Flies in my Superbowl of China
The metro is abound with Chinese food-serving establishments. You cannot turn a corner without encountering a restaurant or a canteen that serves chinese cuisine in one form or another. Because it has always been a constant part of our lives, I choose to stay away from it whenever I go and have dinner out. It also helps because my husband doesn’t like to eat Chinese.
The rare times that we do have the urge to eat Chinese, we always look for a place that serve dishes that would excite our palates and not dampen it. This is the reason we choose places like Big Buddha, Super Bowl of China, Zong at the Fort or North Park. These places also encourage more of the younger generation to appreciate Chinese dishes. Because of the popularity of yang chow fried rice, lemon chicken, deep fried cuttlefish in spicy salt, manchurian calamares, and string beans with minced pork, these places have flourished over the years.
That is why it is really disappointing for me to have such an unpleasant experience at Superbowl of China at the SM Megamall megastrip branch. The place itself looked unkempt and felt dirty. The air was filled with the smell of smoke coming from the kitchen which made me think that the place had inadequate ventilation. The set plates, flatware, and glasses appeared grimy. I kept wiping everything with tissue until I felt comfortable enough to use them.
But despite the grime and smell and the scowl of my husband, we stayed. We stayed because I was really craving for some yang chow.
We sat down and guess who our seatmates were? Flies! Two black flies were having the time of their lives jumping from one plate to the other, one spoon to the other, enjoying their space. I shuddered. It was 7pm at night after all and I can’t imagine flies in the evening inside a closed airconditioned restaurant.
I looked around and on the wall was a framed newspaper article that headlined Superbowl as the Best Resto of the Year. I couldn’t see what year the article was but I doubt it was awarded this year. Although., it isn’t hard to imagine Superbowl being the best once upon a time.
So does being recognized as the best give you the luxury of neglect right after the award has been given? Does the service end once you have reached the top? Looks like this restaurant felt it did judging by the flies on the table and the dirty floors.
I don’t think my husband and I will ever go back to this place again. Although, I may visit their branch in Glorietta or some other place if I get another yang chow craving.
Tsk tsk. Too bad.
Superbowl of China
SM MegaMall Ground Level, Bldg. B, Megastrip 5
Mandaluyong City
Tel. 634-7831
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my unpleasant experience at superbowl of china is very different with yours. the jampacked crowd in this resto at the SM Clark on a sunday lunch is very understandable. our food server got orders by memory. wow. after 10 minutes the orders of my daughters arrived. my order and my husband’s is set to arrive. another 10 minutes. i told my kids to go ahead and eat since they are hungry na. another 10 minutes and halfway through the meals of my daughters our order hasnt arrive. i called the attention of the food servers and ask for a follow up. and lo! we were told that there wasnt any other order. i was furious bec it was almost 40 minutes passed and we are dead hungry. i called for the resto manager and ask for an explanation. he told us he will reprimand the personnel and the initial meal that was served was on the house. i told them i wont get the other orders anymore. we havent return ever since. and after 2 weeks my sister had a similar experience just like mine.talking about de ja vu !!
arny – I feel for you. That was a truly horrible experience. I think most of the popular establishments fall victim to the price of commercialization. Somehow, either service, cleanliness and quality of the dishes decrease in value and become low standard. Tsk tsk. Too bad for them.
Flies flying around? Scary, especially if the utensils you are to use are already set on the table. Who knows how many flies have landed on them? I would have walked out.
My family adores Chinese food but we haven’t eaten in Superbowl in a long time. The Megamall branch is always a choice because it’s near us. Thanks for sharing this. Will delete it from our list of restaurants to go to.
Em Dy – I guess I was just too hungry with craving so I convinced my husband to stay. I do hope for their sake they clean up.
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe
) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
I like the Superbowl branch at Megamall actually, but it has been ages since I was last there. It’s pretty much hit or miss if you ask me. Some branches are decent and some are just baaad – the one in Rob Place Midtown comes to mind.
benj – You’re right. I guess I was hoping this could reach them (hehe) so that they could re-focus on improving the surroundings. Besides they already achieved a name in the industry so now the pressure is to maintain the standards.
hate flies when eating
jeff – I do too. I imagine all the other places they could have been to and it isn’t a pretty picture. Eeew.
[...] was refreshing when I discovered Super Bowl, North Park and Big Buddha. They offered the same Chinese dishes that I have grown to avoid but [...]
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[...] was refreshing when I discovered Super Bowl, North Park and Big Buddha. They offered the same Chinese dishes that I have grown to avoid but [...]
I used to work as a cook at Superbowl of China almost three years and one year in North Park.We encounter a lot of problems like that,dirty walls,plates,flies inside,spoiled food,It happend maybe because of the lack in hygiene training among the staff.Or maybe the outlet head chef himself have no proper knowledge in HACCP>This is the standard system used in hotels and restaurant.I presesntly working in Radisson Hotel Dubai as Demi Chef and we undergo training monthly in different guidelines of the hotel.you know everybody have responsibility and should follow the standard.
quintin – Its unfortunate as Superbowl was a great establishment when it first opened since it offered a different kind of Chinese for those whose palates have gotten tired of the same bland taste of chinese chopsuey.
i was also disappointed with this resto esp the branch at glorietta 4, you’re not just eating together with the flies but, dig this, cockroaches. The place is really infested. The manager of that restaurant is just hiding at their kitchen. And they would even ask you to fill out a comment card. What’s the use?! Really disappointing.
i’m a chinese cuisine fan but superbowls food just dont cut it. salty and not good…
Junnie – And full of MSG!