No such thing as good, cheap food

There we were, strutting confidently into the doorway, and we were engulfed with the aroma of fresh Italian herbs, no doubt from the fresh bread that is served before every meal. We sat confidently and comfortably at the table allocated for us. And there we sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

A sense of deja vu began to envelope us. We've been here before. We've been in this situation before. WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS THE FOOD?

We were there for their Neverending Pasta deal on Wednesday. 19.90++ for all the pasta you can eat. It was a good deal and they had awesome pasta. But for the 2 or 3 times we've been there, everything was a horrendous disappointment. The first helping of pasta usually comes quick enough. Within 30 minutes or so. The next order will take about an hour. And that is with constant reminders to the waiters, who by the way, will come to your table , utter the customary , "yes?" and when we enquire about the food, will usually start giving a blank uncomfortable look, swings his head left and right , mutter an incomprehensible phrase and then walk off. Those that actually said , "oh, i'll check on it for you", will never come back and update us with the status of the food.

The first time it happened, we thought, oh wells, probably it was just a busy night. We'll cut them some slack. Yesterday however, was utterly disappointing. The first pasta order came more than an hour late and they got the orders wrong. For some reason, they cant seemed to put the right pasta in it. If you want fettucine, they give you linguine. If you want linguine, they give you angel hair. If you want penne, they give you spaghetti. Whats the deal with that?? Also, the food quality, eg taste, seemed to deteriorate as the night drags on.

We've also encountered terribly rude waiters who stands there with a sullen look, reprimanding us by stating that "you're not allowed to share your food or you'll be charged double". Where the heck does it state in the menu that we will be charged for sharing. I know theres a little tiny line that states that its an individual portion and it does state, ( i reluctantly admit) no sharing. But no where does it state, a double charge would be imposed. AND, it is ridiculous to imposed such rules when you come up with such promotions. Are they going to station one waiter to each table to observe our eating habits? Issit wrong for me to want to try my friend's dish? What qualifies as sharing anyway? Is nicking a piece of fried calamari from my friend's plate considered "sharing?". And the really ironic thing is, it's stated somewhere in the menu that Italian food is all about sharing. They even have some of their dishes that are meant for sharing. In fact, they have this plaque in the restaurant itself which reads : So Good, So Much, So Share. So much for their motto.

Also, just because we're ordering the promotional item doesn't mean they have the right to treat us like we dont matter. Firstly, if you can't handle the orders or the cost the promotion is costing you, then dont have it. Any food promotion is bound to be taken advantaged of. We are Malaysians after all.At the end of the day, you're supposed to be an expensive, established restaurant and should really treat your patrons better even if they are ordering the cheapest thing on the menu because you never know that one day, these are the patrons that might reserve your entire restaurant for a private function with some major celebrity. Or that you would never know that someone might be a food critic/reporter in disguise and would totally be disgusted at the way they were treated and would then make YOU suffer by writing a bad review on the restaurant, just like yours truly is now writing on this blog. But then again, do remember the Internet has the power to reach out to a wider audience and might just be enough to shut your restaurant down. Don't mess with hungry people, especially ANGRY hungry people.

Edited on 20 October 2006 @ 10.22pm
We decided to try out a different branch of the restaurant in One Utama. It was also the same day of the week where that particular promotion was being held. We were pleasantly surprised that this branch was so much better than the one that we've been to at The Curve. Its service was excellent. Staff was attentive and polite. The quality of the food was not compromised at all, and there was a max of like 15 minutes wait for the pasta to arrive and they only got one of the orders wrong and that was just on the type of pasta which is very forgiveable. They efficiently refilled our drinks and said nothing as we each tried each other's food. At the end of the meal, we couldnt' help ourselves, we just had to ask for a comment card. We wrote an entirely different review than the one we wrote before and commended them for the great service and the great food. The branch at The Curve has soo much to learn. Even so, I guess they wont be short of customers even with the terrible service and food as its a seriously happening area as opposed to the more quiet One Utama branch. But I loved the food so much that I foresee that I'll forgo people-watching and go for good food instead. We were very very pleased with the One Utama branch. Hehs. So yeah, don;t go to The Curve if you want to go to this restaurant. One Utama is the place to be!