Weekend set lunch
Some restaurants/eateries offer lunch and dinner set-meal promotions during the weekend. Some do so during the weekdays (usually to boost the otherwise poor business); some do so everyday. It depends on the business strategy of the restaurant owners.Do set-meals spell trouble - mass-produced poor quality food? Most of the times, maybe? It depends.
We ordered two sets - which explains why you see some dishes with "double" portions on a plate. In all, two persons get to eat whatever you see on the
The spread is quite extensive. There are dim sum items, sushi sashimi and other Chinese food fare. Here goes...at NT328 (~USD10.70) per person:
Super-value or reasonable? You tell me
Quality of food: Not really consistent in all the dishes. Mostly forgettable, except for the prawns. It is delicious and won me over.
Steamed prawns with garlic - I like the addition of glass or cellophane noodles to soak the gravy and essence.
Which do you prefer - set meal or a la carte ? What makes your decision - price, selection, value...or mood? :D
新阿杜香港風味茶樓
文心路一段538-1號 (大業路口)
Hong Kong New A-Do Tea House
Wen Xin Road Section 1, 538-1
Taichung City, Taiwan
Tag: set meal, taiwan eating
Me, if I go for set meals it'd be for the variety, and if it's by a reputable restaurant, I don't think the quality will suffer to greatly... instead we might find a few ho-hum but still good dishes and a few really good ones, rather than all home-runs. :)
ReplyDeleteI usual go for set if i am low in cash! lol! but usually prfer ala carte which can be better!
ReplyDeleteI am a salad person :) so I like it a la carte!!
ReplyDeleteI always leave your blog hungry, lol.
Happy ws!
tigerfish, visit bigboyskitchen.blogspot.com for teochew recipes!
ReplyDeletethese photos made me crave for chinese dishes!!!waaaaaaaaaaaa its kinda hard to find good chinese restaurant in our region :-( good thing i have your foodblog to feast on at least my eyes hehehe
ReplyDeleteSuch meals are the best for making the right combination of courses. This looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteSet meals are usually cheap, so they have their merits. Only problem is, when you buy a wok fried dish, and because they fry so much at once, there is usually no "wok hei" taste in it.
ReplyDeleteit depends on my mood though im always in ruch and go for conveniences :-)
ReplyDeleteThat is such a mouth-watering post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting. :)
I prefer set meals.... hmmmm actually it depends... :)
it is all abt money..so i prefer set :)
ReplyDeletei'd go for set meal..
ReplyDeletehmm, after seeing your post, it made me really hungry
mine is up too, hope you can check it out.
http://www.myplanetpurple.com/2008/05/weekend-snapshot-4-beef-ramen.html
http://howellabie.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekend-snapshot-2-swimming-class.html
happy WS!!
I prefer set meals mainly because I need the VOLUME to fill me up. :-) Since I don't cook at home, I'm constantly looking for set meals with good values. The diner near my apartment has daily lunch specials for $7.95 (soup, entree & coffee) and dinner specials for $12.95 (which is too expensive for me to get on a daily basis).
ReplyDeletei kinda have to say it depends too because it depends on the quality of the restaurant. set menus have better timing but might sometimes forsake the quality of the dishes. plus, not all the flavours work well together even if the menu has been carefully thought out!
ReplyDeleteif it's a dim sum set lunch though. bring it on. that i never have anything to fault about, usually. ;)
if small group yes ala carte. big group maybe set. with you only surely
ReplyDeleteone fine dish ( u choose )+ a few drinks is all we will need
It depends, if I'm alone, i usually go al carte.. with friends, perhaps the set will appeal more.
ReplyDeleteu finally hv your dose of garlic prawns! hehee.
I think I'll go for the set, somethings with too many yummy stuffs to choose from, it gives me a headache! :) I'm a glutton for food!!
ReplyDeleteIf I'm in Msia I'II go for buffet or set but when I eat with hubby a la cart.He doesn't like asian dish much,so that a bit hard.Look so yummy the prawn!! now make me so hungry:)
ReplyDeleteNot sure about food in Taiwan. But one thing I really love about Taiwan (even though I have not been there before) is the written language.
ReplyDeleteTraditional Chinese is a dying tradition. Only Hong Kong and Taiwan use it.
(Inspired by your picture on the menu)
It depends, but I really like variety and having lots of different tastes and bites - so this set menu is what I would have gone for too.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to The Foodie Blogroll! :)
i guess i would choose a la carte .... since these days the food that I eat depends largely on my mood! :)
ReplyDeletethat steamed prawn shot looks so yummy, it's making me hungry!
I had no idea that set food menus sometimes were a reflection of the food's quality, but I can definitely see that connection!
ReplyDeleteAs for my preference, it depends on the restaurant and its reputation!
I don't like buffet or set meals.... I prefer ala carte. But it is worth the price if you eat buffet or set meal as you get a variety of food to try.
ReplyDeletegosh those food made me hungry!
ReplyDeletehmmm, i don't mind getting a set meal specially if what's in it are food that i like. but if i don't like what's being offered in the set, forget it, i'll go for ala carte. if you included buffet in the choices, i'd say buffet. hahaha! :)
ReplyDelete