Hmmmm... where should I start??? More precisely - how should I start??? I wanted to write a glowing review on this restaurant. Believe me - I WANTED! I have actually just got back from having dinner with my friends at Uncle Prawn. Here is how the story goes.
The first time that I heard about Uncle Prawn was, of course, from my fellow blogger friends who had gone there for food tasting not long ago. After reading on the ravings on all the food served here, I could not hardly wait for the opportunity to feast on their signature tai tau har or big head prawn myself. The image of the sweet & succulent prawns waiting to be devoured kept running through my mind as I enthusiastically promoting this place to one of my best friends who came visiting.
So imagine my excitement as I spotted this sign.
We were seated inside the air-conditioned area
The kitchen seemed small with all the cooks rushing the orders! You could easily spot them as you walked through the main door. Ever noticed all the papers pasted on the glass??? Those were the orders from customers - they simply pasted on the glass once the orders were taken, including mine. To me, this method was too disorganised and something might have gone wrong along the way. It DID! And unfortunately, it happened to me.
Let me start with the supervisor who took my order - did I accidentally step on her feet as I walked in? Did I owe her money? or was she having a bad day at work? nonetheless, never pissed off the customers (me & my friends) by showing the sulky face. She never once smiled and seemed unhappy when I refused to order fish when she persistently promoting their fish. Thanks but no thanks as I wanted to try the prawns... if I wanted to eat fish, I have plenty of supplies back in my hometown.
I tried not to be affected by that kind of service & just waited for the food to arrive while catching up with my friends whom I have not seen for quite some time. The jasmine tea that we ordered had bitter taste in it - a characteristic found in those inferior quality tea.
First thing that arrived at our table was the Signature taufu - I forgot its name but the taufu was mixed together with spinach, hence the greenish colour inside. Topped with minced meat and spring onion, this dish was a delight to eat... probably the only dish that I enjoyed that night
Pan fried prawn with special soya bean sauce - no complain on the fresh & succulent prawn but for RM25, I expected bigger prawn instead of medium sized ones. The soya bean sauce used was superior as it had sweetish note but I still prefer Lung Seng's version.
Kam heong lala came next - the sauce was great to be paired with the white rice. However, the clams had tasted weird for some reasons (I suspected that they were not fresh!)
Butter sauce squid sliced came next - initially I wanted to try the salted egg yolk version of the squid but it was not available. Came to think of it, I noticed a lot of "NOT AVAILABLE" sign pasted in its menu that day. My friends seemed to like this dish but I think the sauce was too rich for me. And it wasn't only me but all of us thought that the batter was too thick.
By that time, Uncle Prawn was already full-house and some patrons were seen waiting for tables outside the restaurant. The situation was very chaotic but we thought of nothing. We just chatted while waiting for the remaining two dishes to arrive. 20 minutes passed and the dishes had not arrived at our table. That was when I saw a plate of stir fried hong kong baby cabbage came out from the kitchen. Imagine how surprised I was when the waitress gave it to another table directly behind us!!! They have just arrived less than 15min! I quickly signalled the supervisor to come and complain - she then realised that my remaining orders might have been misplaced.
French style cheese baked prawn came after another 10min - the cheese was good but somehow it overpowered the taste of the prawn. I should have ordered different style instead of this (my fault!)
Imagine my frustration when the HK baby cabbage had still not arrived when we finished the prawn. I called the supervisor again and asked her to cancel the dish.
Leo's verdict - no offense but this place was over-rated IMHO. Their service was under average, all the staffs were disorganised, my order was misplaced and lastly but not least, there were flies flying around inside the restaurant causing much nuisance while we were eating. A restaurant of this caliber shouldn't have flies in its compound, especially when it is air-conditioned! I had set the expectation too high when I read so many blogs raving about this place and perhaps that was why I felt very disappointed. There is always difference in service when they (the restaurant) expected food bloggers to come compared to those who came unexpectedly (in this case it was me).
If you asked me if I would ever come here again, I'd say DUNNO... maybe YES but not for the time being. I have yet to try their sang har meen and the pork dishes (my friend is although a Chinese but doesn't eat pork).
ONE THING FOR SURE - THE STANDARD OF SERVICE DEFINITELY HAS TO BE IMPROVED! GET RID OF THE FLIES PROBLEM AND INSTALL SMILES ON EACH AND EVERYONE WHO WORKED THERE (NO ONE LIKES TO SEE FROWN FACES WHEN THEY ARE DINING.
P.S: Non-halal
Uncle Prawn,Unit A-15, Sunway Giza,Jalan PJU 5/14,Dataran Sunway Kota Damansara,47810 Petaling Jaya.Tel: +603 6148 1998Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.
