Fish On Rice

201-4361 Kingsway, Burnaby [map]
604-439-8882
[Original post date: February 2008]

Back during my college days, a group of us would often go out for all-you-can-eat sushi as it provided a lot of food for a set price. Plus the group was mostly guys with big appetites. It was fun times.

Over the last few years though I’ve grown more weary of going to AYCE restaurants. Vancouver is filled with these places, and even though we are all aware that the quality of the food is usually on the lower end, we still go for a getogether once in a while. Last night, nine of us decided to return to Fish On Rice in Burnaby. I was fairly reluctant, as its quality and service has greatly diminished since its opening, but it’s close-by and could accomodate that many of us.

It was quite the dinner to remember… Four of us got there first so we put in an order. It took probably 15 minutes though to find a server to pass the order to thoug as no one had come to check on us after we were seated. As the rest of our party arrived, it probably took about 30 minutes to start getting our food. Our drinks were also slow to arrive, you'd usually expect drinks to be the first thing you receive. In the past they’d give us pitchers of pop, but for some reason this time they didn’t.

However, the worst part was soon to come. A round of miso soups arrived and the first bowl the server placed on the table, he spilled some onto one of the girls’ knees. Apparently it was quite hot, but she didn’t make a fuss about it. But right after that, a round of pop came and as the server placed the tray down by the seats, he spilled one of the glasses all over the seat and got one of the guys’ pants wet. Our friend left to get cleaned up, but returned soon after to show us that his shoe was filled with pop... by pouring it unknowingly into another friend's shoe. :P The that was cleaning the mess up also almost knocked over another tray of food that another server was holding as she was trying to pass by him.

It seems to be a running thing within Vancouver regarding Asian restaurants… None of the servers are properly trained in good customer service. They don’t greet you that warmly, they don’t often check on you… They just get you your food. I guess maybe that’s how we are just like, haha, but it probably shouldn’t be an excuse for shoddy service.

When our bill came, we noticed that they left the 10% gratuity charge on, and no discount or any form of compensation was given to us our even our two friends who were mostly affected. We had to get them to remove the gratuity, but didn’t demand that our friends’ meals be paid for or anything. We’re pretty passive that way. Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be going back there again anymore.

[Recommended? HELLS NO]