As a food blogger, you may imagine and you would be correct in assuming I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic about food. Having relocated recently from London to Hong Kong, I was keen to explore all the great foodie experiences Hong Kong has to offer. And so it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to celebrating Hong Kong Restaurant Week. The opportunity to try a fine dining experience at a discounted price - for example, 3 course lunch menus from $98HK and 3 course dinner menus from $258HK was simply something I just could not pass up.
I had booked through the special restaurant week website securing a reservation for 2 on the Thursday evening at 9pm. To my disappointment there were few restaurants left with availability and so I was happy to get the booking for Doppio Zero which offered a reasonably priced 3 course menu at $258HK.
When the reservation was made, I had had a few email exchanges with the restaurant to confirm my reservation, which is perfectly understandable during a promotion week. It should have been clear at this point that the reservation was made and facilitated through the restaurant week website.
On entering the restaurant, we were greeted warmly by the Maitre D' who checked off our reservation and showed us to the back of the restaurant where there were only empty tables. We walked through the restaurant at the front which seemed to be occupied by quite a few couples having an intimate dinner and the lighting and decor provided a good atmosphere.
After being asked to sit down, the Maitre D' provided us with a menu which seemed appealing and I recognised some of the dishes but the menu did not resonate with me as I had specifically booked with the restaurant week promotion and was looking for a fixed price menu. I was surprised that we had not been offered both the a la carte and fixed price menu so I questioned the Maitre D'
" Is there not a special Fixed Price Menu for Hong Restaurant Week?"
He replied "Yes Ma'am, but it is only available for those who booked with the Hong Kong Restaurant Week Website"
I wasn't best pleased and responded
"Well, we did book with the HK Restaurant Week Website. Can I please see the menu?"
To this, he brought around the menu and left it hovering in the air as if we were only permitted to "see" the menu and not order from it.
So much so, that I had to say to him " Can I keep it, please?"
"Of course Ma'am" was the reply. If it hadn't been so late, we would have walked but being 9pm we were hungry and decided to stay.
Being a fixed price menu, the choice was limited to two appetisers, main courses and desserts but there were a couple of dishes that jumped out right away. Truffle Fried Oyster with Aioli and Duck Egg Ravioi.
The Truffle Fried Oyster came with a $4 surcharge and was a pleasant amuse bouche. It was presented in an oyster shell on a bed of rock salt and the tempura batter that encompassed the oyster was deliciously light. The aoili was subtle enough not to overpower the glorious truffle taste.
A nice start to the meal
The appetiser of Duck Egg Raviolo served in a bowl with a creamy rich and unctuous cheese sauce was very decadent and I thought this choice for appetiser for the restaurant week was spot on. The yolk was runny and gushed out into the rich sauce. I also enjoyed the way that it was presented and the theatre involved in serving the dish.
I should point out at this stage that we were interested in ordering a glass of red wine each but for some reason were told that they did not serve wine by the glass! Really? In an Italian Trattoria? That was a first! Instead, were offered to share a carafe of wine which I thought was a bit disappointing. I am not sure why they have decided to go down this route but they really have missed a trick here.
Throughout the meal, the service was very fast paced, no sooner had we finished the oyster, then the appetiser was placed in front of us. Our waiter was constantly around our table, watching how we were progressing with the meal and when he wasn't doing this he was setting the tables beside us. I though it was a tad excessive and we felt rushed into eating. I should also say that there were no further customers waiting to be seated where we were so we felt it was completely unnecessary.
Next came the main course which was a Tagliatelle with beef and a chocolate reduction. In my opinion this dish was far too rich and there was too much of a chocolate taste which overpowered the meat.
Again, as soon as we had put our cutlery down our main dishes were whisked away and the menu was placed back in our hands to chose dessert.
This time the waiter did not go away and remained at our table to ensure we looked at the menu. As the previous dish was so heavy, we wanted a pause in the meal and did not want to order straight away. I deliberately did not look at the menu to let him know I was not ready. Instead he called out " Have you decided what you want for your dessert?"
It was all becoming rather stressful and we just decided to order dessert and have it over and done with. The choice was between a polenta cake and arancini dolci ( fried sweet risotto balls with currants, rum sauce and cinnamon gelato). Given that I am not a big fan of polenta cake, the arancini dolci was the only remaining option. I thought the flavour combinations were good but again, too heavy a choice considering we had just consumed a copious, filling pasta dish.
Overall, I thought the service soured our experience. Having a meal with a friend or a loved one should be a happy and relaxed occasion.
We felt patronised, rushed and unwelcome . The value for money was ok in that we benefitted from the HK restaurant week promotion but had we been paying normal prices then we would have felt "ripped off" . We paid around between $800 and $900.
If participating in Restaurant Week is all about enticing repeat business, the Doppio Zero have a lot to learn about Customer Service to achieve this. There are too many good restaurants offering attentive service in Hong Kong for me to pay a second visit to Doppio Zero.
題外話/補充資料：
I really do hope that the Management of Doppio Zero read this review and take on board the comments I have made to ensure a more pleasurable experience for their customers .
At the end of the meal we were given a card to write a review on our experience and submit to the Dining City website. It refers to an expiry date of 31/5/2012 . Looking on the website today (17/4/2012), I am unable to submit a review and felt I had to post my review here on open rice.com.
This should be rectified with DiningvCity as soon as possible.
(以上食評乃用戶個人意見 , 並不代表OpenRice之觀點。)
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bloody mary
Tuna Carpaccio
Whipped Lardo & Toast
two slow poached eggs
Shrimp & grits italiano
Grilled Formaggio and Focaccia
baccala hash
soft polenta
"smashed" meatball frittata
Hong Kong style egg waffle
