We had lunch in a restaurant in Singapore, located in a social club.
Dad and Mom are members of the social club. To generate more revenue, the club decreed that every 3 months, members have to pay US$100 in membership, including a minimum spending levy of US$70 in the Club. My parents, being the typical Asians (I mean, Chinese Singaporeans), tend to use this spending levy on food and beverage. There happens to be 4 places to eat in the Club: the Chinese-style restaurant, the Western-style restaurant, an alfresco fusion Cafe, and a pub. It should be obvious to us where my parents choose to go: the Chinese restaurant. My parents has to like the Chinese-style restaurant.
My parents are still working (they're both just over 60 this year), so they ask me, seemingly the least busy person of the family, to make all the arrangements for the booking of the restaurant. Reluctantly, I did it, because after all, what she asks me to do in the workplace she manages is not too different from what she wants me to do at home. Then I called the restaurant to book a table, for 6 adults and 2 babies (hence, the baby chairs, as I learned my lessons to book baby chairs as well as adults).
A guy answered my call. He says if I don't come early, he'll give up my table to the rest. Now, I'm the type of person who gets pretty agitated easily, despite me understanding the undercurrents of such rules. So I said, we have 2 babies, it's not up to me to decide whether they're ready for the lunch, and if we can't make it, we can't help it but to eat elsewhere.
Then... this guy also said, being a social club, they got the dress codes. I am not a big fan of dress codes. If I really want to impose one, it would be casual, anything goes, even tank top and short shorts that I think sane people would really want to wear almost all the time in summer. Not country-club wear, that those NTs would wear. I'm free with you wearing anything so long as you look distinctive and not like the 'others'. I only wear long pants when I meet important VIPs and big bosses when they 'need' it, I understand the point of dress codes consciously, but, well, I just don't like dress codes.
Nevertheless, I said we'll try to comply with the dress code. I'll wear whatever I am needed to wear. So does the 2 family members I'll bring along, whom I can't really control wearing, as we meet in the Club.
My family then met in the restaurant. Well, at least there are indeed 6 big chairs and 2 baby chairs, to their credit. The standard preserved vegetables in any Chinese-style restaurant meal is there, too. The tables are mostly clean.
However, we were seated fairly close to a lounge room with a big birthday bash, far from the others, which appears to me like a standard procedure for them because they reserve seats further from the exit, to welcome more non-Club guests, due to the minimum spending levy. Well, being close to lots of bustle in the room isn't quite good, at least, to me.
My family, all except me, want to have 'dim sum'. Not that I am always a dissent, as I may seem appear to you, new readers of this blog. Not I don't like dim sum, I always have a craving for Mom's hot buns, a sort of dim sum, or Chinese-style snacks. I liked noodles better (remember my pictures on purple pizza? I really like wheat stuff, even though I think I may be gluten- and caesin-sensitive), it's the specialty of the restaurant (not dim sum) as well as my sister's favorites. So my father decided to order both dim sum and noodles.
Also, my father ordered some tea, and Iced Green Tea for my brother-in-law, who likes cold drinks. There isn't Green Tea, so we have to settle with Coke. The tea also took quite a while to come.
As for the dim sum, my Dad and sister has to holler the servers to push the dim sum pushcart over to the table. The steamed dim sum took quite a while to come, whereas the fried dim sum took even longer. Anyway, be it steamed or fried, both sorts of dim sum was mostly oily and unhealthy, with too much prawns (although it's sweet).
Also, there aren't many vegetables options in the dim sum. I like them carrots, tomatos and all these, turns out, I have to finish the preserved vegetables (which are appetizing but too salty for me).
For the noodles, I like them better. We ordered two plates of noodles: Stir-friend E-fu noodles (my sister's favorite) and Udon noodles (the food reviewers' recommendation online). I think the Udon noodles are really nicer, it's gummy and bouncy on the mouth. The e-fu noodles are just too oily and not as chewy as the Udon noodles.
The food was too oily, we got too full too fast, and we drank all the tea. Then we called for the service attendants to refill our tea - in most Chinese restaurants, and in that Chinese restaurant as well, refills are served free. No service attendant came. I said, given the waiting time and the nonchalance the restaurant crew exuded, from them serving us slower than those who didn't book - I don't think we can't stand the restaurant's sub-par service. But to follow standard procedure, I know we are hungry, but maybe we can speak to the service attendants first. So we spoke - to no avail. No one helped us.
Literally, my sister has to take out the whole jug of hot water and poured on the tea. Only then, a server did ask, do you want more dim sum? Sigh. I was really fuming in my brains. Those money-minded people. Can't they just help poor us, who really have to do self-service for our tea?
Eventually, we made a decision not to tip. In Chinese customs, if service is good, they'll tip 10%, if service is exceptionally good, they usually tip 25%, or more. I think my Dad sums it well, 'they don't deserve it'.
I think I should persuade my parents to try other sorts of food instead, since I remember having a more positive experience in other restaurants in the Club. Best of all, it's better they don't join a Club that they don't use, anyway.
Sorry for ranting.
Dad and Mom are members of the social club. To generate more revenue, the club decreed that every 3 months, members have to pay US$100 in membership, including a minimum spending levy of US$70 in the Club. My parents, being the typical Asians (I mean, Chinese Singaporeans), tend to use this spending levy on food and beverage. There happens to be 4 places to eat in the Club: the Chinese-style restaurant, the Western-style restaurant, an alfresco fusion Cafe, and a pub. It should be obvious to us where my parents choose to go: the Chinese restaurant. My parents has to like the Chinese-style restaurant.
My parents are still working (they're both just over 60 this year), so they ask me, seemingly the least busy person of the family, to make all the arrangements for the booking of the restaurant. Reluctantly, I did it, because after all, what she asks me to do in the workplace she manages is not too different from what she wants me to do at home. Then I called the restaurant to book a table, for 6 adults and 2 babies (hence, the baby chairs, as I learned my lessons to book baby chairs as well as adults).
A guy answered my call. He says if I don't come early, he'll give up my table to the rest. Now, I'm the type of person who gets pretty agitated easily, despite me understanding the undercurrents of such rules. So I said, we have 2 babies, it's not up to me to decide whether they're ready for the lunch, and if we can't make it, we can't help it but to eat elsewhere.
Then... this guy also said, being a social club, they got the dress codes. I am not a big fan of dress codes. If I really want to impose one, it would be casual, anything goes, even tank top and short shorts that I think sane people would really want to wear almost all the time in summer. Not country-club wear, that those NTs would wear. I'm free with you wearing anything so long as you look distinctive and not like the 'others'. I only wear long pants when I meet important VIPs and big bosses when they 'need' it, I understand the point of dress codes consciously, but, well, I just don't like dress codes.
Nevertheless, I said we'll try to comply with the dress code. I'll wear whatever I am needed to wear. So does the 2 family members I'll bring along, whom I can't really control wearing, as we meet in the Club.
My family then met in the restaurant. Well, at least there are indeed 6 big chairs and 2 baby chairs, to their credit. The standard preserved vegetables in any Chinese-style restaurant meal is there, too. The tables are mostly clean.
However, we were seated fairly close to a lounge room with a big birthday bash, far from the others, which appears to me like a standard procedure for them because they reserve seats further from the exit, to welcome more non-Club guests, due to the minimum spending levy. Well, being close to lots of bustle in the room isn't quite good, at least, to me.
My family, all except me, want to have 'dim sum'. Not that I am always a dissent, as I may seem appear to you, new readers of this blog. Not I don't like dim sum, I always have a craving for Mom's hot buns, a sort of dim sum, or Chinese-style snacks. I liked noodles better (remember my pictures on purple pizza? I really like wheat stuff, even though I think I may be gluten- and caesin-sensitive), it's the specialty of the restaurant (not dim sum) as well as my sister's favorites. So my father decided to order both dim sum and noodles.
Also, my father ordered some tea, and Iced Green Tea for my brother-in-law, who likes cold drinks. There isn't Green Tea, so we have to settle with Coke. The tea also took quite a while to come.
As for the dim sum, my Dad and sister has to holler the servers to push the dim sum pushcart over to the table. The steamed dim sum took quite a while to come, whereas the fried dim sum took even longer. Anyway, be it steamed or fried, both sorts of dim sum was mostly oily and unhealthy, with too much prawns (although it's sweet).
Also, there aren't many vegetables options in the dim sum. I like them carrots, tomatos and all these, turns out, I have to finish the preserved vegetables (which are appetizing but too salty for me).
For the noodles, I like them better. We ordered two plates of noodles: Stir-friend E-fu noodles (my sister's favorite) and Udon noodles (the food reviewers' recommendation online). I think the Udon noodles are really nicer, it's gummy and bouncy on the mouth. The e-fu noodles are just too oily and not as chewy as the Udon noodles.
The food was too oily, we got too full too fast, and we drank all the tea. Then we called for the service attendants to refill our tea - in most Chinese restaurants, and in that Chinese restaurant as well, refills are served free. No service attendant came. I said, given the waiting time and the nonchalance the restaurant crew exuded, from them serving us slower than those who didn't book - I don't think we can't stand the restaurant's sub-par service. But to follow standard procedure, I know we are hungry, but maybe we can speak to the service attendants first. So we spoke - to no avail. No one helped us.
Literally, my sister has to take out the whole jug of hot water and poured on the tea. Only then, a server did ask, do you want more dim sum? Sigh. I was really fuming in my brains. Those money-minded people. Can't they just help poor us, who really have to do self-service for our tea?
Eventually, we made a decision not to tip. In Chinese customs, if service is good, they'll tip 10%, if service is exceptionally good, they usually tip 25%, or more. I think my Dad sums it well, 'they don't deserve it'.
I think I should persuade my parents to try other sorts of food instead, since I remember having a more positive experience in other restaurants in the Club. Best of all, it's better they don't join a Club that they don't use, anyway.
Sorry for ranting.
