Well folks, it was my birthday yesterday and guess what? I felt like celebrating!
I'd heard great things about Matou situated at the Pier Head and decided it was well worth checking out seeing as it was a special occasion and all...
We arrived slightly early and were welcomed into the vicinity by a cheerful chap who directed us to the lift. With this in mind, my expectations had been raised somewhat, you know, start as you mean to go on etc...
When we got to the second floor, I was stunned by the architecture of the restaurant, as well as the views. But despite the restaurant being only half full, the waitress seemed exasperated and stressed when performing such a simple a task as showing us to our table.
But it was my birthday and I wasn't going to let anyone spoil it! The service continued to be chaotically disorganised as we waited about with our menus, our parched mouths getting drier by the second.
We decided to each have a soup course and share a tempura seafood platter and I decided to have the duck breast as my main course. But before the starters (and our drinks) arrived a gentleman who was very sure of himself approached with three steaming hot plates of Pad Thai and proceeded to clear our side plates... We kindly insisted that we hadn't ordered these dishes and he left for the correct table....
A waitress approached the table and informed us that the seafood platter was for a maximum of two people (even though it stated on the menu minimum 2 people), but by that point, I was so confused and hungry I just nodded and smiled...
Our starters arrived and all I can describe them as is mediocre... the soup was vaguely oriental flavoured, but nothing special. Then another waitress informed me I'd been misinformed about the duck dish I'd ordered... again, I smiled and nodded to avoid any further complications.
Once our soup bowls were cleared, our 'seafood platter' arrived... Now usually with Tempura, you expect a light, crisp batter simply coating the fish without impeding on the flavour. However, we received a mound of battered bits that looked like a blind child had been let loose on the deep fat frier and piled the greasy seafood tit-bits on our plate that simply slipped through my chopsticks...
A considerable amount of time elapsed before our main courses arrived, which provided a little breather. My father's dish arrived as a bland, flavourless plate of food drained of all colour and texture. When my dish arrived, I had to check that the correct meal had been delivered to me as my duck was so over-cooked, it was unrecognisable.
Despite the duck breast being sliced onto the plate, the chef failed to spot that there wasn't one pink bit in sight and decided to send it to my table all the same. Some people just don't have standards, but I do...
Needless to say, my birthday wasn't ruined as it's the company that counts... my advice, order in a takeaway, there's more flavour in a stock cube than all the food in Matou put together!
I'd heard great things about Matou situated at the Pier Head and decided it was well worth checking out seeing as it was a special occasion and all...
We arrived slightly early and were welcomed into the vicinity by a cheerful chap who directed us to the lift. With this in mind, my expectations had been raised somewhat, you know, start as you mean to go on etc...
When we got to the second floor, I was stunned by the architecture of the restaurant, as well as the views. But despite the restaurant being only half full, the waitress seemed exasperated and stressed when performing such a simple a task as showing us to our table.
But it was my birthday and I wasn't going to let anyone spoil it! The service continued to be chaotically disorganised as we waited about with our menus, our parched mouths getting drier by the second.
We decided to each have a soup course and share a tempura seafood platter and I decided to have the duck breast as my main course. But before the starters (and our drinks) arrived a gentleman who was very sure of himself approached with three steaming hot plates of Pad Thai and proceeded to clear our side plates... We kindly insisted that we hadn't ordered these dishes and he left for the correct table....
A waitress approached the table and informed us that the seafood platter was for a maximum of two people (even though it stated on the menu minimum 2 people), but by that point, I was so confused and hungry I just nodded and smiled...
Our starters arrived and all I can describe them as is mediocre... the soup was vaguely oriental flavoured, but nothing special. Then another waitress informed me I'd been misinformed about the duck dish I'd ordered... again, I smiled and nodded to avoid any further complications.
Once our soup bowls were cleared, our 'seafood platter' arrived... Now usually with Tempura, you expect a light, crisp batter simply coating the fish without impeding on the flavour. However, we received a mound of battered bits that looked like a blind child had been let loose on the deep fat frier and piled the greasy seafood tit-bits on our plate that simply slipped through my chopsticks...
A considerable amount of time elapsed before our main courses arrived, which provided a little breather. My father's dish arrived as a bland, flavourless plate of food drained of all colour and texture. When my dish arrived, I had to check that the correct meal had been delivered to me as my duck was so over-cooked, it was unrecognisable.
Despite the duck breast being sliced onto the plate, the chef failed to spot that there wasn't one pink bit in sight and decided to send it to my table all the same. Some people just don't have standards, but I do...
Needless to say, my birthday wasn't ruined as it's the company that counts... my advice, order in a takeaway, there's more flavour in a stock cube than all the food in Matou put together!
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