Noticed tonight two totally opposite comments on the above new restaurant.
A comment left by Tassie Gal on my post about Dom's Asian last week was extremely positive and urged me to get there and check it out.
A totally opposite comment has been left on HRB's site in the Luck's review damning the place, its food quality, its value for money, wine list and service.
That, I think, just goes to highlight exactly what I was speaking about in my last post about us all being different.
Both people experienced different levels of satisfaction, and probably in the restaurant, on the nights in question there were many differences as well, from one night to the next.
So - it remains for us to go there and check it out for ourselves. Very interesting.
Saturday, 30 June 2007
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12 comments:
Went to the Bund on Friday night. Quite mixed. Wine list OK. Entrees very overpriced, two of four desserts unavailable (and they were the interesting ones so it was either banana split or deep fried ice cream!). Rice and veggies need to be ordered separately and this bumps up the price. Our bok choy was great! Spicy shredded beef, twice cooked pork and prawns very well cooked. Certainly not a Tassie local Chinese with all the veggies in the main course.
Lunch at Kawasemi on Saturday. Rob had eel which was divine. Just ask Aki- san and he will cook it for you. I pigged on bento box which was far too much but totally scrummy. Think I'm addicted!
Kzee
Wine list OK?
Maybe for a formica tabled plastic chaired msg laced diner, but definitely not ok for a pricey white table-clothed restaurant with a 'winelist' separate to the menu.
Hobartians definitely do have different tastes and expectations in eating establishments, how else to explain the profusion substandard restaurants within and around the city. I suggest a dining experience outside of the capital for a true critical view point.
Wasn't actually comparing it with other Hobart restaurants, more with the Chinatown restaurants in Melbourne.
Kzee
$8 for 3 miserable barely warm gritty dumplings that take 45+ minutes at the Bund.
or
$5-6 for 15 delicious steaming pork dumplings at the Shanghai Dumpling & Noodle restaurant in Chinatown, Melbourne, arriving on the table within 5 minutes.
here here larousse, delusions of grandeur is a common affliction for tassie diners. there isn't a benchmark here and certainly not the saturation of eateries, hence places like the bund, vanidols and marque 4 can charge like a wounded bull and get away with it and not back it up on the plate.
i think it's fair to say that tasmanians are victims of
opportunists in the restaurant game and will only suffer more whilst the same old suspects ply their trade.
i was visiting last month and had shocking meals for outrageous prices. melb isn't free from this either,but it's easier to spot the naked emperor and promptly turn the other way.
goodluck tassie, stand up to the pretenders make them lift their game or lower their prices!!!
kzee and larousse - both make good points. Sounds like a bit of a mixed bag there if we venture to Bund at the moment. I'm a bit hesitant after the feedback. Maybe I should give them time to settle in.
I notice HRB says she's going to review it soon. I'll be interested to see what she thinks.
melbglutton - sounds like you had a pretty shitty (eating) time here on your visit. You must admit you Melbournians are spoiled for choice: whatever you feel like, and whatever you want to pay on the night, is all there laid out for you.
I love Melbourne for that very reason. If I ever moved there, it would only be for the variety of food available there.
As you so rightly point out, I think we are, to a certain extent, held to ransom. I certainly felt that at Lenna. I hate to repeat myself but I'm still reeling from the 10 Oysters Kilpatrick for $30!
But I disagree about Marque IV. I loved every mouthful of the 8 course degustation and felt it was worth every cent, and more.
Do Vanidols charge too much? Kitty could tell us. I haven't been there for a while so can't say. I didn't think they did when I last was there.
Yes Melbourne is good for a feed and a piss up. And sport and entertainment events. And, once the people realise you're not a nutter or want money from them, they are very friendly.
But, great as it is, it is too big for me, Rita.
Hobart is probably just too small. Around 400,000 of us in greater Hobart would be about right.
Half a million tops. Then there would be even more bad chippies, KFCs,
Bugger Kings, Maccas, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Nandos etc.....aargh!
But then a few more good restaurants would get through.
Sir Grumpy
Only been to MIV once. That was last year and haven’t been back since. Also had the degustation. Most courses were great, though the twice cooked soufflé was more like a thrice cooked sourdough and the berry mousse with the dessert reminded me of a childhood Great Ocean Road car trip after eating a custard tart and drinking creaming soda. That too was frothy and pink by the time we reached 12 Apostles. Service at MIV however was not professional, the front of house openly criticised a junior waitperson in front of our table.
Vanidols is great now with their new ‘Specials’ menu and change of wall colour. I’m happy to pay their prices (cheaper than Bund), and at last count it’s been four visits in a row with excellent food and service. I think that’s a personal record for consistency in Hobart.
Larousse - you must have had last years degustation at MIV. I didn't have those dishes with the degustation I had there, which was the same as the menu Nellie & Mr Nellie had a few weeks ago for his 40th celebration dinner there. They really enjoyed theirs too. Quite surprising for my Nellie, given she's usually vegetarian, and has quite definite tastes in food.
But that was bad about your service issue. I have witnessed that same thing occurring (a staff member getting told off in front of the customer) and I think it's the shocking.
I'll drop by Vanidols soon & check it out again.
I work back of house in restaurants and have to see the front of house staff receive all the glory and not to mention the tips for work that they didn't do ie. the food. What ever happend to a team effort? and anyway who the hell goes to a restaurant purely for the service? this is when i get anry hearing the comment above how the service was not professional and the senior wait person criticised the junior wait person in front of the customer. Do they deserve to payed as much as a chef who has trained for 4 years? Who do they think they are.
Yes, anon, the cooking team deserves the credit or otherwise.
However, we the diners like to be looked after in the restaurant and the waiters are part of that.
If they mess up our orders, are inattentive, surly or rude, even the best efforts of a great chef can be wasted.
And we don't want to see rows on the floor between staff.
And a chef is ``in training'' for life. Four years may just get the entry ticket.
Cheers, Sir Grumpy.
Anon above Sir Grumpys comment above (6/7 4.48) - chill out.
1. FOH staff DO get all the glory & tips generally, and it definitely is not fair. But why can't they see that? They'd just be handing customers empty plates if it wasn't for the back of house staff. What do you want to do about this?
2. Who goes to a restaurant purely for the good service? Well, no one, but combine good service with good food and you've got the recipe for success.
3. I believe it is definitely NOT professional for the senior to criticise the junior in front of the customers. I don't care what the situation. Or for anyone to criticise anyone else in front of the customers. Or for FOH to blame BOH staff for a complaint about the food.
Once again - whatever happened to teamwork - to use your question.
No - waitstaff generally don't get paid as much as the chef who has trained for 4 years, then been in the trade longer than that. What waitstaff do you know who earn $120,000 per year? A chef can.
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