china temple restaurant — Restaurant in Ulaanbaatar

Now I understand why such a large restaurant was nearly empty on a Friday evening. When we first entered this Chinese restaurant, there were only two tables with guests in a large empty hall. Nobody greeted us or showed us to a table. we just sat down by ourselves, which already felt strange, as welcoming guests is the most basic restaurant etiquette. When we called the waiter to ask for recommendations (since it was our first time trying Chinese food), she didn’t say a single word. We ended up choosing dishes ourselves by looking at the pictures. That’s where the nightmare began. Customers who came after us received their food before us, while we waited for almost 40 minutes. The dishes arrived one by one, so we had to share whatever came first while waiting for the rest. The waiter never smiled, didn’t say a word, and almost threw the plates onto the table extremely rude service. When we asked about the last dish after waiting too long, it suddenly appeared right away, which was quite suspicious. The food was terrible. One dish was so sweet it tasted like pure sugar. Honestly, every dish was...

Oh, what a delightful dining experience if you enjoy chaos served with a side of confusion. The decor tried its best, but the service really stole the show. Ever seen someone take your order and then proceed to completely ignore it? Because that’s exactly what happened. They brought the wrong dish, forgot the rest, and acted like it was our fault for expecting food. The music? Absolutely perfect if you’re training for a nightclub DJ battle. And cleanliness? Let’s just say the mop they used on the floor must’ve retired in the 90s—and then they used it to clean the plates too, judging by how soaking wet everything was. Nothing says “bon appétit” like a dripping plate dumped somewhere near your elbow. If the staff works any harder, they might just win an award—for turning a promising restaurant...

Fried ribs were great, very well spiced, soft and crispy, came out in around 20 minutes. Garlic cucumber was mediocre and the rice was quite chewy. But what really brings this place down is its awful service. Slow, confused, requiring multiple reminders to bring something simple, absolutely no coordination or training offered by management. It’s a shame really because I wouldn’t have minded coming here again for the food but I’d rather not deal with the hassle of...