Misai (on 32 ave NE)

[Hipermax_d]

misai has gone down hill about a year ago
it was actually pretty good when it first opened and it did taste like real japanese food
but a year ago, they started to cheap out on quality ingredients like the koroke
they used to use real potatos, but its powdered potatos now

only japanese restaurant i go to now is shikiji

[clem24]

WTF?? Shikiji? That place is nasty. Their noodle/soups aren't even that good either. Soup doesn't even taste authentic. I remember the curry noodle was chock full of corn starch to thicken it. Yuck.

[Hipermax_d]

Originally posted by clem24
WTF?? Shikiji? That place is nasty. Their noodle/soups aren't even that good either. Soup doesn't even taste authentic. I remember the curry noodle was chock full of corn starch to thicken it. Yuck.

of course ramen doesnt taste authentic
the noodles not that great and also the soup base is...light

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Xtrema


Yeah, heard they weren't doing well anyways. Too many competitions.

All the other restaurants in Vancouver are doing just fine with the competition. His restaurants got squeezed out because they just aren't run well. The thing is, he can get away with that in Calgary because there's no competition, whereas in Vancouver, where you actually have to be half decent to survive, he got squeezed out.

Here's my guess: a dude like that owning so many mediocre restaurants and following bad business practices (as mentioned in this thread) can't actually be that successful. These factors, combined with the sheer number of restaurants that he runs, all point towards massive debt. His baller cars are also more evidence for this, since most heavily indebted, wannabe-ballers will drive the flashiest car their LOC can afford.

Again, only a guess.

[max_boost]

His CAlgary restaurants are doing really well. I don't think he has any problems paying his bills. If he does, I'll let you know LOL since word in the Chinese food biz spreads around pretty fast haha

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by max_boost
His CAlgary restaurants are doing really well. I don't think he has any problems paying his bills. If he does, I'll let you know LOL since word in the Chinese food biz spreads around pretty fast haha

Just because a restaurant seems busy doesn't mean it's turning a profit or enough of a profit to make someone successful. But I suppose your guess is as good as mine.

[thich]

in the restaurant business it's all about the volume of customers you can push through in an allotted amount of time. Especially since most Chinese restaurants (and the restaurant industry in general) here have a low margin on their products, they need the volume of customers.

So technically the more busier a restaurant is, the better it technically should be doing. ... again a guess as well.

HOWEVER, I hate going to this guy's restaurants, his food is good for the most part but the thing that irks me is the customer service.

everytime I go to C/C, pebble street or Sun Chiu Kee, my friends and I are always shafted for some reason. We usually have 8 people and always order a big meal but honestly, would it hurt so much to be seated and served in a timely manner?



the way calgary is going, if some of these restaurants don't adopt better customer service, they will be beaten by smarter and younger entrepreneurs who know Customer service and quality food make a winning combo

[max_boost]

I can see some of his restaurants outperforming the others. Sun Chiu Kee and Calgary Court are probably two of his stronger links in his chain. I can't really speak for the other 3 or 4.

Service is usually pretty slow at the restaurants cause it's so busy. I try to avoid the rush and only go at certain hours or I get take out hehe

Service should be better but I don't expect it from these places. As long as they can get me my food and iced tea, good enough for me.

Everyone knows the formula for a successful business but it's still very difficult to put everything together and have it operate smoothly.

[cloud7]

the food is ok, but the price is higher than most restaurants... and what's with the no using credit card for any meal under $25 crap? They can't do that according to their agreement with credit card companies.

[clem24]

It's because they're cheap assholes and they don't want to take a hit on the credit card fees.

[RSeXy]

Originally posted by cloud7
the food is ok, but the price is higher than most restaurants... and what's with the no using credit card for any meal under $25 crap? They can't do that according to their agreement with credit card companies.

Cash is king. LOL

[dragonone]

Originally posted by max_boost
I can see some of his restaurants outperforming the others. Sun Chiu Kee and Calgary Court are probably two of his stronger links in his chain. I can't really speak for the other 3 or 4.

Service is usually pretty slow at the restaurants cause it's so busy. I try to avoid the rush and only go at certain hours or I get take out hehe

Service should be better but I don't expect it from these places. As long as they can get me my food and iced tea, good enough for me.

Everyone knows the formula for a successful business but it's still very difficult to put everything together and have it operate smoothly.

i complain about his shitty workers and their customer service all the time, a lot of it is because a while back they still only had hourly wages and no tips
yet i end up eating from at least one of his 'chain' restaurants weekly lol
u can totally see his 'formula' break down in vancouver, competition is fierce and, well, food is just much better elsewhere

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by cloud7
the food is ok, but the price is higher than most restaurants... and what's with the no using credit card for any meal under $25 crap? They can't do that according to their agreement with credit card companies.

Originally posted by clem24
It's because they're cheap assholes and they don't want to take a hit on the credit card fees.

They don't even take debit for transactions under $25 either.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by RSeXy
Cash is king. LOL

Asian restaurants LOVE cash. (No taxes when you fill your matress with it)

There was an asian grocery store in Winnipeg that burned down and in the basement they found $3M in cash in a fireproof safe.

[GQBalla]

whoa ballin ^^^ 3 million.

but the owner always shafts his workers, they never get tips, all tips go to the owner.

Imagine all that tip with no taxes....

ahah scammer

[hs2000]

you guys should try out, mariju. on center st, just after that bridge by china town. if your heading northbound, the place is located on your left hand side, right by the starbucks.

good food, nice owners.

[r1_boii]

forbidden city any good?

service?

[Whitetiger]

It's not bad, prices are fair. ^^^