30/05/2010
The Big Apple
https://www.openrice.com/zh/hongkong/review/hidden-10-service-charge-e2088039
I couldnt be bothered to take pictures of the Tea set menu, but I think the photo taken by
Yannielwy http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/photos.htm?shopid=46183&photoid=456096
clearly dosnt show any 10% service charge at all!
I have seen this restaurant at Sanlitun before, in the scenic balcany along with other bistro restaurants. It was a bit far to go, but now it is located in Jaffe Road.
Although it does seem to be posher being located in Sanlitun, the new restaurant at Jaffe Road looks dark inside.
Anyway, I got the cheese platter. Before I came I phoned and enquired what cheeses were in that platter, they answered "Mozzarella, cheddar, and xxx ver"
I couldnt quite work out what she was trying to say for the third one, but when I ordered at the restaurant, I asked again, and I still got the same answer :xxver"
I asked for the Mozzarella to be replaced with something else, so when I got the platter there were three different types of cheeses: Camembert/Brie, Stilton, and Cheddar, alongside with some puree which I thought was Apple, and some lettuce with balsalmic vinegar and two slices of toasted baguette.
It was slightly different to how I expected it to be, I always had the impression this place would be quite authentic western. I had in mind cheese would be served with savoury biscuits or fresh sliced apples/grapes.
The cheddar was very soft and bland, the stilton was nice and strong, but velvety soft. and the camembert was gooey.
Lastly, I had tea, luckily I asked for the milk to be served aside, because when it came, the milk was the condensed type, which ruined the breakfast tea.
When I left, the manageress was very nice and asked if the food was ok, she said the apple puree I had was infact their freshly made Pear sauce. I also mentioned about the milk, because I thought it was obviously that normal milk should be served with breakfast tea, and she said that the staff were hard to train, which is fair enough since it is a newly opened shop.
IMPROVEMENTS:
1) Staff should have better food knowledge, but they are currently being trained.
2) The menu's should clearly state a 10% service charge
3) Better hygiene, because there was a pesky little fly on my table, and it managed to sample some of my pear puree ><!
