Returning our food at a restaurant, How would you handle this ??

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Ironchef said:
While I can understand your point of view, the restaurant is under no obligation to change the order because of a wrong assumption from a customer. Yes, it's better practice to be more courteous, but the restaurant does not have to do it.

I agree! ......I personally would have pushed the issue a little bit harder, because I have my doubts as to how much of a language barrier there really was.:ermm:


larry stewart said:
So, do u think its worth writing a letter ? or should i just be more careful next time

IMO writing a letter would be a waste of time and postage. The time for making your case was then and there! Just be more careful next time!

Have Fun & Enjoy!
 
Funny. I've never gone to a Chinese restaurant and expected to be able to communicate with anyone. I generally assume I'm lucky to get someone who understands when I want "lo mein" instead of "fried rice."
 
That's why they put the numbers beside the menu items.
Exactly. And I only ever order by number and add "lo mein/no rice" after the number. If I get rice, I just give it to my daughter. Safest thing, however, is to just order ala carte so I know I get what I want. I've also learned if I order shrimp lo mein I get more than if I order a shrimp dish with lo mein. Much better deal if you ask me.
 
What was interesting in my case was that the dish we ordered " soy chicken" actually was printed on the order sheet as "chicken with rice", but the chinese broccoli was printed as chinese broccoli, that is why we thought that they messed up the order, because it wasnt printed the same way it was listed on the menu. Oh, And i think it was # 93 :-p
 
For anyone under dietary restrictions, beit vegan, vegetarian, allergy, or otherwise, it is YOUR responsibility to inform the restaurant and to take the neccessary steps to ensure that your dietary needs are met. You should ALWAYS assume that anything the restaurant serves will be geared towards the majority of people, and that includes people who eat meat, or are not allergic to things like shellfish, nuts, gluten, etc.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I have dined with too many people who have complained after the fact. If you are uncertain, ask.
 
I would have expected soy flavored chicken as well. I would expect to see "Tofu Chicken" for a vegetarian dish.

I also agree you handled well and that the restaurant would have been better served to replace the dish for good will.
 
Absolutely write your letter.

Is it possible, even remotely possible, that the chicken really was made of soy? I ask because I was a vegetarian for a year and sampled many different types of soy chicken. There was one restaurant in Teaneck NJ that had the most unbelievable soy chicken you've ever had. It wasn't real chicken to be sure. The restaurant is in a town with a very large hasidic population. There are many kosher restaurants and many vegan restaurants (because it's easire to cater to the kosher eating crowd than try to keep a kosher meat kitchen).
The restaurant I am referring to was a chinese restaurant. All vegan, all soy. Even the duck was soy. Is it possible?

You'll only get your answer and some satisfaction if you write the letter.
 
As soon as I read the OP's first post and he identified them as vegetarians, yet ordered Soy chicken I thought, Hmm?

I know the vegetarian mind set must be different to meat eaters as you are used to looking at menu's and deciphering the code of what is meat and what isnt. But if you have never been to this place before, and the menu says Soy Chicken, with a note after it saying Chicken and Rice then I would definately be asking the question. Just to avoid dissapointment.

As to wether the restaurant should have taken it back, I guess that varies from restaurant to restaurant. To them, you are just one person in the multitudes they get. Being in a Casino they won't have to worry too much if you don't go back. I am sure, this would be a different story in a stand alone restaurant. Also, it is likely this restaurant is not owned by the casino and does not care if you stay at the crap tables longer.

Finally, if I were a vegetarian I would be very dubious about ordering any vegetable only dish from a Chinese restaurant as they cook everything in Woks and no doubt, your vegetable dish is being cooked in a wok that just cooked a nice meaty dish. Or as someone else posted, they probably use a chicken stock anyway.
 
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If it was real, then it was the reallest looking fake chicken i have ever seen. Looked too real for me to eat, and the lack of communication didnt give me the opportunity to find out.
 
If it was real, then it was the reallest looking fake chicken i have ever seen. Looked too real for me to eat, and the lack of communication didnt give me the opportunity to find out.

If for nothing else, that is why you should write the letter.
 
Just to clarify a few things, the " soy chicken" had no description at all. The ' chicken with rice' was printed on the receipt that was handed to us when we picked up the order. Clearly, if it was called chicken with rice, i would have questioned it. The "SOY" is what through my wife and I off. Being vegetarian for 20 years, and therefore not having ordered anything off a meat related menu for 20 years, I never saw 'soy chicken'. That is why when we saw the "soy" we assumed it was made from soy. As far as the cooked in the same wok. We are not vegan. Sure I would prefer if it were in its own wok, but im not going to spray paint someones fur coat over it either. In addition, Im quite aware that many dishes use chicken broth, or other things that wouldnt be considered vegetarian. Sure I try to avoid it, but unfortunately for me, Unless the restaurant claims to be vegan, or has a separate vegetarian menu, I have to assume that there is cross contamination or ingredients i normally would avoid. I do the best I can to be vegetarian in a not vegetarian society. And really, what i guess the reason why I started this thread, was not about being vegetarian, or chicken stock, but about what was the proper way to handle this situation. And the feedback that i have gotten so far has been that I should have been smarter, asked for a more precise description, and if there was a language barrier, or i just didnt feel right, i should have ordered something else. And I agree %100. I dropped the ball on this one. As far as the vegetarian thing, different topic, different thread. Every ' vegetarian' has their own rules and guidelines what they will and wont eat, which restaurants they will and wont eat at .....and all the other crap that goes with it .

I guess while im at it , Ill touch on the subject a little . I dont feel ordering the soy chicken and expecting it to be soy was that far off base. Its not like I walked into a kosher restaurant and asked for pork chops. In my experiences, I have been to many chinese restaurants that offer these things. Being a new restaurant to me, I should have asked the questions, but, whatever .
 
I've never seen 'soy chicken' referred to anything other than a soy based chicken like product. Sure, chinese restaurants use soy with chicken, but they do that in all their sauces, for the most part. You see sesame chicken, or orange chicken, or kung pao chicken. I've never seen it written 'soy chicken' unless it was faux chicken.
 
I've never seen 'soy chicken' referred to anything other than a soy based chicken like product. Sure, chinese restaurants use soy with chicken, but they do that in all their sauces, for the most part. You see sesame chicken, or orange chicken, or kung pao chicken. I've never seen it written 'soy chicken' unless it was faux chicken.
And I have never seen soy chicken refer to anything other than soy sauce chicken. The restaurants I go to say what the dish is. Faux chicken is not chicken. It is something else (whatever that kitchen makes it out of). If it is tofu being subbed as chicken then the menu says tofu. If it is something else being subbed as chicken then they call it whatever that something else is. This is much less confusing as the dish is what it says it is. Soy chicken (as in faux chicken) is not chicken so why call it that?
 
Lulu, I think that you hit this one smack on. I would have assumed that soy chicken would be chicken with soy sauce. Similar to teryiaki chicken. If the restaurant wants a lot of angry customers, try serving a bean dish when everyone is expecting sauced chicken. Those with special requirements should be aware that it is their obligation to ask the questions. Many restaurants have a vegetarian menu these days. That might be a suggestion that you could communicate to the manager that may be taken seriously.
 
I've never seen 'soy chicken' referred to anything other than a soy based chicken like product. Sure, chinese restaurants use soy with chicken, but they do that in all their sauces, for the most part. You see sesame chicken, or orange chicken, or kung pao chicken. I've never seen it written 'soy chicken' unless it was faux chicken.


"Soy chicken" is a very common term used to describe chicken marinated/cooked in soy sauce.

Just exactly the kind of thing you'd expect in a Chinese restaurant.

It's also quite commonly called "soy sauce" chicken, which would have been immensely helpful in the present situation, but quite often the word "sauce" is left out.
 
In addition, Im quite aware that many dishes use chicken broth, or other things that wouldnt be considered vegetarian. Sure I try to avoid it, but unfortunately for me, Unless the restaurant claims to be vegan, or has a separate vegetarian menu, I have to assume that there is cross contamination or ingredients i normally would avoid. I do the best I can to be vegetarian in a not vegetarian society.

Larry, thanks for responding to ironchef's reminder about chicken stock, etc. I WAS curious about your feelings on that! :)

Lee
 
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