Rose E.
Yelp
It's been awhile since last dined here, so I met up with a friend here for lunch.
First of all, I was surprised to see that there had been some renovations since my last visit. I remember they used to have white seats, but now all the seats are black...plus, they added booths. I actually liked these changes... more casual, but still chic!
One thing that bugged me right away was the lack of A/C. It was incredibly hot and humid outside, and the restaurant wasn't sufficiently air conditioned. So yeah, loved the renovations...but hated the A/C. Sort of offset each other??
Now the food! I ordered Kakuni Bao as appetizer, along with their Pork Katsu lunch special. My friend ordered Tonkatsu Ramen. We had to wait quite a long time for our meal...which I figured had to due to short staffing in the kitchen. That's not all. When my Pork Katsu finally got delivered by another waitress (?), with no Bao in sight, I asked her about the missing item. She said the Bao wasn't on the ticket...so that's when my Bao order finally got placed (??). Again, I had to wait an usually long amount of time to get these so-called appetizers. No apology for this mix-up from my waiter (for the omission, that is)...nothing!
ANYWAY, as for the food itself, quite disappointing. *SIGH* The Katsu looked nearly burnt. It seemed over-battered and/or over-cooked...and just not as good as I had hoped. Guess my idea of a perfect Katsu is one that is lightly battered and crispy. Katsu at Musashi still reigns in my book. There was a ton of rice, but a skimpy amount of corn. Personally, I wish there was less rice, more corn & veggies. The much-delayed Bao turned out to be pretty good though...MUCH better than the Bao I had at Kung Foo Noodle recently. However, I didn't like how plain they were...with no veggies or toppings...JUST the Pork Belly! It would have been SO much better if there was SOME veggies added in. Budgeting, I guess?? My friend's Tonkatsu Ramen looked heavy, but pretty good...with no major issues.
My past experience here has been somewhat of a roller coaster (really good to really bad to really good again), and the rocky ride continues! This place has a ton of potential (BTW, I LOVE their diverse menu!), and I know that when it's good, it's really, really good!! However, it's just inconsistent. Today, unfortunately, it was quite bad. I mean, the service was very slow...my food item was missing/delayed...and my main dish was nearly burnt lol!!!
Honestly, if this was any other restaurant, I would have rated it a 1 or a 2...but I've always liked this restaurant for the many varieties on its menu. Also, I get the possible lack of staffing and budgeting due to Covid. Plus, I KNOW this is run by a great team...and today must have been an off day. *SIGH* In any case, I plan to return, and hopefully I can upgrade this rating.