Spring Palace Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Iloilo City

What a huge disappoinment! We are frequent visitors to the boardwalk area and have found some real gems like Jardin and Troi Oi which we still eat at all the time. We have always noticed Spring Palace, that it's always packed and often said next time we will dine there. So tonight we did. I'm not only disappointed from my own expectations but actually feel scammed.

We ordered the bird nest soup with quail eggs and sweet and sour fish filet. In my past experiences in Chinese restaurants, especially TaoYen in Cebu...the bird nest soup has noodles that look like a bird nest and scrumptious other Ingredients. This soup not only had no crispy noodles but was a bland mush of who knows what. I recognized the garlic and quail eggs but not much else. It was terrible. I should have ordered the hot and sour soup like I normally do in Chinese restaurants as a Guage of how good the food is. Please don't disappoint yourself and order this tasteless soup. It's kinda funny but my date asked me what was in it. As mentioned, we also ordered the sweet and sour fish...or should I say the sweet and sour breading. I cut each piece looking for the fish Inside but rarely found any. For p420 or $8 we barely got 20gms of fish. We got a whole bunch of tasteless breading though. Comparatively, at our favorite restaurant in San Jose, Antikenyu Grill we get 200+gms of fresh Blue Marlin for around p500 or $10. I couldn't believe how little actual fish we got. Even TaoYen the fish is so big and very little breading on it.

The more I thought about it the more upset I got realizing the poor value we got....I felt cheated, scammed even. I complained to the waitress and she said she would tell the kitchen. I'm not sure what good that does but it sounded rehearsed. The more I complained it became evident that the management doesn't care about customer complaints at this place or the staff would have been trained better to deal with complaints. I finally decided to ask for management to try to resolve the issue and that's where the real problems began. I was lied to, ignored and disregarded. They wanted me to believe the manager had gone home early...early out. When I asked who locked the doors and put the money away, I was told the wait staff had keys. I waited over 12 minutes and never got a manager. Hmm, if there's really no manager then why would it take 12 minutes to realize that. I could see in the office while waiting and saw someone playing video games on the computer. I was told that was the managers daughter...I guess the manager left in such a hurry that they forgot their kid...right! Bad management culture and poor tasting, EXPENSIVE food. I don't recommend you waste your hard earned money here with so many other amazing restaurants close by. Just cross the street and try Jardin or Troi Oi, you cant go...

The food itself was good, but the service was very disappointing. When we arrived, no one greeted or assisted us. We stood for over 5 minutes until I had to speak up and tell them we wanted to dine in. There were 11 of us, and the lady in charge simply told us to sit wherever we wanted. One chair and one plate were missing, which we pointed out, but nothing was done. Even after placing our order, the plate was still missing, and we ended up looking for a chair ourselves. We reminded another waiter, but there was still no response. By the time most of the food had arrived, one of our companions still couldn’t eat because there was no plate. Only after the manager got involved was the plate finally brought out. There's not a lot of customers this time. Lots of staff just busy talking. It's very disappointing.

As for the food, the chicken—Spring Palace’s signature dish that is usually very tasty—was unfortunately dry and tough this time. Hardly anyone touched it.

We also ordered an additional Yang Chow fried rice, but it took more than 20 minutes to arrive. By the time it came, most of us no longer had the appetite to eat. We even had to remind another waiter to follow up the order before it was served.

For a fine dining place, they didn’t even bother to pour water into the glasses or provide bowls. They just placed everything on the table. What a pity.

One good point is the friendly security guard, who greeted us warmly upon arrival and thanked us as we left. Sadly, the staff inside didn’t show the same hospitality. Honestly, he was the one who deserved the tip, not the...

It’s a great place to eat with wonderful customer service. We have eaten there many times and have never been disappointed. If you are a foreigner you might be frustrated by the service if you do not know the Filipino culture. Do not expect American standards of “service”. You are not in America. Tips you should know about eating out in the Philippines. You have to ask for another drink. Free refills are not provided at every restaurant. If you want something else you need to get a waiters attention and ask for it. They will not come over and disrupt your meal unless you ask. If you need more napkins ask for a tissue. Napkins are a feminine hygiene product in the Philippines. If you need to pay the bill. You have to get the waiters attention and ask for it or make a square with your fingers. That is a signal that you are ready to pay. Waiters general do not bring you the bill. Filipinos are a very hospitable and friendly people. They genuinely want you to come and enjoy the food...