White + Wong's - Newmarket — Restaurant in Waitematā

We had a group of 7 eat here tonight. Taste-wise the food was good but the service was appalling.

TLDR: don't bother complaining about a meal, the manager will not struggle to concede error on their part and will make you pay for it anyway. The wait kitchen staff are not flexible/do not have much experience with replacing items in dishes.

Our main waitress was helpful and did her best to manage our feedback but clearly the customer service from a management level needs some work. We ordered the chicken and cauliflower curry and asked to remove the chicken (one group member was vegetarian but still wanted to try the curry). At the time of ordering the waitress informed us that the chicken would be removed but the curry would be the same price. The $34 curry arrived as mostly sauce and included less than a handful of vegetables. When we fedback to the waitress that we were disappointed with the very small number of vegetables in the curry, she countered that she had mentioned that the chicken would be removed only. When we said that in every other restaurant the kitchen would have replaced a removed ingredient with something else, she explained that the curry portion was already pre-prepared and that adding more vegetables was not an option. We complained to the waitress that she should have said so because if we had known the dish would be 70% sauce then we would not have ordered it. She apologised for not explaining more clearly that the kitchen would not replace the chicken and advised we speak to the manager.

Upon paying at the til, we complained to the manager (?), Aisha, re the above. The manager was not accommodating, was defensive and was frankly rude. She re-iterated that the portions of curry are set aside and WE (as the customer) should have explicitly said we wanted more vegetables as a replacement. We argued that EVERY OTHER restaurant we have dined at (note: this was a table of 7 people with years of restaurant dining experience) would have replaced a removed ingredient with more of another ingredient, or would have explained explicitly that a removed item WOULD NOT be replaced. The manager begrudgingly agreed that the wait staff should have explained clearly that the chicken would not be replaced but she continued to explain that it was OUR fault that our "curry" was basically a large bowl of soup. We challenged the price of $34 as the chicken was removed and not replaced (so we weren't getting our money's worth for the dish), the manager argued that it was "our [the customers'] preference" to remove the chicken and therefore we should still pay $34 for the curry. We were gobsmacked at her defensiveness and lack of ability to understand that the kitchen and the wait staff had let us down, did not have the intuition to replace a removed item on a dish (or even discuss it with the customers) and that the manager, Aisha, had the gall to insist that we...

Quite a popular place up the stairs in the garden area of Newmarkets large mall, there's an ice cream place below I believe. We went there at about 8pm on a Sat evening. I never have loved busy areas but I appreciate the effort they put in to making the atmosphere feel welcoming and unique- there are definitely people who would love it there. The staff were kind and patient even though many of the servers were likely on the last hours of their busy shifts. Quite a packed place, many tables. Spicy food gives me digestive issues so I tried to order something that would avoid that. The lamb shank is really yummy but the eggplant sauce on the side was a bit spicy, luckily that is optional, I mixed it with the salad and could tolerate it alongside a chai latte. If you love spice or ethnic food, my review won't appeal or be relatable/helpful to you. They still mix ethnic with western food interestingly well, even for someone who's tastes are more bland from some peoples perspectives. I had a taste of their green curry (a group of us went) and it tasted pretty well balanced and not that spicy for a curry so next time I go I will probably order that as it might fit my tastes perfectly- it did have other yummy flavours as well of course. It's always hard to tell if a place that serves curry defines mild as mild for people who have ate spicy curry all their life or mild for people who don't have spice in their food virtually constantly. The former is what I'd consider to be too strong and because of this I usually opt for low/no spice instead of mild as I can't risk spending two days with acid reflux and pain. Rice seems to be sold separately. Also, when we were there you couldn't seperate the bill so you'll have to send your friends money if you go together or work something else out- this is an understandable decision however it might make it hard for some customers if they don't work it out beforehand. In some ways, I miss the days of cash- they probably still take cash actually. Not sure. Their chai latte is great, I had two (at night), although like any restaurant drinks cost a lot. They also have quite a large selection of alcohol from what I saw. Thanks to the staff for being patient with us and putting up with our occasional queries about the where the lamb shank was (every other meal was perfectly on time) or the chai latte. Whomever made it that night was fantastic. No problems. No one was sick. Fairly decent meal sizes, some people in the group I went in had to take some home as they couldn't eat it all. Felt nice and...

Booking for a group of 5. We internet booked during a Friday afternoon and initially only had the option between 4:45pm or after 9:45pm, the page timed out, thinking they were really busy when we refreshed the page we took the first available booking at 5:15pm as no other times were available. Once seated, we requested to be reseated as the room out the back was too hot and stuffy for my elderly parents. Although plenty of other dining tables were unoccupied we were shown to a bar table next to the bar and advised to let them know if it was suitable. Still believing they were fully booked we did not want to cause a scene and kept silent. These tables are bar tables with stools not dining tables. During our visit the dinning area remained half full and was not fully booked. The bar is a typical kiwi bar, very loud as patrons shout to be heard over the dance music. Not the atmosphere I have become accustomed to at White and Wong’s in the viaduct and you can forget trying to relax during a dinner with family. As for the service...there wasn’t any, well almost none. We were not checked on or maybe my elderly ears could not hear the waitress over the intrusive ambiance if she did - we could also have been reseated. Our meal took about an hour to arrive and the waitress checked just once early on for drinks. The meals were ok and correct to our order , But not to the standard of the viaduct - the duck was dry and not juicy and at $48 for a breast and drum stick more at home at Number 5 or Antoines. The crowning glory of the evening was when a waiter ’let one go’ as he approached one of the menu and cutlery stations situated immediately next to our table. The foul stench followed him to assault our nostrils and further hastened our departure. I am ashamed tho because I have never left a restaurant with out paying, I didn't pay this time, not intentionally, but after a 10min wait to be served at the unmanned maître d’ desk with an increasing wait queue, I gave up and left. I have every intention to call them in the morning to arrange payment but it won’t be for the full amount. Yes, we did consume the food and only 2 glasses of wine but I did not expect nor will I accept such appallingly bad service from a restaurant of this reputation, well maybe it it was McDonalds. In the meantime, I’ll be sticking to their viaduct...