Prata-Man Singapore Cuisine — Restaurant in Richmond

(Part 1 of 2) RUDE and disrespectful customer service!! Warning: DO NOT COME HERE - the manager and servers YELL at their customers. This is a long review, but read for your own good.

Came as a party of 4, we pre-ordered a full Hainanese chicken for 6:30pm. They do not take reservations, but accept pre-orders. At 6:25pm, the restaurant is already calling to rush us with bad attitude, said they held a chicken for us and we still didn't show up yet. Our party confirmed with reassurance that we will be there before 7pm as we are running late in traffic. By 6:50pm the restaurant called another 3x continuously, calling the driver of our party who is trying to find a parking spot at the plaza that was already full. So 2 of us got out the car first and head to the restaurant.

When we arrived, the server ignored us for the first few minutes. Then she confirmed our phone number, and raised her voice with very rude attitude. She yelled "You have a Hainanese chicken, we called you MULTIPLE TIMES and no one picks up!! Why don't you pick up your phone?? We close at 8pm and it's now 7pm, we have to prepare the chicken for tomorrow. We thought you're not showing up and will give the chicken to another customer." She gave us a bad glare and stomped off angrily.

When the rest of our party arrived after finally finding a parking spot, we reasoned with this angry server to state the facts and logic, all of which she did not consider and just kept yelling back at us. We told her: 1) You close at 8pm, there is NOTHING on your website or online ordering that says "Last Order 7pm". 2) We reserved a chicken for 6:30pm, if your restaurant policy is only 30 minutes hold time, then WRITE that clearly on your website/online ordering and communicate it clearly to your customers over the phone. 3) We are customers here, innocent and did nothing wrong. There is no threat to your safety nor did we show any form of disrespect. Why are you yelling at your customers for no reason??

Note - at 7:30pm there were still customers coming into the restaurant and not being kicked out. So it makes no sense for them to rush and yell at us when it...

I've been getting their chicken for many years, and really have enjoyed my meals with them dine in or take out. Over the years I've also recommended the restaurant to many friends of mine who were visiting Vancouver. Their chicken has always been very tender and the quality is there. However, I'm giving a one star to both service and atmosphere today because the quality of their service has dropped noticeably throughout the years. I went in today and got a full chicken to go, when I got in the car I noticed they only gave me one small red sauce and one green sauce, which isn't enough for an entire chicken. I went back and asked nicely that they only gave me a small red sauce, and I seem recall that they used to give a large red sauce for whole chickens. The cashier said "ok, one dollar" and had her hand out. I replied "but I got a whole chicken." she said "yeah, so one dollar, small red sauce for whole chicken, you want more you pay one dollar." I seem to recall they gave one large red sauce, but she replied firmly "no, one dollar, and one small red sauce for whole chicken, it has always been this." I left and didn't pay for that additional dollar because of her attitude, the way it all seemed so entitled and definite. Also... The container is literally the size of those small plastic containers where restaurants normally put wasabi in...and it's a dollar...? I know that this place is really an OG and one of the local favourites, but I've also noticed that it's not really the same as how it used to be ever since I was told that the original owner is no longer there. I don't appreciate the way she had that attitude when I was merely inquiring about it, the way it was so stern and that "take it or leave it" attitude really made myself wonder why have I been loyal to their menu for more than a decade. Going forward I will probably be visiting them...

The chicken is nice and tender, it melts as it should be for hainanese chicken. I guess that's all I like about this store.

I don't think they should be calling it Singapore Cuisine, because it seriously doesn't reflect what we have in Singapore.

I had laksa, but to me it's mee Soto (Malay soup noodles). The soup is really different, it's watery and it's not spicy, it taste more like watery beef broth.

I had Prata as well, it is like those frozen Prata you can get in the stores, the curry is watery and again it taste like watery beef broth. Prata in Singapore is thinner, crispy, and together with its thick chicken or fish curry, you will swarm for more. I prefer to add in a little dip on the sugar.

I must say their chicken is really tender and all my points go to the chicken. But again their sauce on their chicken is different from Singapore, I have no idea what sauce they use. It should be a simple soya sauce with sugar and water, with delicious chili sauce.

I have not order their Mee Goreng, but from the look of it from another table, it looks soggy and definately not spicy.

In all, it's definately not Singapore food, it has being manipulated and distorted to something else. It doesn't mean their food is bad, just that it's not from Singapore and I don't like their...