when i made a reservation via Facebook - for which i'm glad we could - it was a very pleasant process. we also notified them of a gluten allergy in the party (main reason why we chose this place - due to their gluten-free menu item claim), which they had acknowledged.
my friend and i arrived about 10-15 min apart. i was lost in the mall trying to get to their floor, which was not a straight forward process - i might have entered on the wrong side, the elevators I found only get me so far, then suddenly i'm at the office building side. needed to ask for information, and was led to walk back to the mall side, and went up few more levels by escalator.
upon my eventual arrival, my friend reported a small hiccup with the check in, something about us changing party size due to a last minute bail from one of us, and/or that not all parties were there to be seated. i get it we contributed to the issue, but the hostess/manager didn't look very pleased. maybe there were just busy, but that wasn't a great first impression.
the person with food sensitivity issues didn't end up making to our lunch date. however, not until midway of our meal did someone come to check on us about that. to be fair, if that person was in our party, we would have notified them upon ordering.
ordering was uneventful, food came at a slightly slower but acceptable pace. presentation was lovely, but my pandang pancake felt like more fluff than substance (maybe it was designed to be that way). again, it was very pretty to look at, no doubt, but it started to get too sweet and too boring one third way in. the latte was strong; always appreciate the cute design on top.
the place was full, but they did not seem completely slammed due to lack of line outside, possibly thankful to their reservation system. even so, i felt slightly unattended to, esp for a place that charges more than double than the tea restaurants that serve typical street food right downstairs; i got just as little service, and almost no smile.
the setup is simplistic, conveying a sense of leisure, what with window seats and natural light, looks like a nice place to hang. except that their service standard and policy (ex. time limit at peak meal time) is kind of telling you the opposite. as such, one just can't feel thoroughly relaxed, no matter what the atmosphere might look on the outside.
for that, i wasn't entirely convinced to return, esp if there will be a line and table time limit. only in the absence of both, i might try again in search of an afternoon refuge. read more