Yesterday was me galfren Elsie’s bday. I had to take half day leave cos I had to buy her cake and shop for a gift. Plus I wanted to catch up on some sleep -have been having a few late nights in a row.

Anyway, I got a cake from Just Heavenly..the Death by Chocolate. A dramatic cake which does make you feel like you’ve stared at death’s choclatey eyes..hmmm. But I couldnt find the Havaianas (flip flops) she wanted. So we’ll prolly go out this weekend or sumthg and get em. This post unfortunately is not going to be about the fantabulous time Elsie had and the many pressies she received..but it’s a complaint + review of the place we went for her bday dinner.

Elsie’s bday dinner was at the Smokehouse, along Jalan Maya (at the back of Avenue K).  I think its the same as the one in Cameron HIghlands. Anyway, the dinner went great, cos there was good company, but that was about that – cos everything else when it came to the service at the Smokehouse was poor. Everyone arrived at around 9ish. By this time there was only cordial, plain water and butter on the table. Just butter, no bread. It took a good 45 minutes or so, before the high and mighty bread finally made an appearance. By this time everyone was already pissed, gastric juices were flowing – the New Yorker kept his cool (he, just like me, can get very edgy when hungry), but Tariq gave the manager an earful, after which the starter, and entree landed on our table, and it was almost 11,there you go – dinner turned into supper. And the food was just so-so.

What is MOST IRRITATING about this debacle was, that we had pre-ordered 3 days ago! Admittedly they had many patrons that night, but that shouldnt be an issue, cos we made reservations and pre-ordered, if you place yourself out to be able to hold that many pax in the restaurant, then you should be well staffed to handle the orders. It didnt help either that the waiters werent able to speak English, which made things a tad more difficult, cos everything had to be requested for, from forks, to more black pepper sauce, to proper cutting knives, and we had to confirm our request with the manager, to ensure that we get what we wanted.

All in all, the service was very poor. We were that close to just leave and cancel our orders after the bread and butter. Waiting for bread alone was such an ordeal.I am not sure if this is the case with the Smokehouse every night, but first impressions do have a bearing, and from this first impression, I dont think I’ll be going there again.