But I am not talking about Britney Spears today. If want to talk about celebrities, might as well talk about my favourite Mariah Carey. But no, today I am going to tell you what was it that I did again.
Well, do you still remember one of my previous posts about the restaurant in The Gardens that does not accept credit cards? You may want to refresh your memory here.
Last week, I went shopping with my friend at Mid Valley Megamall. After shopping, we were hungry and decided to go for early dinner. We could not decide where to go, when my friend suggested why not go to Fong Lye at The Gardens. When I heard that name, I was like, no way am I going there again! Not after what happened last time. I still remember I did not have enough cash in my wallet and they do not accept credit cards!
But my friend wanted to go very much. He insisted that he had enough money in his wallet to pay for the meals and there was no need for credit cards. Well, I was really hungry at that time, and seeing that I could not decide where else to go for dinner, I reluctantly agreed.
So off we went. I had this spare ribs with sweet and sour sauce. Absolutely yummy!!
My friend had this 3 Variety Supreme Diced Chicken.
He told me it was a little too salty. I tried one piece of the chicken and I did not think it was a little too salty. I thought it was way too salty! So I told him not to dip the chicken in the sauce which was the cause of the saltiness. It tasted better without the sauce.
Both our dishes came with a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup (not in picture) and three mini side dishes.
Luckily when it came to paying the bill, I did not have the same experience as last time. My friend did have the money to pay for our meals. Sorry if the title of my post seemed to suggest otherwise. Just a ploy to make you read my post. Haha!
But while at the counter, I decided to ask the counter staff again why they do not accept credit cards. She gave the same reply the previous staff gave me.
"Our boss does not accept credit cards."
Now please tell me, did she answer my question? She merely repeated my question and turned it into a statement!
So I proceeded to ask her where her boss came from? She said he's from Taiwan. So there you have it! A Taiwanese boss opening a Taiwanese restaurant in a prestigious shopping mall in Malaysia and not accepting credit cards as payment. Someone, anyone, please tell him this is not acceptable!
Yet, people still go there in droves. What the heck, I was there again, wasn't I?
Moral of the story? When you open a restaurant, as long as your food is delicious and the price is reasonable, you will get lots of customers no matter how you treat them!
That last statement of your post is absolutely true. When your biz's that good, you can afford to have "an attitude" and set your own standard..hehhe.
Also, when the food's good, ambience doesn't really matter..at least for Malaysians.
but how long can you have an attitude even though your biz's is good at the moment? Restaurants popping up everywhere and there'll be new place to go every time.
I noticed they put up a "Cash Term Only" sign nowadays.
I certainly hope that in this wake of recession, people would stop frequenting outlets that treat customers like dirt no matter how good the food is! We are the paymaster and we demand to be treated the right way!
still not "improving" after all these times eh. try asking how old is he next time. my curiosity is still at lurk here. :p
You know this is the same with Kim Gary too. They also won't accept credit cards and still the queue is always amazingly LONG! Well, at least the food in Fong Lye is good? I'll try it out myself when I am there next time. It's surprising I never noticed this restaurant before in the Gardens? Is it one of those restaurants where you can see from bridge linking MidValley to The Gardens?
hahaha... if i were the boss i also don't bother to have Credit Card Service since everyone is coming back to my restaurant even though i don't have credit card services ... kakaka :p
Wanna the restaurant to change... need to boycott the restaurant until they change...
I usually check whether the restaurant accept credit card or my pocket to see whether I have enought cash. But there was once I didnt have enough cash because I change my bag and forgot about the cash inside. So shy, luckily they accepted credit card.
From my experience, if the food is good, patrons don't care if the service is poor.
Well, at least this is how Chinese behave. Westerners may be more concerned about service.
mei teng, yes it's true at least for Malaysians. We seem to be able to eat anywhere as long as the food is good and the price cheap. Whether it is hygenic, good service or not is immaterial : )
And some places even have this snobbish attitude that seems to say 'Take it or leave it'! It's like they have so many customers they don't really care whether you want to buy or not.
lina, well when they start to suffer, they will adjust their attitudes accordingly if they want to stay in business! LOL!
I hate it when they put up the "Cash Terms Only" sign. I will avoid the place unless I have no other place to go and I am very hungry, and most importantly, I have enough cash! : )
eiling, ideally that should be the way. Boycott those restaurants that treat customers like dirt! But when you are really, really hungry and you can't find any place to eat, and you like their food, and it's not that expensive, well, it'll be tough to boycott them. Haha!
levian, haha! Maybe I'll leave that question for you to ask. I don't normally ask people how old they are : )
iamthewitch, yes same with Kim Gary too. Maybe all Taiwanese restaurants are like that? Wait, Kim Gary is a Hong Kong restaurant right?
Fong Lye is located near Borders and The Gardens Food Court. Not near the bridge connenting to MidValley. Do give it a try...but remember to bring enough cash! LOL!
tz, yeah what's the point of having credit card service when people still come in droves? Can save lots of banking charges!!
I also want to boycott but if only you and me boycott, it will make no difference. Unless everyone do the same, but how to get this message across to everyone?
molly, it's lucky that they accept credit card. For me, I normally pay using credit card - that's my first option. Want to collect points mah! Hehe.
So normally, I only know they don't accept credit cards during payment time. Now I'm more careful as more restaurants are implementing cash only terms.
It is inconvenience, but then again if many customers still patron the restaurant then I don't think the Boss will change the policy. Customers need to make their voice heard! =P
khengsiong, yes you are right. For Malaysians this is how it is, especially the Chinese. For Westerners, if service is poor, they will make a complaint and probably will not ever step into that restaurant again!
I think we should be like the Westerners. We should complain and let the restaurant owners know that what they do is unacceptable. But if only one person complain and the rest still come in droves, the owner won't give a hoot!
He'll probably just say, if you don't like our service, you can always go to another restaurant!
bongkersz, yeah it's really up to the customers. But you know lah, Malaysians are less vocal. They'll just accept it and continue to dine there! : )
da boss has dis attitude.. complain more n next time u'll see extra ingredient in ur dish.. 'my saliva'... dare to go there again?! hahahaha.
Merryn is right!
Do not complain that much. Or maybe complain thru phone. Report it to the head office....
in all these comments no one mentioned that all businesses have to pay the credit card companies a percentage(for small businesses it can be as much as 10%) and that cost is always slotted into the bill. it is hidden so customers never know it is included. Foong had said the food is cheap there, yet delicious. you have forgotten the cost is low because it is cash only. Do you want to pay more for the food just so some customers can pay their bill by credit card?that restaurant is busy because a lot of customers dont want to pay that extra cost.the use of credit cards have increase the cost of everything overall.
merryn, haha! Oh, that's gross! But if they really do that, then I'll just leave it to karma to do its job : )
josephine, actually I only complain after I've eaten the food, so it's OK. Haha! But if everyone does not complain out of fear, then we will never be able to change things, right? : )
creating my life, what you said is very true. But actually I didn't say the price there is cheap, just reasonable by my standards. To others, it may be expensive already.
Honestly, if they didn't include the bank charges, I would think the price should be a little lower than what it is now. I won't mind paying a little bit more for credit card conveniences.
Besides, this restaurant is located at a high class mall where every store accept credit cards. So by right, they should too : )
The food looks good!
dead_cockroach, the food not only looks good, it tastes good too! : )
You might not believe it but I had the 3 Variety Supreme Dice Chicken and spare ribs with sweet-sour sauce before. Not at this restaurant but somewhere else. Yeah like you say the diced chicken is horribly salty with the sauce, but it was originally meant to go with the rice, which takes away some of the saltiness. So maybe another way to go about the chicken is to eat it together with rice. Skip the sauce when you're not having rice. Just my two cents.
WRT credit card issue, I'm saying the same thing - give ppl the option of paying with it. Not everybody will pay by CC, extra charges and whatnot, but make it available for ppl who do want to. This is what service is all about - providing options.
hi foongpc, thanks for clarifying. i have no idea what is cheap to malaysians, and simply read one comment by u that it was cheap and good. but as u said, what is cheap to u may be expensive to other malaysians. so tell us how much the bill came to and ask readers whether it is cheap or not.
JL, you mean it's a common characteristic of the 3 Variety Supreme Diced Chicken to be salty? Yes, if eaten with rice, it won't be that salty. But still, whether eaten with rice or not, you're taking in the same amount of salt! So for health's sake, cut the sauce : )
You are so right about the credit card option. They should let the customers choose whether to pay by cash or credit card. And that's what good service is about, as you said : )
creating my life, oops! Forgot how much was the bill. I think for my dish, it's RM19.80 not inclusive the 15% tax?
it hurts my wallet to pay RM8.90 for lunch at Nyonya Colours let alone RM19.80. LOL
At the price of RM19.80 for a bowl of rice, a main dish, plus a bowl of soup (some clear or vegetable soup, I suppose) and three mini side-dishes, I'd say it's reasonable considering its location. How is the service since they are not waiving the service charge?
I know of an Indian restaurant (owned and run by Indian nationals) that serves superb food thus the good business that also does not accept credit cards. I wonder if it's a coincidence that foreign-owned restaurants follow this trend.
No doubt, they save a lot on bank charges and if they give some of it back to the customer in the form of lower prices, than it's justified. But how many do that? Businesses exist to make money.
To patronise the place or not is entirely up to the customer - how one feels about it. I happen to 'boycott' a pizza outfit for the reason that they practise race discrimination. To them, what is one customer less, to me, it's a matter of principle and I feel strongly against what they are doing.
Yeah, oops! You did it again. LOL!
Taiwanese? Boycott the place! Won't even let the credit card company earn a few % for the convenience of the customers. Go to Malaysian-owned restaurants instead!...Can't make money in own country kah?
P.S. Britney? Eyew...!!! Malaya Curry? Eyew...eyew...!!! Hahahahahaha!!!
lina, are you sure it hurts to pay since you are always dining at those expensive Japanese outlets? LOL!
happysurfer, the service is quite good. I only complain about the cash only terms. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the restaurant.
Maybe it's the trend of foreign owned restaurants not to accept credit cards. You are right. Businesses exist solely to make money. The more the better. That's why it'll be very unlikely they will pass the bank charges savings to us. And that's why I'm not happy when they don't accept credit cards! : )
Nice food pics!! Perhaps I might go and try it out. And I'll keep in mind, the place is not accepting credit card. LOL.
suituapui, wow! How come you so anti foreigners? Or maybe you are patriotic? Haha! I have no problem with foreign owned restaurants as long as their food is nice, price is reasonable, service is good and they accept credit cards!
At least that's better than some local restaurants that sell overpriced food, poor service, or worse, some employ foreign workers to serve customers just to take advantage of cheaper labour.
Malaya Curry? Haha! I didn't know her name spoken by a Chinese will sound like the name of our country and our favourite food! : )
pikey, thanks. Yes, go try it out and blog about it. Just make sure you have enough cash : )
hahaha.... maybe the boss prefers cash on delivery?
LOL for a moment I really thought you didn't bring enough cash again. Hahaha~
Yeah true, if you are really good you can show some attitude and people tend to accept it. What a world eh?
whoa.... hahah... disown him!!!
renaye, haha! Who doesn't? If I'm boss I also want cash on delivery! But doing a restaurant business at The Gardens without accepting credit cards is just not acceptable, at least to me : )
day-dreamer, haha! Gotcha there, didn't I? Yes, when your food is really good, you can be snobbish and people will still queue up! If people don't do that, rest assured the restaurant owner will be more humble : )
medie007, disown him? I thought disown means to cut off all connections? But I don't have any connection with the boss. If you mean boycott his restaurant, well I'll try.... haha!
Yes that chicken dish is always salty, the main reason being the sauce, after being cooked for some time, dries up and becomes rather starchy. It's not really because a lot of salt is added to it, though I can't say the same for restaurants. It actually tastes good being salty, if not it feels like eating bland, floating chicken meat. Lol :P
JL, oh is it really? Good! Now In know. Well, I'm not used to eating so salty and I'm used to eating bland things so no problem for me, but others may not like it : )
Lol I'm used to eating bland stuff too :p
Isn't it just nice to chat like this? You're having like 50 comments for this blog post for this reason XP
Foong, I guess the food must be really tasty for u to return twice and ask the same question again. I still blame it on the waitress, she should have a more acceptable answer lol, I don mind if rests don accept cards so long as the food is yummy. That will def keep me comin back for more! ;)
So nicely decorated restaurant, good quality of food and good treat is not the best combination to get customers?
Whoo that food looks delicious especially the ribs!
You are correct that if a place has great food even if expensive people will still go, I have the same experience at various restaurants I go, its costly but delicious! I like to eat at a Thai restaurant especially :D
Not having credit card acceptance means no paying fees to process them :) So that’s why most businesses don’t accept them if they can ;)
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JL, so are you still eating bland stuff? Oh, btw, you are trying to lose weight right? Cannot eat too many sweet stuffs, yeah?
Am I reaching 50 comments already? I didn't even notice! I love to chat so I guess if it increases the number of comments as well, that'll be great!
And if you continue to chat with me like this, you may just end up as my Top Commenter! LOL!
mariuca, yes the food is really nice! But I think cannot blame waitress lah, she's just doing what her boss instucted her to do. Otherwise, can get fired, you know. Haha!
You also don't mind paying cash as long as the food is good? Now you see? No wonder restaurants nowadays don't accept credit card anymore. People still go and dine at their restaurants!
I don't mind also as long as I bring enough cash. Haha! Still, I prefer they give us an option whether to pay by cash or credit card : )
rad, in Malaysia, as long as the food is delicious and price reasonable, people will come in droves! It does not matter if the environment is clean, the ambience is nice, the service is good - all these do not really matter. Very different from Westerners. Haha!
But for me, I'm more fussy. I want them to have delicious food, reasonable price, clean and nice ambience, good service and accept credit cards. Haha!
PClicious, which Thai restaurant you go to? I sometimes go expensive restaurants too but only if their food is nice, otherwise I feel I've wasted my money!
You are right about the credit cards - if I'm the boss I also reluctant to offer credit card service. Can save so much! But if I open restaurant in expensive shopping mall, I will include credit card service especially if the price of my dishes are pricey : )
@foongpc
Really? If that's the case then whahahaha!!!!!!!!! Finally I'm the top commentator!!
Yeah I'm used to eating bland stuff sometimes, but nevertheless achieving fitness doesn't have to be a road of thorns! XD
JL, not so fast!! You still have to fight off Levian and Mariuca. And Mariuca is the Queen Of Commenter! Look she has 28 comments vs your 15 : )
I didn't pay much attention to the write-ups coz I was attracted by the foods! (lol) Been trying to make the sweet and sour sauce but still haven't captured the exact taste i want.
ive never been there.. after reading all the comments, i think i shud boycott this restaurant haha...
true. business services have to be convenient to customers.
RYC: HAHA. yes i thought u r a female. u think like a female would and u write like a female would. HAHA... am i the first person to identify u as a female blogger? haha... i never look up blogger's profile.
ahaha. i rememeber yr incident. i just went there last fri, i made sure that i had enough cash to foot the bill. :P
Aiyah, credit cards are BAD for you. Maybe the owner is trying to cure all Malaysians from their dependence on credit cards...
Do you know that there are billions of bad debts, a majority attributed to credit cards?
Still, I think the waitress is damn rude to answer like dat. You were too nice, I'd have given her a piece of my mind...after all, that's what I do best. ;-)
~the Foong who speaks her mind~
opps, i'll probably hide behind somewhere when that happens. gotta agree it's weird asking this sorta question. :p
Cash is King!
all cash term, so that she can save from the merchandiser charge from the credit card company.. anyway, at least your sweet and sour pork ribs was nice, just enjoy your meal there.. :p
ayie, oh, the food is too tempting for you? Haha! Oh, I hope you will succeed in getting the exact taste you want for the sweet and sour sauce. For me, I like it not too sweet and not too sour - must be balanced : )
nic, thanks for dropping by. Maybe you should give the restaurant a try before boycotting it. You never know - you might change your mind about boycotting after eating there! : )
I carry cash most of the time, I don't like to use credit cards, so eating here would not be a problem. :)
I'm forgetful and usually forget to pay credit cards bills at the end of the month. haha....
The interest charged to me is not worth it.
renaye, so I think I can write books but used a female name as author. No one would have guessed it's written by a man! Haha!
xin, haha! Good thing you remember my incident and prepare some cash in advance : )
foong speaks her mind, may I correct your statement? Credit cards are not bad IF you know how to use them. As long as you pay the full amount on time, is disciplined on your spending, you can earn points and even get some freebies!
The problem with most people is they have multiple credit cards which is counter productive, they have little discipline on their spending habits, and they don't pay the full amount. When you do that, you are digging a deep hole for yourself. The interest charged by credit card companies will kill you in the end!
Maybe children should be taught in school about the dangers of credit cards and how to use them properly.
The waitress was not really rude lah, she's just doing what her boss instructed her to do. I won't give her a piece of my mind this time - cos I already did that the last time, though not the same person. Haha!
levian, haha! I will ask the question if someone pays me RM100. LOL!
neo, cash is king indeed to the restaurant owner. To us customers, the food is king! To the one paying the bill, credit card is king! LOL!
SK, yes I really enjoyed my meal there. I think as long as I bring enough money, I don't mind eating there.
I still hope they will provide us with credit card option, instead of just cash, but I guess it's out of my hands if I'm the only one protesting. They will just ignore me. They have so many customers willing to eat there and pay by cash!
Actually, if the food is not so nice, I will never go back there again. But the food is nice, and I'm greedy so....
eastcoastlife, since you are so forgetful, better not use credit cards. The interests charged is definitely not worth it. Can use it to belanja me already! LOL!
But you are in Singapore where it is so much safer unlike Malaysia. Try walking around with wads of cash in Malaysia and you can end up as the next robbery victim!
So for us Malaysians, it's for safety and convenience : )
A good ploy it was to get me to read your post ... LOL!
I'm a cash only person when it comes to paying for food cos I don't think the Kai fun fellow across my house accepts credit card la ... LOL!
I guess what you said is right! Who cares the service, so long the food is right! But I am just the odd one. I will not visit a restaurant again if their service is not good. I dun care how delicious, special, value for money, etc food they offer.
I think it's just silly and impractical to not accept cc in this day and age, bcoz so many people use them. Like us!
Wow you funny fellow! 40 comments and you did 38 replies! I wanna hire you to be my secretary wor. You got so many ploys in your sleeves! Pandai nye.
I will definitely go to that restaurant coz your photos looked so yummy and appetizing.
Let's open a restaurant which accept gold too! Haha.
The pictures make me drooling and starving :(
i will go with tqilight zone if i have the opportunity :) the food looks yummy but i will make sure i have cash first
I must say that I have never heard of such a thing and don't think here in the U.S. that would work out.
Foong! the food looks yummy! well, I don't mind to pay by cash as long as the food is good..:-D
nick phillips, haha! I also use cash only when buying kai fun. But when go to expensive places, I use credit cards : )
jam, really? Wah, so highly principled! Well, let me see, if the service is really, really bad and it annoys me, or if the owner is too snobbish, then yes, I won't visit the restaurant again no matter how good the good. I just ask someone to 'ta pau' for me. LOL! : )
life ramblings, exactly! But more and more restaurants are starting not to use credit cards. I hope it won't become a trend! : (
twilight zone, what's so funny? I used to make several comments in one reply, but now with my avatar in place, I think it's easier for readers to read each of my comment if done separately instead of lumping a few together in one.
I would prefer Blogger do not count my comments when they total the number of comments. They should consider doing something about this.
I also prefer that my comments appear directly below each comments I receive. Then readers who commented do not have to scroll down to read my replies. Too bad you cannot do that with Blogger. Maybe should change to Wordpress?
As for being your secretary, how much you willing to pay me? LOL!
faisal, restaurant that accepts gold? Wow! Then you will need to hire a guard to sit outside the restaurant! What if the restaurant become a target for robbers? LOL!
bengbeng, haha! You are like me too. As long as you bring enough cash, it's not a problem! Still, I prefer they give customers a choice of paying by cash or credit cards : )
health nut wannabee mom, you mean every restaurant in the US accepts credit cards? That's cool! Now Malaysia can learn something from that! : )
monica, I know you don't mind cos you just love good food too much, right? : )
How far can this get? Already more than 90 comments, lol.
JL, haha! Help me push it past 100, will you? Come, chat with me! LOL!
RIGHT! I love good food more than *ahem*...lol!
monica, what did you just said? You love good food more than XXX? Is it? Wow! Good to know that. Haha!! : )
eh not XXX la!!! why good to know that?? LOL..
monica, if not XXX, then what? Please enlighten me. I said good to know that cos I can't say, that's bad! So I just say good to know that. Full Stop. haha!
well its all what we have