Read the mixed reviews online (rude foreign worker staff, long wait, etc.) and was apprehensive abt whether to dine here initially. But so glad that we did because it turned out to be a heartwarming experience (and of course, with delicious food) :)

So my wife and me joined the queue ard 8.10pm, got prompted by a group waiting nearby that we are supposed to get a queue number from the staff. Sure enough, a male staff appeared soon after to give everyone in queue a number (quite organised, methinks). While seated outside waiting, we witnessed a mix of drama with people streaming in, some with reservations and some walk-ins like us. Saw a group of 3 making abit of fuss while walking out of the restaurant, telling the male staff that they had waited too long for food, then another group empathising with the same staff and having a cordial chat to sort out their reservation details.

Sure, we waited for a while (ard 20min) before our number was called but it was expected as we were afterall walk-in customers. We were ushered to an uncleared table near the entrance.

Once inside, it was another whirlwind of action. We waited while the male staff (juggling btw tasks like serving customers in the queue, clearing plates, making orders, amongst other things) clear our table 3 separate times in btw his tasks. The female staff at the bar/drink counter ended up having a friendly 'fight' with the male staff after he accidentally spilled a drink while clearing our table in a rush.

Subsequently, things got more settled down and we were told to make our orders with 'ah ma' who was seated a few tables away. The ordering was pretty fuss-free, with ah ma advising us to change our order for crabs as she thought that our overall order might be too jelak. So we took her advice and ordered the salt crabs (instead of fresh milk crabs) with the cheesy prawn beehoon instead. No regrets, in fact, kudos to her for thinking for her customers even admist all the frenzy.

The food arrived and everything was on point. The server staff (the male and female staff mentioned abv) were high-strung but actually very friendly. After chatting with ah ma after our meal - we found out that she was the founder of this restaurant. It is currently managed by her 4th generation and they are quite severely understaffed as 3 of her Indonesian staff were unable to return to Melaka. Given the amount of work that each staff was juggling, I would say that losing 3 of them is a major loss of time and efficiency. Ah ma told us that all her staff have worked at this restaurant for 20+ years and that she cried when the 3 staff left. She also fully appreciates the staff who stayed on to take the extra load, hence she makes time to help out at the restaurant though she had already retired years back. We also see her thank every one of her customers while they were exiting the restaurant.

So all in all, it was a wonderful experience - just good people trying their best to serve good food. Of course, there will be good days and bad days, and it is our hope that people are more forgiving towards them.