Maintenance of Standards

It is always disappointing to discover an old favourite haunt with lower standards. What is that makes it so difficult to maintain standards? Higher costs? Different chef? Diminishing passion? Overwhelming business? Whatever the reason, how should we handle this phenomenon?

I’ve recently been introduced to an unlikely restaurant. Located within walking distance from my home, I’ve always given it a miss for a combination of factors. The overly open layout, the horrid lime green sofas, the trying to be clever name... However, at the advice of my fellow foodie, I ventured forth for lunch.

It was actually quite decent! The mushroom soup with chopped mushrooms exuding a woody scent and taste, the ultra crisp garlic bread with an unassuming and bold garlic flavour, the tender and decently cooked chicken that adorned a nicely decorated plate. All in all, it was a satisfying meal which warranted repeat dining.

And repeat I did. With family, friends and fellow foodies. Then the trouble started. On my third visit, I noticed that the garlic bread weren’t as crunchy as before. The soup also lacked the mushroom creaminess I had first experienced. The main courses seem also to be lackluster. It was my fourth visit though, that made me write this entry.

The mushroom soup that I adored was milky, almost tasteless and lukewarm. The garlic bread which impressed with its crisp, flavourful exterior was flaccid, oily and speckled with a few pathetic pieces of what seemed to be garlic. The main course of pan fried salmon as still stacked nicely as before, but was overcooked, under salted and quite painful to finish up.

The most astonishing fact remains that the four visits were all within the same month! How is this possible? Granted restaurant was not doing too well to begin with. With such a landslide of standards, they’ve quite possibly lost this customer, along with all his recommended friends and family. It then hit me. I had recommended this place to quite a few friends after my first visit. What if this remains the standard? I would inevitably lose all my credibility as a food reviewer then wouldn’t I?

Hence, if any of my recommendations within this blog proves unsatisfactory in anyway, I urge you, my friends and family, to inform me of the injustice. I would perform a follow up review and post a revised rating, or even remove the entry. I just hope I wouldn’t have to do that too often. Given this economy and the less choices of good food in Singapore.