Charme > Raffles City

Hmm, well since my last review almost a year ago things are starting to turn a little sour.

We had enormous difficulty getting anyone's attention after we were seated, the waitstaff almost invariably had their backs to the customers - particularly those who were trying to get their attention. I noticed some people were actively ignored by one or two waiters.

Once again, they had run out of certain dishes, but didn't inform us until well after we were into our meal. They told us the first time, but when we ordered a replacement, the staff didn't tell us until the end of the meal that they were out of that as well.

And then of course, there was the old trick of trying to charge us for the two dishes, that never came... it took ten minutes to sort that out. Seriously, that one's getting a little tired now, guys.

And this time the food was just bland. The chicken wings stuffed with shrimps and cheese were cheese-less, and one only had half a shrimp (where was the other half?) inside. The calibrese in soup was empty of flavour, and had hints of cheap chicken stock, but mostly water.

The best part of the meal was the linguine in bolognese sauce - very strong tomato flavours and good texture to the meat.

Overall a disappointing experience.

The food here is genuinely great, even though it's a chain restaurant! The prices are moderate to high but generally fair considering the sizes of the portions!

It's crowded, but popular restaurants here are almost always full to bursting point at peak times.

Two gripes though:

They run out of the best dishes on a daily basis, and often the waiter's and waitresses don't tel you until the rest of your food has arrived that this is the case. It seems deceitful.

The other gripe is that service is slow even during off-peak times, with waiters sometimes congregating in groups out of earshot, seemingly ignoring customers.

Sad, because the food is brilliant, I think Lee mentioned the cheese-covered 'shrooms which are to die for, as is the hollowed-out bread with ice-cream. The variety of flavours on the meat, particularly the pork, is admirabe.

I've been there so many times that I could recite the menu and order without looking at it... The best dish ever tasted in this place is a pizza with salmon and mushroom --- cancelled after I've tasted it for only one time; and Thai style chicken claw --- also cancelled after I've tried it twice.
Still go to Charme quite often.

went there quite some times, love it, especially the red sofa seat, good for a bunch of friends (no more than 6) eating and chatting

Always packed, this restaurant is irrefutably popular. We won't say it's 100 percent authentic Canton food either, rather Hong Kong-style teahouse eats with a smattering of Western and Asian dishes. But, I find this restaurant is always tasty and reliable. Those with a sweet tooth should definitely try the toast with condensed milk--simple and delicious. I'm a big fan of the _nai cha_ ... but then I just love any _nai cha_ that's not your powdered watered down Shanghai kind. I think if you're looking for a good meal, this one won't let you down (though you may have to wait in line for it).

This place is packed during lunch time and it is really hard to get a table. The food is interesting but not as good as the traditional Hong Kong tea-cafe. The hand-shredded chicken is really good.

this restaurant is fantastic. the saturday night line was an hour long at Raffles, but it was worth it. The grilled half chicken...yum...the waffles with mango slices and custard...awesome...just regret they were sold out of the cheese-topped baked mushrooms.