Momo Chicken — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I have never had such an insufferable experience at any restaurant in my forty years of existence.

In all fairness, I used to enjoy dining at this restaurant and have frequently ordered from here in the past.

Today, everything changed—and I can now say with confidence that I will not be returning.

I ordered a boneless piece of chicken with two flavours: soy garlic and spicy marinade, along with some kimchi fried rice. At least, I thought I did.

The kimchi fried rice arrived and was fine. But when the chicken came, it was entirely spicy marinade. I explained that we had ordered a half-and-half portion with two flavours.

The waitress pointed repeatedly to the receipt and insisted it was only spicy marinade. I explained that I had ordered through the online portal, selected soy garlic first, then spicy marinade. I wasn't sure what had gone wrong, but made it clear that I couldn’t eat an entire boneless chicken in just spicy marinade. I asked for the correct order with half soy garlic and half spicy marinade.

The waitress agreed and said she would get the correct order. I thought the issue was resolved.

There was a bit of confusion and pretentious behavior from the waitress, but I let it go, assuming the corrected food would arrive soon.

However, after some time, a man claiming to be the chef approached our table and loudly berated us for not checking the order. That was the last straw. I told him I didn’t want any more food and would simply take what was already served in a container and leave.

The waitress returned and said she would issue a refund, but did so in the most rude and unprofessional manner. I told her calmly that I had come to enjoy a quiet evening with my family and guests, and instead, I was shouted at by both her and the chef. I didn’t want a refund or any food I hadn’t paid for.

Thank you for the meals so far, but you seem to have forgotten that you work in the hospitality industry. Tonight, there was nothing hospitable about MOMO Chicken.

To the waitress: you were unkind, inattentive to the order, and lacked both empathy and basic language comprehension. Unfortunately, that makes you unsuited for a customer-facing role.

To the chef: your behaviour was disgraceful. You managed to completely ruin my appetite and evening through your arrogance and lack of professionalism. If you think it’s acceptable to yell at your diners, then you are not fit to be in a service role. Your job is to serve and ensure customer satisfaction—even when mistakes happen. If you believe your behaviour was justified, then you are feeding people not with nourishment, but with toxicity. I hope you reflect and either change for the better or find a role more aligned with your temperament.

I may have made a mistake in my order, but you your inhumane about it. Treat your customers as human...

Update 23/12/23— fast forward a year later, we dined here with family, and it’s so sad to see this Momo’s Chermside restaurant take a nosedive for the worst. The high staff turnover rate (usually a clear sign/indication of toxic management/leadership) and uncleanliness of the space is in a state where it’s totally unacceptable.

We arrived here on opening time (11am) for an early lunch and from the moment we entered, we saw chicken crumbs on chairs and tables, oil/smudge marks on the double hung windows/glass and a general greasy/sticky feeling on the floors/tables where you just knew a proper cleaning of the space didn’t take place.

Food consistency is well and truly out the window and the staff don’t look happy to be working there and seemed jaded… a stark contrast to the early days since its opening where the atmosphere was far more positive and felt the sense of good teamwork and quality food was at the forefront.

Now all I’m wondering is.. What happened?

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Old review:

My wife and I are regulars here and we’ve concluded over several visits in its worst and best times that it’s a very hit/miss restaurant.. the quality of the food depends entirely on the kitchen and the chef/s in charge.. most times the chicken is perfect, but every time we notice a trainee in the kitchen, the chicken comes out dry/hard/ or sub standard.

The inconsistencies in experience /quality/ and service that could lead to its eventual downfall which I would hate to see considering it’s a homegrown business which started here in Brisbane. We saw a review here where phones were purposely left unanswered and we’ve experienced a similar instance when we tried to book a table for a group… busy is understandable but when you try calling 3 times in the space of 2 hours hoping for someone to pickup and they don’t.. it leaves a negative impression for sure.

We still go here, and we love the chicken but we wish they were more consistent and strive to be... ofc restaurants have their bad days and that can’t be avoided, but if the inconsistencies outweigh the positives.. then...

Further update 30 September; on the last few passes I've noted they haven't been pumping their music out over the whole area. Let's hope it's permanent. Keep it this way please Momo.

Further update 23 Jul '24: New (inconsiderate) manager? Alas, the thumping music is back showing a disregard for the area and especially the would-be peaceful diners at Café 63 opposite. What a shame, no outside customers, but still the pounding music—for whom? Were you losing customers while you were being fair to the area? I doubt it. So why is the loud, intrusive, inconsiderate, unnecessary thumping noise pollution back? Turn it down Momo, stop broadcasting, keep your music to yourself. Customers, please stay away or ask them to down the pounding, eat in peace—Café 63 customers want to.

Update 29 Jan '24. They've turned their thump thump music down. Hurrah. Good on them. So what I wrote before (below) no longer applies. Let's hope it stays that way. The outside speaker still threatens but ... we'll see.

"They play thump thump music all the time, so it's not peaceful and restful like Café 63 just across from it (disturbed only by Momo's music). You can't even dine quietly by going outside because they have a speaker out there too. It wouldn't make a scrap of difference to their business if they stopped pushing their music annoyingly beyond their premises—and they KNOW that—but they persist. Even when they have no customers outside, everyone near around has to endure the thump thump bass of their music. Shame on them. So ... if you like a little peace while you eat and chat, ask them to turn their music down. No, that won't work, they'll ignore you—eat somewhere quieter. (If the outside 'broadcast' speaker ever goes, so will...