Mengkuang Cafe - The Revisit

Well I made the return visit to Mengkuang Cafe & Bistro as promised to try out their breaking of fast buffet on Saturday and to make a long story short, we will only visit them again after the Eid for their yummy regular menu. As feared, they were not ready to offer a buffet spread, especially for the weekend crowd and committed the cardinal sin of running out of food, replacing them with their regular menu items. My wife commented that this is what they should have done in the first place, offer their regular menu items in a buffet spread instead of trying to offer a mixed bag of dishes that are not their strong points. The result was the food spread that was nothing to write home about, and their single signature dish for the day only surviving the first round of replenishment, which by the way we could not get any. Service was a little better, and those who recognised me striving me to show that they are more attentive. Still my wife's order of el-dente fried kway teow from the food station did not arrive, and since we were full on drinks could not care less since the el-dente fried beef was not that tasty anyway.

Well like I said the owners recognised this bullhorn and engaged me in conversations. They admitted that they were thoroughly unprepared for the weekend crowd, especially for a reservation of a large alumni gathering. They said their working days buffet did not attract any crowds and they had to throw away so much food, so then they went to the other extreme and prepared minimal food for the weekend spread. Come on, don't tell me they did not expect business to pick up over the weeekend. You do not need an MBA to know that. Anyway with all the reservations you got you could have calculated the amount of foof needed. That is why I told them point-blank that they are not ready to hold a buffet. Anyway if you guys are reading this, we have a suggestion for you. Why don't you offer your signature dishes in set meals for the weekdays and the buffet only over the weekend. Since you are already prepared to offer your regular menu after the breaking of fast buffet period, this should not impose too much on your planning and logistics, and may actually give your customers a good meal and time instead. Good Luck!