Cuichine — Restaurant in Antwerp

This is one of the most difficult reviews I have had to write, because the experience was really mixed.

The good: the quality of the seafood and meat was quite good, the tiger prawns were delicious, we took the four course menu, and while dishes didn't really stun us & some sauces were reused between courses, the food itself was generally above average.

The bad: between clearing course 2 and serving course 3 we waited around 50-60 minutes. I'm not sure if the kitchen was totally backed up, or if they forgot about us and the table behind us who were on a similar schedule, but this is not really acceptable on a fixed course menu. The service between course 1-2 and 3-4 was quite good / attentive.

In the time between course 2-3 we finished our drinks and needed to order more. I was not aware that the ( self-bottled !! ) water is 7.50 euros per bottle as this is not listed anywhere on the menu, and if you need a second one because you spend 90 minutes waiting for service during a 3 hour meal, there is no free refill. For perspective, this is more than even Michelin star restaurants I've eaten at have charged. I would have expected a complimentary bottle of water in the case of a delay this bad as a bare minimum, then again maybe it is part of the strategy to make you wait so you will rack up a higher bill on delusionally priced tap water, the price of which you can only see at the end of the meal.

Courses -There were edamame beans for the table while we ordered -A mix of dim sum served with tiger prawns + asparagus in oyster sauce -Seabass and crispy pork dishes with a side of bok Choi or similar -lime foam +...

The chef doesn't really know how to respect food and the rest of staff need to know how to respond to bad comments.

I ordered 3-course dinner. Here was what I got in order.

The fried cookie from appetizer smells rancid. -1 from 5. Red flag arises.

The lemon served with sparking water isn't fresh. Strong smell from the refrigerator. -1 from 5. Second one.

The baby corn from pork belly is simply pickled and the chef decided to go with it. The pork is just dry.

The vegetable in the main course is catastrophicly over marinated without a hint of freshness. -1 from 5.

No one ever served me to fill the water even when passing by. Staff kicked at my chair 3 times while there is 80cm in the aisle and no single guest did the same thing. -1 from 5.

When I said I am not happy with the food and the service with this comment, no one came to me until I asked for feedback out of curiosity. The staff said on my face that it's my problem of taste and they are not going to change anything including the overnight lemon saying "it's of course not picked up 3 minutes ago". Excellent.

All I want is just proper communication but the head of staff asked me if I need something to compensate with anger on implication that I was the one trying to be difficult.

Good...

Excellent & innovative fusion, decent Belgian sized portions served in a casual, no frills setting without abusing the credit card. Happy to see that it is apparently still is "allowed" to breach geographic boundaries in the quest for the search of tastebud tantalizing ingredients. We had 2 dishes, with a really cool wine pairing, again very reasonably priced. Never thought of combining a beer stew of wild boar with kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage) and mustard seeds, but that pinchy acidity is da bomb, flattened out by an Australian organic unfiltered glass of white. Also tried some duck, with a fairly spicy quinoa, cabbage wrapped shiitake and delicious orange infused fond, which worked really well a Beaujolais Villages recommended by the jovial chaps...