder with spicy sauce) and the service is almost always extremely good. It is almost always very busy but we have never had bad attitude shown us by any of their waiters or waitresses. Tress and I like this place very much and kiddo too, is slowly coming round to liking it. As a result of the fantastic efforts the place constantly dishes out, we have come to even be friends with the proprietor, who is a young, hardworking and ambitious lady.

My mate’s parents however, appear to enjoy eating at home as opposed to eating out. The mum was a bit quiet during lunch but after that, when we went to their house for a visit and catch-up, she opened up and was very chatty. She was definitely more comfortable there and enjoyed the company more than at the restaurant. They are returning to Malaysia in a few days and would be away from my mate’s 3 young boys. These boys would miss their grandparents, who are in their mid-80’s. Even though they travelled business class, the trip must have been made with heaps of efforts and I don’t know if they would want to come again. We met them again on Tuesday night, in my mate’s home. That could well have been our last opportunity to interact with them.