Friday, 11 May 2018

Korean Set Lunch : This Time Not So Happy


After having an epic lunch at Qing He Gu, I decided to return for another experience. Yes, I remember how seriously stuffed I was and this time I visited when I was ravenous.



I remember asking the Korean lady boss what time their lunch service starts and I was informed that lunch is served between 11:30am and 3:00pm.

Just to be on the safe side, arrived 10 minutes before noon and noted that although their banner was displayed outside, the restaurant was still not open. So I took a walk around the area and returned. 

Once seated, I settled on the Ttukbaegi Bulgogi. This time, cold water was served instead on the nice Korean tea. Shortly after, my side dishes were served.

I noticed that the portion size of the lotus root and two kimchis were much less. It was fine by me as this amount is just nice for one person.


Then I waited for my main dish. And I waited some more. After 20 minutes, by which time I was quite annoyed, I called the server to ask about my food.

What set me off was that the server had been making his rounds and yet failed to notice that I was not being served even though the tables that came later were already enjoying their main dish.

The guy went to the kitchen and came out to tell me "two minutes". Two minutes became 10 minutes by the time the bulgogi reached my table. 

The server must have detected my annoyance and he apologized while looking very fearful. I think my face must have morphed into one of a fierce looking aunty who looked ready to pounce on him. A hungry aunty is an angry aunty.


The bulgogi came bubbling and piping hot.


It had a fair amount of beef in it with some vegetables and it tasted pretty decent. But I was unhappy with the rice.


It was clumpy and soggy. Not only that, the salad dressing tasted off. I believe that it had already gone bad as it had that unpleasant sourish fermented  smell and taste. What we say "chau sui" in Hokkien.


I finished everything except for the salad. I don't think I will be back as I find the service and inconsistency in food quality unacceptable. Geez, I am becoming like my partner >.< 

22 comments:

  1. I was quite annoyed also yesterday at one of my favourite places in town. Will blog about it soon.

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    1. I find it unacceptable when the wait staff do not take the initiative to monitor if guests have been served.

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  2. What a coincidence...I also had such a bad experience at a very popular Sushi place. Waited nearly 1 hour to get our order. Although the place was busy, but no excuse to wait so long!

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    1. I agree. The level of service at most restaurants over here could be improved.

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  3. Lotus root is one of my favourite sides for Korean food. I have to say, the food here doesn't look that enticing. The older I get the fussier I get too.

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  4. oh gosh....standard deteriorated so fast?? not a good sign....I guess this place will 'gulung tikar' soon with such bad service and food

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    1. Quite hard to train the staff I think.

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  5. Oh no! I have not eaten there yet. Seems like no need to try already.

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  6. The beef looked good. Oh my. Soggy rice? I don't like that.

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  7. Good and fast service are important too, other than the food itself

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  8. A hungry aunty is an angry aunty!! Muahahahaha
    You are so garang where oversight-food is concerned. I think I have too much patience as I would continue to fiddle my smartphone when I had to wait for my food for ages.

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    1. I was too hungry that day, that's why so bad mood. LOL!

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  9. Hungry + angry = Hangry! LOL
    I understand your feeling and this always happen on me too :P

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    1. LOL! Hangry! Yah, that was me that day :D

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  10. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience there. I just had dinner here and it was pretty good (except for the naengmyun which we sent back to the kitchen as the noodles were very clumpy). Service was so-so, can be quite slow at times. The waitress that cooked our bbq meats was good though! My bibimbap and the korean pancakes were good too. Would still revisit (as of now!)

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    1. I think it's just that they are inconsistent with their service level. I am glad you had a good experience there :)

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