This Boxing Day, we were out. Not out of Melbourne like last year but as in out in the city, enjoying the sunny day and hunting for great bargains. And I did find that Boxing Day does land you some great bargains on electronic items. But for all other stuff all through the year, there is DFO.
It just so happens that 26th December is also the day that Hubby Dearest proposed to me. It's been 4 years now and the day is still important to me.
Anyhow, that is beside the point of this blogpost. So romantic ruminations aside, we decided to drop in to Camy's Shanghai Noodle and Dumpling Restaurant at Tattersalls Lane in the heart of the CBD to get some food inside us before we continued our bargain-hunting. Surprise, surprise there were no logn queues like last time and all of the previous times we have been here. In fact, the restaurant was quite empty inside as well.
It wasn't hard to figure out why as soon as we took a seat. A rude, absolutely disinterested and snobbish waitress led us to our table. We were seated right opposite to the kitchen from which a stale, strange smell wafted out.
Let me clear it at this point itself that although I have been a fan of the restaurant's food the day my friend introduced me to this outlet, my husband has never been quite fond of it. He cites lack of service and disrespect. Over a period of time, I started to see his point but it was never as bad as this time. Absolutely appalling!!!
And having spoken to a few friends now, I know that a lot of them have stopped visiting this place citing the same reasons. No wonder. When Hubby Dearest' pork dumplings arrived, they were simply slammed on to the table. Mind you, I would serve my pet with more respect than they did us. Absolutely mannerless and disgusting service. And to top it, his fried pork dumplings showed no signs of frying, were absolutely cold to the touch and were just a bit warm inside. When asked how they are (since I can't taste them, being a vegetarian), he said it looks as if they simply pulled them out from a hot case and it was quite obvious that they were not prepared fresh. Is this how you serve food to your customers? I have the right to a freshly-cooked hot meal when I am paying money at any outlet.
This small eatery has received rave reviews in a number of magazines. And no doubt that at $6.50 for a plate of 20 vegetarian dumplings and $6.80 for a plate of non-vegetarian, it is definitely value-for-money. But who the heck cares if the service is so rude and pathetic and the food equally so. My once-favourite eatery is not so favourite any more. The standards are going down and down.
Our drink arrived with another thump on the table and so did my steamed vegetarian dumplings, which were okay to taste. At least, they were freshly cooked and steaming from inside. But nonetheless, Camy's needs to realize soon that food is not only about taste or about being value-for-money but about customer service as well. A smile on the waitress' face might even lead me there the second time, even if the food is not quite up-to-the-mark.
In this case, I swore I am never ever going back to this eatery again. Serving cheap food does not mean that you can treat your customers in the most disgusting manner possible. I am totally off this place. Try it at your own risk.
