Guess I should mark on the diary 14th Nov., 2009 lunch time is the most horrible time. Now it's not only Chuan Spa turning into the worst place (no service, no cleaning, no air-con, no water, except the bill; maybe we really don't comprehend of being nothing, kind of zen.) on the top of this 5-star luxury hip hotel, but also the restaurant outlets follow the same standard. The Place was once pretty good under the Langham London management as from my last try of 4 years ago. This time it dropped from top to zero. OK, the horrible journey begins....
1/2. see it's not crowded and it's a Saturday noon time in Mongkok! So this phenomenon is already subsiding warning for us.
3. the Langham tower can be noticed from almost any corner of downtown area. 4. the open area for the alternate air needed.
5. the hotel tower. 6. the mall inside.
7. oysters are so so but better not get it if they are not 80% fresh. The Caesar salad is average. The fruit prawn salad is interesting. The prawn is very pounding. You can find a round one for playing table tennis. 8. Highly discouraging you not to take their sashimi... The 2 mini cold dishes are interesting - tasting a bit bitter but they are not bitter gourd. While writing this, my friend called me about getting sick after 4 hours of the buffet and I suggest for a doctor visit.
9. The prime rib is another interesting food. The outside is much much burnt but the inside is very cold and even you can taste some icying in it. So I would think they put this one out of the fridge and immediately put this in the oven for quick high heat roasting. So the result is outside is burnt but inside is stilled iced. Then the duck smelled. First time I ate a smelling duck! The lamb rack is dry and yet a bit cold. Pasta soft outside but hard inside. Those chefs must be in a hurry for something. The veggie is with some mud inside the stem. So I left almost 95% of the food on the plate. 10. Teppanyaki beef with veggie. The first time I tried teppanyaki with Chinese dark soy sauce and it actually tasted like the Cantonese style stir fried beef/onion with flat rice noodle. BTW, it's very salty.
11. The rice is semi-cooked but it's not risotto. The BBQ bun is too wet inside. The Chinese sausage bun has kind of coconut smell. You know what? It's because of the sausage wrap and the sausage may be some very cheap lousy quality sausage without any wine in it and that's how that interest coconut smell came from. 12. So as I was still very hungry and I thought the safest food is bread. Wow! When I had a bite on it, there was some frost inside the bread! So awful! Looks like I am eating food from a plane crash in Himalaya mountain!
13/14. OK, my lucky came - waffle. Sorry they are not warmly done, but at least it's room temperature, not icy or frosty!. So I took 2 to fill my stomach. The mini-cakes are just ok. However, the appetite was totally spoiled.
11. The rice is semi-cooked but it's not risotto. The BBQ bun is too wet inside. The Chinese sausage bun has kind of coconut smell. You know what? It's because of the sausage wrap and the sausage may be some very cheap lousy quality sausage without any wine in it and that's how that interest coconut smell came from. 12. So as I was still very hungry and I thought the safest food is bread. Wow! When I had a bite on it, there was some frost inside the bread! So awful! Looks like I am eating food from a plane crash in Himalaya mountain!
13/14. OK, my lucky came - waffle. Sorry they are not warmly done, but at least it's room temperature, not icy or frosty!. So I took 2 to fill my stomach. The mini-cakes are just ok. However, the appetite was totally spoiled.
Then I couldn't help calling the house manager and complained "first all the food are in a very constant quality but bad side. Let's say the prime rib. If the chef didn't have enough time to roast it, cut that in slices and grill them. Don't cook like that. Wasting food. So then the breads are also frosty inside? What are they doing in the kitchen?". So the manager kept on saying sorry sorry "we will do our best next time.". Then I was a bit annoyed "don't say sorry. Walk the walk! Later on, you should try each plate of the food and to get what I meant, and think about yourself how to improve it. Don't say "do the best next time. When the prime rib is so lousy, I thought I should get something to fill my stomach as I am still hungry, but even a simple food breads can be that awful. You guys are ruining the professional image of your UK founder. If it's just only 1-2 food like that, I wouldn't complain but they are all horrible.". So she then had nothing to say but agreed to try that later though I don't think she would.
12 comments:
You are not the first one who had this experience. Better not try this buffet for some time. I think the LSD should check this hotel food safety.
I am surprised buffet at this high end hotel can be so lousy. Hard to believe.
If this happens in LA and people complain to the manager, the manager will not charge you this meal at all(assuming the complaint is reasonable and justified).
Sorry forgot mentioning about their courteous 20% less but I insisted to pay in full as it's not my intention to ask for a discount or a free meal.
I think the buffet is over $200. if pay $200 for 2 waffle is very expensive. $100 for 1 waffle?
Yes Anonymous 2:22 pm, I agreed with you the waffle is very expensive, even after the 20%. I wish I could get back the 20% for you SEA. This hotel is big enough to afford this 20% off that they don't deserve to get in the first place. But this is a ma-and-pa small eatery then for sure I will not take this 20%.
I don't comment but I want to say I won't take this buffet anymore. Arthur
Har... An accidental guest. Welcome. I think you are already under the dark shadow all-no Chuan SPA from this high-end hotel. What a pity Langham let the new management ruin their hundred years of effort in establishing their whole image.
Mmh.. under such a circumstances, a waffle is already good to me though it's not the best. Actually whenever I make a complaint for an improvement instead for a compensation. Just like I complained HK Bank has issued their platinum card to their managers' friends or relatives, then what for me as their 30 year customer? Then HK Bank agreed to give me a platinum card, but I turned them down by telling them if they gave it to me because of my complaint, that further violated their house rules for issuing a credit card and it further made the others very unfair. So that's the clear stand point. I then had a very simple request for them - instead of a credit card, I hope your IT dept. can work out for using the online banking on mac system for Safari browser (that's about 5 years ago when I went back to mac). Then 2 months later, they told me they did it. :)
Welcome on board again Mr. Trainer.
Glad to see you here.
It happens that the buffet at old Ritz Carlton in Pasadena(now owned by Langham)is also not up to its price($50 US) and expectation.
Not even worth half of its price and the food is lousy and limited(looks like those from your post here).
So both Langham and Ritz Carlton don't have good food. No wonder they can merge.
Har.. merge for the same quality...? So that means we should stay away from Ritz Carlton? But the one in Cannes serves very nice breakfast and lunch buffet.
Don't eat at Ritz Carlton(now Langham) in Pasadena unless you like the same kind of over priced junk food shown here in your post.
if I go to LA, I guess you and Pixmation should have a list of many better choices.. :)
Yes we can bring you to some good places. But make sure you be nice and impress the US Embassy la.:)
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