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Local restaurant that over charge.

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Mar 2017
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    Quote Originally Posted by Londonnep:
    I feel HK is safe even late night after a few drinks my only concern is eating locally their standard of hygiene is interesting I used to own a restaurant so it's always in the back of my head.
    I agree with this. I've never gotten sick in HK restaurants but there are so many common practices that make me squeamish. Having worked in restaurants for several years - both fast food and fine dining - there are easily observable attributes to look for that indicate the level of care that the restaurant pays to sanitation.

    Number 1 (har har) for me is the state of the washrooms and most HK washrooms are absolutely horrid. The second is how clean the utensils are and third is how clean the shared condiments are.

    Food sanitation aside these attributes indicate how much the restaurant thinks about the customer experience - unfortunately most HK restaurants give zero fucks about the customer.
    TheBrit likes this.

  2. #22

    I've been in HK over a month yes it was a local place and I feel mongkok in the evening is more for locals its not like central , lkf or wan chai.
    Slices of duck with bits meat, squid thrown in and a bowl of rice maybe it was an expensive delicacy anyway learnt my lesson not emarassed to ask how much first only ate the duck wouldn't be surprised if they reused my left over. Lol


  3. #23

    I ran my own business for 12 years, yes you're spot on these are my main concerns but if it's just a day of toilet problems then I can deal with it. Lol


  4. #24

    Probably your body's not use to fine dining? Just kidding..


  5. #25

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Hong Kong
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    308

    Haha, I wonder if it's the same place I went to a year or so ago. It was a siu mei restaurant in Mong Kok.

    They had lots of pictures of dishes on the wall but they were really expensive. The lady gave me an English menu but it also only had a few expensive options (as in the cheapest thing was $75). The table had a printed Chinese menu under the glass (not a set special), and that menu's cheapest item was something like $17 and the most expensive thing was $80, with most things running in the $40-60 range.

    I asked the lady in Canto why the menus were different (my speaking was much better than my reading then), and she just asked me what I wanted to eat. :P I told her cha siu rice, which turned out to be $40 or so. It wasn't very good either, so sounds like it could be the same place!

    I guess in that case they're not technically cheating by having different prices for different languages but they just don't bother to translate the cheaper, more normal options.


  6. #26

    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Posts
    1,972
    Quote Originally Posted by tf19:
    I agree with this. I've never gotten sick in HK restaurants but there are so many common practices that make me squeamish. Having worked in restaurants for several years - both fast food and fine dining - there are easily observable attributes to look for that indicate the level of care that the restaurant pays to sanitation.

    Number 1 (har har) for me is the state of the washrooms and most HK washrooms are absolutely horrid. The second is how clean the utensils are and third is how clean the shared condiments are.

    Food sanitation aside these attributes indicate how much the restaurant thinks about the customer experience - unfortunately most HK restaurants give zero fucks about the customer.
    HK is like everywhere else, you get one thing when you eat low end and another when you eat high end. Go eat at the Four Seasons or IFC and you will find restroom valets, impeccable cleanliness. You will pay top dollar but I cannot guarantee the food will be worth it. On the other hand, you go to a local hole in the wall in any US city and you will find the relish container may have never been cleaned since deployed and the spoon used by many people and never replaced nor washed. The utensils are crusty from improper cleanings etc. The restroom may have shit splattered on the wall and no one bothers to clean it. On a NYC street you will find food vendors (ethnically Greek or Eastern European) who prep your food with the same hand they take money with and give change -- all without gloves. They may even spit on their hand to count the wad of dollar bills they have collected during lunch hour. Oh, and the grill is never properly cleaned. Only hosed off at the nearest public restroom (one with shit splattered on the walls) for use the next day. Its not always a Chinese nor HK thing.
    Last edited by RMDNC; 01-06-2018 at 02:12 PM.
    Rob2020, Mat and orel100x like this.

  7. #27

  8. #28

    You know what the locals do when they go to a local eatery theyre normally given a jug of boiled water or tea and you clean your cutlery with it. Lol


  9. #29

    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    1,972
    Quote Originally Posted by Londonnep:
    You know what the locals do when they go to a local eatery theyre normally given a jug of boiled water or tea and you clean your cutlery with it. Lol
    That happens in Chinese restaurants across the world. I’ve even seen it in Lee Garden here. BTW I think the local food is not for you. Why force yourself given your apprehension. There are plenty of McDonalds, Pret’s and other “western restaurants” in SOHO and Central (including many Michelin and Zagat rated) as well as crème de la crème 5 star hotel fine dining establishments more suitable for your standards of excellence. Bon appétit.

  10. #30

    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    6,452
    Quote Originally Posted by Londonnep:
    You know what the locals do when they go to a local eatery theyre normally given a jug of boiled water or tea and you clean your cutlery with it. Lol
    If I have to clean my own cutlery, then I don't wanna see the kitchen.