UK restaurant pricing rules

[StephenT]

I find the assumption that lies behind this practice(that Western diners will not want to eat these dishes) to be patronising and outdated.

I usually go to Chinatown with work colleagues once a week or so because it's cheap and nearby. Whenever we walk in and sit down, a waiter will instantly appear and remove the tea cups from the table. Then he'll have to bring them all right back again when we say that we all want tea. So I've taken to telling them that we want tea before we even sit down (you have to be quick or your teacups will disappear without you noticing). A strange side effect of doing this is that we often get a little dish of chilli paste delivered when our tea arrives. Maybe they assume that if we know that want tea before we sit down then we will want dim sum. Who knows.

I've grown bored and disillusioned with Chinatown though and will only go to ECapital or a couple of other places now.

[mogsob]

Kikujiro -- thanks for the link to the regulation. I intend to carry this around in my jacket pocket to produce at key moments like Bob Dole and the 10th Amendment.

I actually had the reverse problem at Roussillon last month. I ordered venision which was described on the menu as being paired with "truffled celeriac purée". There was also a list of truffle dishes on a separate menu (including a venison dish a lot like the one on the main menu) and a note that white truffles could be added to any dish for 25 pounds. My wife ordered white truffle risotto, but I ordered the venison off the regular menu.

When my venison arrived, there were clear shavings of white truffle in the dish (about 10 slices, I'd say). Immediately, I was concerned that I had been served the more expensive truffle dish. Happily, however, that was not the case (and the dish, btw, was amazing).

[Kikujiro]

[Report on ECapital that I accidentally posted here moved to the right thread -- sorry.]

[Andy, please feel free to delete this if you have the energy.]

Edited November 26, 2002 by Kikujiro (log)