Service with foreign frown!

There is a very worrying trend that seems to be growing in KL's service industry and it is the influx of foreign workers in restaurants and hotels. While I am not against foreigners looking for a better life in my country, I draw the line when they have these FREAKING foreigners who work in a particular restaurant but have no idea what the menu is about, don't understand the language or the menu content and screws up my orders. One such incident happened at a Cantonese restaurant called Canton Bay at Sunway Pyramid.

Don't mistake it for Canton-i, which is a spin off from Dragon-i, serving good Cantonese dishes. There are many such restaurants like Canton-i. For example Kim Gary, Prince Cafe (in SS2) and Char Chan Teng. While they serve good quality dishes, they also have Cantonese or Mandarin speaking servers who are knowledgeable about the food and the menu.

What this really ridiculous Canton Bay has is a bunch of Burmese or Vietnamese who have no idea what the dishes on the menu are, who cannot recommend anything, can't tell you what ingredients it contain and worst off, because they don't know, they will screw up your order. What's even life threateningly worse, I spoke to them in English. I cannot understand why the owners will hire someone who cannot complement their establishment at all, to be their client facing people. To really, REALLY top it off, there wasn't a captain or a manager who can speak Cantonese in the restaurant. So there really was no one to help the people who are paying and will potential pay you some more.

I was there to try Canton Bay for the first time since I really enjoy Cantonese cuisine and I need my dose of Char Siew (honey grilled pork) and Siew Yok (roast pork). When I asked if they had it, the lady at the reception nodded enthusiastically. When I sat down and saw the menu, they had Chicken Char Siew. That should have been my cue to leave. The fool that I was, stayed back and continued my ordeal.

I was with my in-laws and my wife and she had to leave early so we asked if her dish can be served first. The waiter said ok and left. We waited 15 minutes for it. I didn't know if the waiter didn't understand, just pure lazy, pure apathy or just plain stupid not to at least inform us that it would take 15 minutes. Other dishes were also screwed up and when we told them, there was no apology or even any attempt to feel apologetic. Not even a smile. There were 10-12 workers running around but with nothing done. It was just incredible and if you know Cantonese dishes, they are relatively easy to prepare. So we weren't sure why the long wait for something we wanted urgently and why the screw up when they have so many workers and not that many tables.

So I paid the bill there for the last time. They gave me a discount card, which I left on the table and I walked out for the last time. I can't really blame the foreign workers seeing that they may their own challenges but I am not here to say gracious things about them either.

So I would recommend you try Canton Bay, which is at Sunway Pyramid's old wing just above McDonald's. But only if you want to see some Burmese waiter screw up your order and a bunch of them running around trying to look busy. I hope they choke on their Chicken Char Siew!!