China Kitchen at Shangri-La Chiang Mai — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

I have lived in Chiang mai for four years and have eatten at many dim sum restaurants during that time. I visit the Shangri-la in Bangkok almost every time I am in town and have had wonderful experiences. So, after reading about the Dim Sum buffet at the Shangri-la in Chiang Mai I really wanted to try it out so I called to see if they had availability for us (party of four) on the weekend. They said yes but did not request we make a reservation. When we arrived they said we needed a reservation but after talking to the manager we we seated. Things went down hill from there. Even though we had arrived at noon, several items we "not available". We we told that no beverage, including water, came with the meal. We ordered a tea which we had to serve ourserves because they dropped the pot off at the end of the table and left. All refills on the tea had to requested as no one ever came to see how we were doing or how the food tasted. Most of the dim sum and the other dishes we ordered came out luke warm or cold. Service in Thailand is shotty at most restaurants by American standards but I was expecting something of a higher quality at the Shangri-la. Although it was a buffet by order, it was extremely difficult to get the attention of anyone to place additional orders. We quickly learned that we had to order new dishes when the servers delivered food because servers simply disappeared despite there only being 7 tables with guests. In the end, it felt like the servers purposefully remained out of sight to avoid having to take additional orders making us feel like an encumbrance rather than guests. As far taste, fair is the best I can muster. I actually felt embarrassed that I had invited my friends for the experience. What was supposed to be a nice meal at a nice hotel turned out to be a very bad experience. I know it may appear like I'm ranting, but nothing is exaggerated or made up. For the price, service, and quality of food I highly recommend you avoid this buffet, at least at the Shangri-la Chiang mai location, and save yourself the disappointment and...

The food was decent, and our two waitresses were really friendly and attentive, which we appreciated. However, the experience took a turn when it came to paying.

We paid our bill in cash (total was 1,514.80 baht, we paid using 2,000 baht) and waited for our change. While we were waiting, I booked a Grab car that was about 10 minutes away, figuring we had plenty of time. After waiting for a while, I got up, and a male staff member came out and stared at me. He held up his hand like he was stopping me and said, "You have to wait for your check," as if I was trying to leave without paying. I told him we had already paid and were just waiting for our change.

He then mentioned that cash payments were handled on another floor, something no one had told us beforehand. If we’d known that, we could have planned our Grab car accordingly.

What bothered me the most, though, was how differently he treated other customers. A white family sitting near us got a warm and welcoming attitude from him, while I (an Asian- Hmong) was treated like I was trying to skip out on the bill. It was frustrating and honestly, really upsetting to be treated that way when I had paid just like everyone else.

This experience left me feeling discriminated against and unfairly judged, which significantly detracted from our overall dining experience.

To prevent situations like this in the future, I recommend your restaurant improve communication with guests regarding their payment process. For instance, if cash payments require additional time due to being handled on another floor, servers should inform customers upfront so they know what to expect.

Additionally, staff training on providing consistent and respectful service to all patrons would be beneficial. Ensuring that every customer feels valued and treated equally, regardless of background, will go a long way in creating a welcoming and positive...

NOT A MICHELIN STAR QUALITY RESTAURANT. I’m usually not a restaurant snob but this experience truly stood out for me that I had to write a review.

Service:

1. Our waitress had 0 clue about greeting us normally at the door. Very cold, unfriendly and confused. Seemed like it was her first day on the job. We wanted to sit outside because AC was on blast and she proceeded to yell “NO” even thought logically there were chairs and tables outside. Maybe she preferred not to service us outside? Either way, negative points in my book.

2. Didn’t help us with the menu at all or clarify some of the PICTURES on of the meals. We order beef Szchechuan which in the picture looked like a classic stir fry- look dish and it came in this GIANT bowl of oil that was served to us like a soup.

3. Out server didn’t as us once whether we liked the dishes we ordered or whether we needed anything else… not a word from her.

Food:

1. Schezchuan with beef (as mentioned above) was serviced to us in a giant bowl of oil that didn’t even taste good and the meat could have been prepared a few days ago for all I know. It looked nothing like the picture and we got no direction or clarification from our server.

2. Pork ribs They were OK. Served kind of cold and drenched in sauce.

3. Eggplant Did not taste good and was drenched in a sauce that did not taste good

Overall, my Chinese food court experience is better than this. Save your money and give it to a place where you’ll truly eat good food, get good service and give...