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Originally Posted by Nisses
Not sure I quite got your remark, but the normal way a bigger dinner is eaten in Japan is with everything on the table at once.
That means soup/main course/appetizers/... all in front of you. Don't quite get how that's a faux pas. (also, isn't there a proper English word instead of faux pas, it sounds so snooty  ) |
Yes, as Charlatan noted, my point is that the menu advertises appetizers, which we typically receive in advance of the meal. Ostensibly to occupy ourselves while we wait for the entrees.
So on the occasions that we have ordered the appetizers at Memories of Japan we ended up waiting for a long time anyway, and then receiving everything at once. Not only was there no room on the table, we could plainly tell that the appetizer had cooled down while waiting to be brought.
The second time this happened, I spoke to the manager/host about it who appologized with the statement that " it's very busy" . Let's deconstruct that. This is a restuarant which could not fullfill it's main business process due to the fact that it was busy. And why was it busy? Because it was dinner time! And it is a restaurant, and people come here to eat at dinner time. This is the absolute worst excuse.
Oh, and the staff of this place is Chinese (Cantonese to be specific) so how they could conveniently pay lip service to Japanese customs... well maybe it's a corporate directive?
Also, as Charlatan pointed out, Faux pas is a commonly used term in the English language. We have lots of French phrases/words in play and it doesn't sound snooty to us at all. Not sure what actual English words would substitute.