HAWKER — Restaurant in Kaohsiung

My dining experience in Hawker is quite a let down. It strikes me as a restaurant that focuses more on the appearance but forgets the most important part of running a restaurant: the taste. The decor, the table setting, the super friendly hostess are all beautifully 'designed', but the food is unfortunately bland and lacking. The service staff was courteous but not attentive. We had to pay for water, but they never managed to refill our glasses throughout the course of our meal. (They did refill other tables though) I think it all comes down to who Hawker considers as its target audience. Its decor and presentation may appeal to tourists and business travelers, but for the locals, it'll need to step up a bit to invite for a second visit.

*Disclaimer: The hostess offered us free milo chocolate drinks in exchange for 5-star reviews. We of course didn't take it, out of the belief that any self-respected restaurant would not buy reviews this way if they were confident about their food...

We dined at this Singaporean/Malaysian restaurant while staying at the hotel. IHG members receive a 10% discount on food. The Hainanese chicken was a fan favorite, followed by laksa and char kway teow. However, the sambal stir-fried water spinach was a bit too spicy for our liking.

The service was inconsistent; while the food arrived quickly, it was difficult to flag down the server. Additionally, no one came by to ask if we enjoyed the meal. To top it off, we were charged for filtered tap water, even though the hotel encourages guests to refill their bottles from the filtered water in their rooms, which seemed unnecessary. Overall, the prices were in line with what you would expect at a 5-star...

Apologies I didn’t make a reservation. When I arrived, was told restaurant is fully booked not possible to get a seat. Spoke to another person that it’s just me and I’ll finish fast. Told me to wait. Waited for almost 45 min and led to a table. To my shock, there were 5 empty tables and more. During my entire time there, the tables were not occupied. Was later told that if I gave a 5 star review, my Milo Dinosaur is free…..is that how you get such great reviews??? Honestly, food good but appetizer came after main. Said they were busy, really?? Atmosphere and food was the only good thing…..but think they use the wrong dark soy sauce for the carrot cake. It’s so salty instead of sweet? operation...