It has been exactly one week now since I came back from my weekend trip to Kuching; my missus and I flew back last Sunday morning. My brother-in-law and his family of two sons were staying at the same hotel – the 360 Hotel and they only had two complimentary breakfast vouchers, so I gave mine to them so that the whole family could go together and eat at the Horizon Cafe.
We got to the Kuching International Airport pretty early as we took the 7.15 a.m. shuttle from the hotel. So we decided to go and have breakfast first before checking in. On the arrival level, there are McDs and also Only Mi…but eventually, we decided on this one, another of our very own Malaysian franchises…
I had eaten at one of their outlets in Sungai Petani, Kedah before but I never knew that this was their tagline…
…and they literally took their time.
We chose a table and took our seats but nobody came to take our orders. There was a form on the table for people to tick what they would like to eat or drink but there was neither a pen nor pencil provided. I had to go to the cashier’s counter myself to borrow a pen to tick and hand in our order slip. Our coffee came quite fast…
…but I did not like it at all. It was black but the coffee taste was nothing like the coffee that I would go for back in Sibu. Definitely nothing like STP’s coffee at the Ruby Restaurant in Sibu.
Then we waited…and waited…and waited and finally, our nasi lemak came.
I just could not understand what took them so long considering that nasi lemak is usually precooked and all that they had to do was to put everything together and serve…and there were no other customers at the time.
The sambal was very spicy hot but nowhere as nice as what I can get from the Bandong stall for RM1.50 a packet in the morning. Of course, the rice and the condiments would be much less…but getting two packets would only come up to RM3.00, minus the chicken and poppadums. Anyway, I did not like the chicken…nor the taste of the batter used in frying the meat.
Having said all that, the coffee was RM6.78 for two glasses and the two nasi lemak cost RM17.04. I cannot, for the dear life of me, figure out where all those sen came from. It was probably in the menu but unfortunately, I did not take note of the prices before ordering. Whatever it was, those figures certainly appeared kind of odd. On top of that, I had to pay an additional 5% tax. I thought that the government had waived that following the current economic slowdown? And that’s not all! When I walked over to the cashier’s counter to pay, she was not there…and somebody waiting at the tables shouted, “Tunggu (wait) ah!”
All things considered, it certainly was a disappointment on all counts and I certainly would take my time before I would ever set foot at that place again.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
LOL.. what do you expect from places like that?.. If I want nasi lemak, I’d rather have it at the mamak or any road side stalls will be better than those from places like Old Town. And the pricing is totally unreasonable.
The 5% is not waived. I still get taxed here when I dine in places like that.. 😦 see where does my money goes…??
Of course we have to pay more at places like these (and Malaysia Airports some more – everything’s expensive!!!) but I would expect good service and food that’s value for money. I had their curry or something with rice in SP and it was nice…and my daughter loved the hor fun…but this nasi lemak that I had that day – thumbs down…and the service sucked big time.
I had the nasi lemak at Pappa Rich (Bukit Bintang outlet) and it was very nice…and the service was absolutely great…really excellent, I should say!!! In such cases, I certainly will not mind paying more…
lol! i can’t see the appeal of old town actually. the food is bad and expensive. and if the franchise is playing on our nostalgia of days gone by, it really fails on me.
Ya…we went to Pappa Rich together – that was my first time there, and I went back again a few times after that – same outlet. Food was good and the waiters and waitresses would give you all the attention you need. One actually ran all the way after us (to the hotel) to return the umbrella that we had left behind. That is more than excellent service, I would say. And I loved the buttons – press and they would be by your side in an instant! LOL!!!
I only like the bread here. The rest, can get cheaper and better ones elsewhere.
Passed by Papa Rich in Bukit Bintang when we walked from BB Plaza to Petaling Street (I know!) and told Chipmunk about it but couldn’t remember what was it that was nice that you blogged about. Hahhaha!!! Will KIV that place for next trip 😀
You can visit Annie’s blog and see: http://annie-q.blogspot.com/2010/01/papparich.html
The naan bread looks nice. I had their bread with curry once – also nice…and the nasi lemak was good too.
Suddenly I wanna go to Old Town again to eat their expensive rendang nasi lemak. 😀
Got rendang one? I ticked the nasi lemak special…and that was what I got – no rendang. I thought the fried chicken was supposed to be the “special”.
I personally prefer authentic Ipoh coffee over Dine in Old Town, pricey and the coffee also not as fragrance as the genuine Ipoh coffee… What say you?
have a pleasant week ahead!
Ah!!! Now I see what you mean. Just retrieved this from spam! Akismet doesn’t like you, it seems… Muahahahaha!!!! Never mind, extra comment for me. Things going a bit slow these two days… 😀
I personally prefer authentic Ipoh coffee over Dine in Old Town, pricey and the coffee also not as fragrance as the genuine Ipoh coffee… What say you?
have a pleasant week ahead!
p/s: Why I always fail to post you a comment?(weep)T-T
I wouldn’t know as I’ve never been to Ipoh Coffee. I think they do have outlets in Kuching but I didn’t go… So far, there’s Pappa Rich…and Uncle Dom in Sibu is something along the same lines:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/friendly-persuasion/
P.S. What do you mean? Your comments all appear…doesn’t seem like there’s a problem at all?
Same experience as me. I had to walk up twice, once to ask for a pen, and another time to pass the form to the waiter. They were busily chatting away… They noticed that I was pissed and apologized. Haiz… food not that great anyways. The chicken is the instant ones that u can find from supermarket. Not worth being taxed over.
Gee! Don’t tell me it’s like that elsewhere too! Thought it’s only at this outlet. The one I went to in Sg Petani (Lagenda Heights outlet) was ok…service, no complaint and what I had was not bad either. Ya…it tasted like those – in fact, the ayammas ones taste even better! And the smell of the (used) oil was a bit obvious too…
LOL! i tell u my former bf love the nasi lemak at old town and almost each time date went there. he never get bored and im enjoying new foods. haha! am not sure how’s the service there but i dont have such problem at here. 🙂
Ya…the outlet at Sg Petani also ok. Maybe we went too early in the morning – engine not warmed up yet. Eyew…boyfriend takes you to this kind of place kah? Go lah…sekurang2nya…Little Italy or Gunter Gazhaus! Oh…I just noticed – “former” bf! Muahahahahaha!!!!
Though Ipoh has plenty of these outlets, i seldom go in anymore.. some outlets are spoiling the franchise…esp the sandwich with ham.. i think i posted it before… see also no appetite.. 🙂 but of course there are some franchise who keep with the name…
There should be some quality control by the franchise owner. They should send people around to do spot checks to ensure good quality or they may withdraw the franchise. But even at those international franchise, I found the items at that pizza place in SP not as nice as what we get here in Sibu – only the pizzas were of the same standard.,,and my daughter said the items at S/Recipe there also no consistent, sometimes not so nice. I guess the staff not very reliable…
Haha, I guess service levels differ at different outlets ..unfortunately for a franchise that’s supposed to be providing Ipoh Old Town White Coffee, the coffee tastes nothing like the legendary coffee we have here in Ipoh … I usually go there just for chit chat sessions with friends and I always end up just ordering their toast (very generous with their butter though !! yums )
P.s : Ooh, on second thought, they do have this hazelnut white coffee drink that’s quite good ! (ah, I’m such a fickle perempuan =p)
I’m a strictly kopi-o-peng guy – nothing more, nothing less. And I like our local Sibu coffee best – dunno what variety it is…selling at around RM20 a kg and they will grind the beans into powder for you on the spot. Very much nicer than coffee I have had anywhere else. Definitely none of those branded coffee for me – not my cup of tea…or coffee, I mean! LOL!!!
“Take ur time~ And i take mine~”
I think thats wat they meant lol XD
It certainly looks like it. Anyway, these places are most popular among teenagers – they go there to hang out all night long…and go online as there’s usually free wifi as well – then it’s more worth it.
aww, that’s the thing about shoddy service, isnt it. kills the appetite. Papa Rich is quite a good one to try. wait!! hang on!!! old town in kuching..is it new?? I think my cousin owns it..LOL!!
Oops! The one at the airport…or is there another outlet elsewhere? If that’s the one, have to tell him to go and give the employees a good thrashing! When people pay more, the least they can do is to give extra special service. I think we can get better service in any coffee shop round town…and better food too.
Change the name to Wait Until Old Cafe….ha ha ha!
LOL!!! That’s a good one.
lol.. they literally took their time? so funny.. hahahha..
anyway, not funny if I was the one having to wait and all. and having the cents all there in the bill… *shake head* will be rounded up in the end oso kan?
ok.. i’ll take my time n not go there if i am ever there in the future 😀
I wouldn’t know about the rounding up at the end. Just that all those sen in the gross prices of the items seems strange – normally, we’ll get that after the ++ calculation. If the service is so poor, should just go to McDs or KFC…and self-serve.
Wait a sec. U were in Kch last wknd? Haha..we just came bck on Sun too (but our flite was at 9.45am). Didnt knw got Ipoh Town at KIA..we had a cuppa at Starbucks b4 we went in to the departure hall.
Not Ipoh Town lah…this one’s Old Town – they’re two different eateries along that same line. You’ve been away from Kuching too long. I’m sure you would have seen it on your right as you come out of arrivals. Starbucks inside, if I remember correctly and KFC and Coffee Bean are outside at the departure level…or is Coffee Bean inside like Merry Brown? Old man, memory not so good! LOL!!!
Wow, seems that you had all the good food in Kuching. Too bad I can’t tag along. Haha. I was in Sandakan and Miri last week.
I like the coffee in Old Town. The baked bread is nice too but not sure about the Kuching one. KK one sure taste good when last time I was there. When will Old Town land in Sibu?
Oooo…Sandakan! All the seafood! And Miri too has nice places to go and eat. Haven’t been to these two places for a long time now. Next time you’re going, let me know…and I’ll tag along. Tumpang your room, can save on hotel. LOL!!! Not a fan of the Old Town coffee – I think Uncle Dom’s nicer…but Ruby’s the best! The kaya and toast – the good ol’ kopi tiam’s would be more authentic, I’m sure. Try the ones at Sg Merah. No need to come to Sibu lah, we support our own local enterprises – just go to Uncle Dom. More or less the same…
Kuching is somewhere I wish I had visited when I went to Malaysia. This nasi lemak must have been worth its wait…or not??
Nope, not really. They are nicer ones elsewhere. Ya, you should have dropped by Kuching. It’s a lovely place – not as congested as places like KL or Penang, nice food…and the towns here like Kuching and Sibu are somehow different from those over the other side, probably due to the racial composition here…like Kota Kinabalu in Sabah is also different. Coming to Malaysia again by any chance? Btw, thanks for dropping by…and do come again. I’ll add you in my bloglinks.
yeah old town is expensive and upmarket coffee shop! Lol… take your time… and then your money!
It would have been ok had the food been really yummy and the service good. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so…on both counts.
It takes so long… i guess possible they go to “bungkus” somewhere…
this is reason why so expensive! When you go to “bungkus” from somewhere mamak store – it includes cost of transport, markup for 20% to 30%, driver salary, service charge, electricity, and water bill as well.
maybe i am wrong.
I’m sure you are…. They expect people to eat there and sit around the whole day – so must charge more. Not like places where the turnover is so fast…so they charge less and make a lot more, like the coffee shops.
old town is bad…really really bad. the food is awful and the price ugh! not worth it at all. i don’t get it why it still can survive till now.
Dunno. Ask you young people. I don’t see a lot of older people going to such places…