05-11-2008, 06:46 PM
Okay, so I had promised to take Mom and the grandnieces out to lunch for Mother's Day, to a Chinese "super buffet" near her that we all like a lot. Incredible range and variety of unique dishes, terrific sushi, whole nine yards.
Well, the first thing to go wrong is my nephew gets called in to cover the lunch shift at his new job, on top of his scheduled evening shift. There's a narrow window of opportunity between when lunch shift ends and the grandnieces' mothers (yes, plural. don't ask) are coming to pick them up. So, we schedule lunch for 3 in the afternoon and I'm starving by the time we get out the door.
Get to the restaurant, it's not named "China Moon" anymore. Fresh coat of paint and now it's called "Panda." Hmmmm. And the parking lot's EMPTY. On Mother's Day. Not good. But there we are.
Inside, China Moon's acres of steam tables have been replaced by just TWO. And most of what's on them isn't recognizable as food. I mean, breaded and fried imitation crab legs? WTF? Too late to change plans, no time to go someplace else, so I put my "game face" on and figure I've GOT to able to fill up on something, even if it's only egg rolls. After picking at two plates, neither full nor finished, I give up on it.
The waitress, a really good-looking Asian woman, became increasingly soliticious as lunch went on. I don't know if she could tell I wasn't pleased, or was angling for a tip, or thought I was a hottie, or what. But after I paid the (overpriced) bill and was leaving, she followed me out the door to ask if everything had been satisfactory.
Well, y'all know me. [lol]
"No," I told her. "I'm sorry, but that was truly awful. Just horrible."
*vanishes*
How bad was it? Let me put it this way . . . on the way home from an all you can eat buffet, I stopped and got a brisket poboy so I wouldn't go to bed HUNGRY!
NANPâ¢
[cigar]
Well, the first thing to go wrong is my nephew gets called in to cover the lunch shift at his new job, on top of his scheduled evening shift. There's a narrow window of opportunity between when lunch shift ends and the grandnieces' mothers (yes, plural. don't ask) are coming to pick them up. So, we schedule lunch for 3 in the afternoon and I'm starving by the time we get out the door.
Get to the restaurant, it's not named "China Moon" anymore. Fresh coat of paint and now it's called "Panda." Hmmmm. And the parking lot's EMPTY. On Mother's Day. Not good. But there we are.
Inside, China Moon's acres of steam tables have been replaced by just TWO. And most of what's on them isn't recognizable as food. I mean, breaded and fried imitation crab legs? WTF? Too late to change plans, no time to go someplace else, so I put my "game face" on and figure I've GOT to able to fill up on something, even if it's only egg rolls. After picking at two plates, neither full nor finished, I give up on it.
The waitress, a really good-looking Asian woman, became increasingly soliticious as lunch went on. I don't know if she could tell I wasn't pleased, or was angling for a tip, or thought I was a hottie, or what. But after I paid the (overpriced) bill and was leaving, she followed me out the door to ask if everything had been satisfactory.
Well, y'all know me. [lol]
"No," I told her. "I'm sorry, but that was truly awful. Just horrible."
*vanishes*
How bad was it? Let me put it this way . . . on the way home from an all you can eat buffet, I stopped and got a brisket poboy so I wouldn't go to bed HUNGRY!
NANPâ¢
[cigar]
NANP™
