When one of our friends suggested Ping Pong for our "catch-up dinner," I was open minded....and excited since I love Chinese food. However, I was a bit disappointed with my overall experience. And let me enumerate why:
1) BYOB???: My friend brought beer, assuming that BYOB included beer. Yeah, it didn't. The host came out to greet her and told her she would not be able to drink it at the table, because they actually DO serve beer there. So, they took her name and said they would hold onto her beer and keep it chilled in the fridge. (Remember this, because it will be pointed out later.) Shouldn't this, then, be called BYOW - bring your own WINE?
2) Server Confusion: We had a couple different servers approach our table, which was confusing. However, I guess this is good in order to ensure that your customers aren't waiting.
3) Corking Fee: There is a $7.95 corking fee, which kind of blows.
4) Dirty Wine Glass #1: Not only do you pay for corking fees, but you have to worry about dirty wine glasses. One of my friends had food (which I think was a sesame seed) floating in her wine right after the server poured the wine and left the table. We asked for a new wine glass, but it never came. Finally, I had to flag someone down to get our server to come back over. She took the glass to the kitchen, dumped out the wine and returned with another glass, in which the server poured another glass.
5) Dirty Wine Glass #2: My friend is now paranoid and checked her glass only to find something stuck to the glass AGAIN! We called the server over again, and she said it might be an imperfection in the glass and took the glass to the kitchen. When she returned, the 2nd glass was empty and the server was holding a 3rd glass. She then told us that it was the glass itself and took a long toothpick to scrape at the glass to show that it was not food crusted on the glass. So my question is...why didn't you leave the glass of wine filled, then, instead of dumping out YET ANOTHER glass of wine out? I mean we ARE paying corking fee, right?!?
6) Dirty Wine Glass #3: My other friend, who is now paranoid, checked her glass. There was something stuck to her glass. She took the long toothpick the server had used and began to check to see if it was the glass or food. It was food. So, we called the server over again and showed her that there was something on the glass. (My recommendation - Wash your glasses separately to avoid food getting washed off of plates, tossed onto glasses and then steam dried onto wine glasses!)
7) Noise Level: The space is decorated very cutely and I liked the mood lighting; however, I really had a hard time hearing my friends as they were speaking, because noise just seemed to bounce all over the place there.
8) My friend who had "checked" her wine at the bar was a bit tipsy leaving, because there were some bottles of wine everyone enjoyed at dinner, and forgot to grab her beer before she walked outside. But our other friend remembered and ran up to the host to grab it before we all left. My friend just put the beer in her car not even paying attention. Turns out that the Ping Pong staff gave her the wrong beer! They apparently had the name tags switched for the another table that had brought beer.
While there were some frustrating aspects of the dinner, I have to say the food was good, but a bit over-priced for my taste. Also, I had never had a chocolate fortune cookie before. It came out and I was so excited. It was a chocolate fortune cookie, dipped in white chocolate with chocolate sprinkles. And my fortune inside was pretty right on to what is going on in my life. So, that get's a star. read more