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Year of the Dragon Shines; Service “A Hot Mess”
It’s a good thing that Forbidden City makes a great entree. Sure, there is the beautiful lighted bar area and the brick-lined main dining room. Yes, the wine and martini selections are excellent. And I need to mention the bathroom...man, I had to make excuses for multiple visits to the sleek, tile-covered bathroom. But the frustratingly inconsistent service almost overshadows all of it.
Forbidden City Bistro recently featured a special “Year of the Dragon” menu headlined with its Year of the Dragon Dish. A wok-flashed lobster was presented beautifully in dragon-like fashion with ginger and scallion seasoning, and it tasted as good as it looks. For a restaurant with a largely static menu of favorites, the special menu brought some flair to the already creative cuisine. From the looks of the number of similar crustaceans consumed by my fellow diners, this was truly was the start of the Year of the Dragon at Forbidden City.
The Peking Duck Confit “sandwich” represented a different take on the classic Peking Duck, with slow roasted duck combined with shiitake mushrooms on top of pillow buns. Don’t know what a pillow bun is? Sounds good though, huh? The pillow buns were doughy pastries of goodness, the highlight of the meal, and the dish was served as a make-your-own-sandwich, accompanied by a soy-based sauce. The dish was accompanied perfectly by a Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet Savignon, a reasonable value on the extensive wine list.
Although the entrees soared, the other dishes of the night were largely forgettable. A crab cake was plain, filler-filled. The crab cake was served with the same sauce as the spring rolls, which still remains a favorites. And the recommendation would be to skip dessert and just make the drive to DQ after enjoying your wonderful entrees. The Bourbon Pecan Tart was a pile of sweetened pecans in a flaky crust. Good, but it was missing the creativity of their entrees. And the “flourless” chocolate cake should have been described as the “tasteless” chocolate cake, a cold, flavorless brownie on a plate with a squirt of whipped cream. Had me thinking that they perhaps should have added the flour after all.
And the service....oh, the service....was scattered and disorganized at best. My dinner companion eloquently referred to it as a “hot mess.” Even though we made reservations, we were offered a nice table behind a column and next to the kitchen and a door with a metal placard saying “Employees Only” and another ripped paper sign saying “Employees Only” in case you didn’t get it the first time. Refusing that table, we were offered a table in the bar area. The inattentive service and lack of open tables was blamed on a backup on the Arrigoni bridge, which compressed the reservations that evening. However, that fact does not excuse being greeted with an “Are you ready to order?” which made me think I was dining at Applebee’s, not at an upscale Chinese restaurant with the best-looking bathrooms in Connecticut.
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Most frustratingly, the Forbidden City seems to use a “team” approach to serving, meaning that you are not quite sure who your server is....or when your wine will be served....or when you will have bread....or if you need more water....you get the idea. A basketball fan might liken it to a zone defense when a man-to-man might be more appropriate. In particular, I like having someone looking after me when I dine, say, if I need to have chocolate cake taken off my bill.
So the Year of the Dragon roared in with mixed success at Forbidden City. When you next make your reservations there, I strongly suggest focusing on the creative entrees and breathtaking bathrooms, but be ready to flag down a server, any server, to get attention. For me, the food will keep bringing me back, but the service will keep me shaking my head.
5 comments:
Forbidden City's service is clearly inconsistent, as I've seen several
reviews online complaining about similar issues. I do need to say, though, that my wife and I have had dinner there three times (all within the past 6 months), and the service was perfectly fine on all occasions. (And the food was spectacular.)
I love your comments. You are entirely correct.
Thank you for your review and your humor. I loved it and I will be looking forward to future reviews!
Great review. I love Chinese food, but they don't really have the equivalent of western-style dessert. Perhaps that's why they tend to be healthier! Expecting a fabulous chocolate cake at an authentic Chinese restaurant is bound to lead to disappointment.
Since you are a writer for Middletown you should have suggested getting dessert in Middletown. Of course I believe Cold Stone is the best choice but you could have mentioned NoRa Cupcakes or Tshudian chocolate.
P.S. Love Forbidden City! Have had some fabulous meals there and never had a problem with service.
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