Wong Tai Fook (Restaurant Connection) wrote on 31 July 2010

Trust Me! it's all rubbish food serving in any Tai Buffet!!!

I was working there for 1 year and i know very well how we cook and prepare for every dish. Basically you can never see a proper chef in the restaurant because every staff inside has to learn how to "COOK" the dishes. There have no proper kitchen as usual orient restaurant. Most of the foods are just simply re-heat in microwave or deep fried, add salt and serve on...(Including the broccoli that you might feel delicious and fresh.... )

Beside that, the so call "Fried Rice" are made once or twice a week for few days usage. They'll only reheat in the microwave and serve, the same way of cooking goes to other noodles.

As for the fried potato, it's also terribly dirty. We'll never wash it and peel off the skin. Every time we'll cut it into a small piece directly from the dirty big plastic bag from the supplier and fry it for the customer.

All the staffs are only paying £30 per day, working hours from 11.00am to 10.30pm (vary from different location) with only one hour break in between. Some of the dishes are sitting down there form we open shop until we closed. Only top up when it's finished.

If you're a veggie and need to get some healthy veggie foods in Tai Buffet, think twice before you step in. Good luck.

Ex Thai Veg Regular (N. London) wrote on 3 August 2009

I've enjoyed takeaway boxes and the occasion sit-downs, most usually at the
one opposite Angel, for several years and never had a problem with the food. Eating the gluten and soya meat (and prawn!) substitutes doesn't bother me and as I eat very little salt, I would've thought that I'd have noticed any excessive use of it. Occasionally, more likely, later in the evening, some dishes did look like they'd been sitting there for a while(!!) but common sense would tell me to choose from the fresher dishes. Perhaps that's why I never fell ill from eating at any of the Buffets I 've been to. No, I loved the food and the staff were really great but, as I was tucking into a box a few months ago, one of my colleagues told me that the owners had been exposed for grossly underpaying their staff and that just about killed my appetite!!!

If the company undergoes a complete change of attitude to staff welfare and starts paying them a decent working wage, will someone please let me know as I am craving their doughnut balls and seaweed like mad!!

KMG (London) wrote on 22 July 2009

One word.
Disgusting.

There are quite a few around London - some bad, some worse. Around Holborn there are a couple that are ok if you wanna feel rather disusting and greedy afterwards, but you have to go at lunchtime, any later and you'll get food poisoning - and for heaven's sake the food's vegan - it takes EFFORT to poison someone with vegan food.

I went to this one on my birthday as a very cheap last minute option. There was 'stuff' floating in my jasmine tea, there were only five options, we were crowded onto a tiny table people kept ramming past.

The gyoza (if you can call them that) were still frozen, the rice was oily, and everything else was so overdone it had become mush.I witnessed food being reheated in microwaves (till tepid), nothing is made fresh on site seemingly it's from frozen.

Prices here were even higher than usual - and then of all things they had the indecency to give me a SERVICE CHARGE. For a cheap buffet - I'd served myself!!!

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. You'll regret it afterwards no matter how cheap it is.

Hari (Redhill, Surrey) wrote on 4 November 2008

I don't enjoy eating stuff that looks and tastes like meat. Might that be because I'm a vegetarian?

Good for a cheap lunch, good for people who like fake meat, and good for proving to yourself that you dont like the taste of meat (yes it's the exact same taste).

Ellena (Camberley, Surrey) wrote on 7 August 2008

bbc 1 , uk tai buffet,rouge resteraunts <watch it
it says
employes an exploits illegal imegrent
paying £180 a week more than half of minimum wage
re uses 2-3 day old food that hasnt been touched out
just topping it up with new food
evan though only vegetarian food , it being left out and reused does matter as food poisoning can break out in things as minor as lettiuce and spinnach
the food is oily and packed with salt

do not eat there

Harvey Colven (Kent) wrote on 23 May 2008

yes some of the food may be a little oily but isnt most oriental food? for the money i think the Tai chain of restaurants provide a very nice and filing meal. there are always different dishes on offer and a large selection to choose from. the staff are always very friendly and never lax.
you can go here and eat healthily or make a bit of a piggy of yourself. i always leave full as i want to taste all of the dishes.
£3.50 for a regular take away box is a bargain

Rodolphe (London) wrote on 18 October 2007

The food they served is terrible, it's soaked with oil and far too salty. There's mostly soya stuff and almost no vegetables. The atmosphere is hectic and the staff very polite. I will never eat in any of those Tai veg type of buffet, they all taste the same : horrible.

Wong (Restaurant Connection) wrote on 10 January 2005

Very nicely done up vegan place. Cheap buffet £5 lunch - £6 in the evening.