Went to Hong Kong on Saturday, about 7:45 pm. 2 Adults; 2 Kids. We were told that the buffet closes at 7 pm so we would have the Ala Carte Menu to choose from. There was really no problem with the food or the service or the prices. What else can it be, you ask. They were sliding tables and chairs all over the place. They were assembling a light tree and mounting some colored spot lights on it. The noice was crazy and it reminded me of being in a factory with things getting assembled. There were screw guns getting the light tree together. The noisly slid it across the floor to another position. But the screeching of the tables and chairs and the yelling of orders ruined a nice night out. I spoke to the hostess who said nothing but that she would tell the manager, who was not available. As we were leaving they were wheeling in a big birthday cake. Who knows what for. Probably had a stripper in it. I won't go back. Too many good places to eat. I am taking recommendations on a good place for Chinese and please don't say Tai Pei.
What's wrong with Tai Pei? We went when they first opened 18 months ago, admittedly we havent been back since but the food was fine and certainly better than Hong Kong.
Tai Pei... like almost all places that move to Cancun... has gone south on their food quality... I ate there about a month ago and wasn't impressed.. they also no longer have the crab rangoon that sold me on them to start with..
RE: Tai Pei Steve - 18 months ago it may have been fine. No longer the case. Life - You are so right. That Crab Rangoon was the hit of the Entradas. The quality just suffered terribly and it was off my list. I took my woman and her 2 kids there a few months ago and she refuses to go back. But she is picky, picky, picky. I went there more than the 3 times I gave my money to Applebee's. Once I was there with my two best friends and this American looking guy came in, spoke to a couple of employees and headed back to the kitchen area. We asked the waiter if that was Ben and he said yes. While we did not ask to speak to him we found it odd that with only 5 people in the place, and again, we were 3, the owner would not take time to introduce himself to some obvious non-Mexicans, maybe thank us for our business or whatever. He probably walked past us 3 or 4 more time without a glance. That was the beginning of the end for us. I know a lot of people read my posts and I try to be as honest as possible and tell it like it is. I try not to go out of my way to rag out a business but good golly, you never know who comes in you place of business. Could you imagine if I were the Food Critic for Por Esto or Novidades. This place would be ruined as everyone would be hanging on my every word. (This is all very tongue in cheek as tonight I am quite full of myself.) But to the topic at hand - HONG KONG - it really sucked to drop $500 plus a modest tip and have to listen to a construction crew the whole meal. I did not even mention when they fired up the stage lighting and they were catching me and a child right in eyes. I can excuse some basic issues of food quality, service quality, etc. but that could be limited to just me. But when everyone in the place had to listen, watch and be distracted, and no manager comes around or can be found on a Saturday night, to me that is a sign of greater problems and things to come. I am still open to a good referral for when I want to load up on MSG, sodium and oil. Yummy.
Hey TJ, someone once mentioned that the Chinese in Puerto Morelos was great, i can't remember the name, maybe it was Lau's but i've never been, i'm sure it was getting rave reviews on here once, could have imagined it though, mis-spent youth and all that. I am stil yet to find a Chinese here that does Crispy Aromatic duck, the best thing about a Chinese restaurant and never found one that had 'Crispy' Sweet and Sour Chicken balls, they all always soggy like they've been microwaved. I did find some prawn cracker crisps for sale in Superama the other day but i've never even heard of them in a Chinese here, what's with that? I don't understand why anyone with a bit of money hasn't started a decent Chinese here, Hong Kong must make so much money it's unreal and the food is very average in my opinion, low on taste, it's nice when you need a Chinese hit but if that was a restaurant back home, that place would be closed in a month or two. What are the Chinese restaurants in America like compared to here, are they anythig like England? In fact what's a restaurant in China like, anyone know?
My experience with Chinese food is that it doesn´t travel well. I lived three years in China and haven´t encountered Chinese food outside of China since that measured up. For instance, Chinese food in China is normally made up fresh with nothing preprepared. Killed the same day won´t be fresh enough for some people and some restaurants will invite you into the kitchen to see for yourself just how fresh their ingredients are that day. The Chinese make a big ritual of ordering, laboriously discussing every detail of every dish- what it contains and how it´s prepared. The waiters are very patient with this, expecting it from every customer. I never encountered a dish that was noticeably and heavily laced with MSG though they do use it: in the US and here I fear everything being way too salty tasting to be really enjoyable. The variety of Chinese food is amazing with so many distinctive regional cuisines available. My least favorite is Cantonese, though this is the cuisine most often found in the US- I suspect it is here, too. Dining can be fun there and surprisingly inexpensive. We lived in a city of four million and celebrated my wife´s birthday with fifteen guests in the most elegant restaurant in town. It was in a historic home built by a rich Chinese merchant more than one hundred years earlier. With wine and beer and multiple dishes the evening out cost under $120 USD. In three years we were never presented a dishonest bill in a restaurant- and no tipping was allowed! In the early days before we came to accept that, if we left a few Yuan on the table for the waitress they would chase us down the street to return it.
Yamamoto TJ, we went to Yamamoto japanese restaurant the other night for the first time. The food, atmosphere, and service were all very good. So was the bill. It's not Chinese but............. If you PM me I can direct you to a website done by a local gringo that has many recent restaurant reviews you can check out. :usa1:
If only! I've almost been chased by waiters who expected more tip and a waiter almost had a fit when he didn't get a tip after he a) messed the order up on several occassions that was so slow i could have gone home, cooked it myself and brought it back b) never asked if we wanted anything c) was constantly moody d) overcharged on the bill! The place i find most annoying is Applebees, where they have the cheek to put a big circle around TIPS NOT INCLUDED, like I can't see if in big capital letters on the bill! Makes me want to give them nothing. In England, you got a tip if the service is good and you are nice to the customers, that's how it should be, voluntary.
(Nothing personal, TJ.) I wonder how many times and about how many people, places and things I have said "Never again." (Hong Kong has been one of those places.) Sometimes I actually punish myself by following through on my usually hastily- and emotionally-made decisions. "I'll show them!" I won't eat there anymore. I won't let them change my tires anymore. I won't say good morning to him/her. I won't shop there. etc. etc. etc. Like "they" really care! Like I am really punishing them! Sometimes I actually swallow my pride and/or reverse my decision and admit that I probably need/want "them" more than they give a flip whether I even exist or not. I return--expecting to be received back with a red carpet--finding out that "they" didn't know I was even gone and couldn't have cared less if I was. As far as "I wish things were like they are in ___________________"(fill in the blank with anything but "here."), "that way lies madness" or at least a lot of unhappiness. "They" didn't grow up where, when and how I did. They weren't taught the same "rules of engagement" that I was. Now why in God's name should I expect "them" to behave like me (or how I think I do or should behave) or other people on the other side of the world born and raised in other cultures. And yet I do. Reminds me of My Fair Lady. "Why can't the English learn how to speak?" or "Why can't the Mexicans learn how to _______?" (fill in the blank) Why do the ___________(fill in a nationality)move to Mexico and then complain about Mexico? I guess it like why climb Mt. Everest! I'm here. It's here. Why not? Of course "we" could teach "them" some lessons I am sure. Self-righteous superiority is much more emotionally satisfying than admitting that I am not the one that fits in. If I have learned anything in the last 23 years here, it is, I really hate to admit, that if I have a problem and I am upset "It's NOT 'them.'" I am also just back from 3 weeks in 5 very different countries in Europe. Boy could I teach them a thing or two! But anyway: “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
