Dec 27, 2012

Kwong Sang House 廣生洋服 and Behind 50 @ Penang


Kwong Sang House
After our lok lok dinner at Pulau Tikus, our tummy couldn't handle anymore food. Stephy suggested to check out Kwong Sang House :)

Downstairs was packed so we headed upstairs

Cute decorations on the outside wall and also their dinner set!
Their interior upstairs is really nice :D

Bookshelves filled with books for you to read

Old albums

Vintage decorations and old school items on display.

That night, we only ordered drinks are we were too full. Saw people having pasta and pizza which looked good and made a mental note to come by here next time for their food. The lady boss took our order. The service was great and friendly :) It left a great impression on us because of the friendly service.

However on our third day in Penang, most of the cafes were closed. We ended up in Kwong Sang House for lunch. However, the service had almost an 180 degrees turn from our first visit. There were two teenagers attending to customers that afternoon. Service was slow. Took a long time for the menu to reach us. Waited almost 5-10 minutes to call them every single time. I would understand if they stated that 'sorry we are busy, could you please hold for a moment', but there was no such courtesy. They practically just ignored us most of the time. The guy was mostly blur. The girl was quite rude. We actually ordered white wine but in the end red wine came -.- We said that we ordered white wine and we gave up at the lack of answer given by the waitress.

Nonetheless, here's pictures of our set lunch!
 Grilled Chicken
 Chicken Ham Carbonara
 Spaghetti Bolognese
 Pasta Pugliese
Red Wine

This place has good food unfortunately the mood can be spoiled by the service. When the bosses are here, service is fantastic. However, left unsupervised by inexperience waiters, it can just spoil your whole dining experience. 

Kwong Sang House 廣生洋服
36, Leith Street,
10220, Penang.
For reservations: 0125565509 / 0124939230
Business hours
12PM-2.30PM and 6PM-11PM
(closed on Thursdays)



Behind 50
We also went to Behind 50, another cafe which is owned by the same owner. We went there for drinks and snacks at midnight after our movie. And to our horror, the same pair of teenagers were there serving. Me and my girlfriends mood immediately went downhill =.= There were 3 of us initially. It was packed, so we sat on the high chairs. After that, a few of our friends and their friends joined us. Since the place was packed, I decided to ask the waitress for some solutions.

It went along something like this....
Me: Do you have any extra chairs?
Waitress: No.
Me: ...said something which I forgot...
Waitress: This is all we have. (stating as a matter of fact)
Me: .....nevermind
Waitress: walks away

Of course I could see the place is packed. I was just hoping for you to maybe ask customers who are occupying a table to move to the high chairs if they are willing. Or said we have to wait for a while if we want. But no, it's practically if you want stay here or go to another cafe situation. The feeling of welcome was not there :( We stood there for a few minutes deciding we should finish our drinks and head to another place with bigger space. Then, the lady boss/partner/manager (don't know which) came out and things definitely got better!

She kindly asked the pair of customers who are willing to change tables with us and secured us with more chairs as customers from the other table left. She was friendly, had a smile on her face and was patient while taking our orders. Our mood got better after that.

Behind 50
Muntri Street, 10200,
George Town, Penang.
For reservations: 0125565509 / 0124939230
Business hours
6PM - 1AM
(closed on Thursdays)

Overall, the food, environment and atmosphere in Kwong Sang House and Behind 50 is good. Most blogs I came by have great reviews about the food too. But for me, the service definitely needs to be improved. I even saw some people leaving tips on Foursquare saying that they experienced rude service as well. I would definitely visit this places again for their food and when the bosses are there!

11 comments :

  1. I didn't come across Kwong Sang house when I'm in Penang, seems like a nice place to dine in! I've been to Behind 50 twice but fortunately the service was okay even without the boss around (:

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  2. huhu, if me I for sure burn in action lol :X

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  3. Hmm, this place looks strangely familiar. Think I've been there before.

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  4. i dunno whether is it that i'm sensitive or what, but the waitress sounded really rude. at least she should say something like, 'sorry miss, we have not enough chairs' or something more polite.

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  5. Thanks for the review. Ever since I left Penang to Kuala Lumpur, I kinda miss that small island! I guess I shall try this place when I'm at Penang. *fingerscrossed* the service will be improved =)

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  6. I think the boss should train her assistants so that they are more warm and friendly to customers. I will surely be put off by such service!

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  7. That's such a waste that the mouse will rule when the cat is not around. If we cant get consistent good service, how should we know when to dine there right?

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  8. I've tried Behind 50, so far so good, food wise is OKOK-only, but I have yet to try Kwong Sang. Read that it's good, some say no good, the review is kinda mixed. Do you recommend me to check out Kwong Sang? I'm pretty interested in the interior more than the food. haha.

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  9. the design is so antique! love it! :D

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  10. love their interior design!!! so vintage feel :D

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  11. and i still havent go @@

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