Mr. Choi Kitchen

Mr Choi Kitchen, Ground Level, Waltermart Center, 790 Chino Roces Avenue corner Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City

May 9, 2009

OVERALL GRADE: 2.62 / 5

FOOD : 2

Stir Fry Shanghai Noodles and bottomless iced-tea.

Presentation : The stir fried noodle was served in a fancy stainless steel bowl container with an oversized serving spoon. Based on appearance alone, I got this impression that Mr Choi Kitchen scrimped on the vegetable and meat ingredients. The noodles looked limped and greasy. No care was given on food presentation. Since it was supposed to be a stir fried noodle, everything was mixed up. Meat and vegetables were strewn together as expected.

Quality and Taste : The food was served hot. That’s one good thing about it. The thickness of noodles is, for the lack of a better term, substantial. It’s neither thin nor thick. Based on my initial impression, the stir fried noodle was, indeed, oily. It had an aftertaste of cooking oil. The vegetable and meat did not help much to alter the taste. The pinchful veggies were overcooked and soggy. It was salty to make it worse. The red meat looked like recycled left over from the various meat which was not served nor ordered.

AMBIANCE: 3.5

Mr Choi Kitchen in Waltermart, just like the rest of their branches, exudes warmth and comfort. It’s deep brown and dark orange motif feels like a hotel restaurant serving fancy cuisine. The seats are comfortable; lighting definitely adds color to the food they serve. It wasn’t the dull fluorescent light where the surrounding becomes “hospital” white. Kudos to the earth colored walls and chandelier like lights that emit subdued hues. The whole place did not smell greasy. This Chinese restaurant is clean, unlike some restaurants I know. One thing is for sure, your shirt will not smell oily after leaving this restaurant. Each table is provided with the basic condiments, spoon and fork set and a piece of paper table napkin.

The downside of Mr Choi Kitchen is that they scrimp on table napkins. This is a restaurant. Each table must have a paper table napkin dispenser. You don’t expect customers to be contended with just one piece of table napkin. You don’t expect a child to re-use his/her table napkin every so often. It’s bothersome for customers to ask food attendants, every now and then, for an extra table napkin. In fact, customers must not ask for extra table napkins to begin with. It has to be within reach when the need arises.

Condiments, provided in each table, consist of the standard salt, pepper and chili oil.

Room temperature was a bit humid when I visited this restaurant. Since the main doors are wide open, I’m not sure if the a/c inside the restaurant was turned off and they were just relying on the mall’s air conditioning system in the lobby.

Mr Choi Kitchen does not have any comfort room inside the restaurant. I witnessed one customer asking the waiter where the CR was. The waiter referred her to the mall’s CR which is located on the second floor. Unbelievable and unimaginable. Max’s Friend Chicken House, its neighbor, has its own washroom and comfort INSIDE the restaurant.

I failed to confirm if Mr Choi has even a washroom.

SERVICE: 1.5

I have been to this restaurant for more than 20 times already. This is the most decent eatery near my place. One thing is consistent though, Mr Choi Kitchen’s service is notoriously poor. I’m trying to understand whether its the staffing (or the lack of it) or the volume of people eating given a certain period of time. But logic does not explain to me why their service is poor.

That particular Saturday, I was so unlucky to have one inefficient staff as my waiter. Fortunately for him, I failed to get the name of this inattentive server. This same waiter did not give me my iced tea when I first placed an order (including the refill) and the extra tissue which I asked for. I had to call the attention of another waiter in order to deliver what I wanted.

It took awhile (I should have timed it) before my order was served. While waiting, they could have served my iced tea first. This is the standard practice in restaurants that I’ve visited in the past. Mr Choi Kitchen should have reading materials (newspapers or magazines) for customers while waiting for their food. The whole place did not have any wall mounted TV nor piped-in music. What do customers do while waiting for their order? What if its a solo customer with nobody to talk to?

I am not aware of their policy regarding freebies. Does a customer need to ask for the complimentary hot tea? Does the waiter offer it to customers? Do they serve complimentary hot tea in the first place? I did not ask for a complimentary tea nor was offered by the waiter.

It took them awhile to serve my food. It took them even longer to give me my receipt. In fact, I left the restaurant without waiting for my receipt (I gave the exact amount).

The appearance and grooming of the food attendants were on-standard: clean uniform, trimmed nails, clean hands and no foul breath coming from their mouth when they talked.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3.5

This is the best asset of Mr Choi. Their price ranges from affordable to reasonable. The food portion compensates with the price of the food. In fact they do not even have service charge billed in your receipt.

STRONG POINTS

Mr Choi claims to serve MSG free food. This is beneficial to those customers with dietary requirements.

Location: this restaurant is located at the ground level of a mall, right smack between two escalators (coming from the basement parking and the other one goes up to the second floor) and entrance to the ground level parking lot. People can easily find this restaurant. This establishment is, by accident, handicapped friendly. No stairs on the floor, which means a wheelchair customer can have a choice seat.

Menu selection is also excellent. They serve a wide array of Chinese food. It doesn’t matter if the selections are typical of a Chinese restaurant. Bottom line, they have what I want. That matters most.

The Menu folder is neatly presented. It’s not tattered. The pictures, featured in the Menu folder, greatly help customers in general. If one does not have any idea on what to eat nor how the food looks like, Mr Choi’s Menu folder will answer these uncertainties.

WEAK POINTS

They have to improve on their service. Perhaps the food that was served to me was greasy but it does not mean that all their entrees are greasy. Perhaps it was by unfortunate chance that my order was prepared that way.

• No CR inside the restaurant
• Room temperature was humid
• Tight budget on the paper table napkin; must provide dispenser per table
• Food attendants severely lack customer service