Malcolm’s Place

We usually welcome our new hires through a free lunch subsidized by the company.  Last week, we treated our new colleague to a restaurant near our office named Malcolm’s Place.  I’ve eaten quite a few times at the restaurant and I’ve always had this impression that it serves good food but waiting for our order to arrive takes really long, like ages.  Since it has been a long time since I last visited, I assumed that their service may have improved.

When you enter Malcolm’s Place, the open kitchen is just right there occupying most of the 1st floor.  There are only a few seats in the 1st floor that we always tend to go up to dine.

I was so excited to try out Malcolm’s Place again.  If ever you do come across the restaurant, don’t forget to order their wagyu dishes as it’s their specialty.  No matter if it’s their wagyu sandwiches, pasta, burger or salisbury steak, you’ll never go wrong.

While we waited for our orders, we were given free snacks to chew on.  I love this but it was extremely oily.  I guess they didn’t have time to drain the oil.  It was done perfectly before though when we last dined there.  I wish they would work on this.  Even though it’s given for free, it’s best that they also provide a good appetizer.  It also makes up for the whole customer dining experience.

The ff. are what we ordered:

• Grape Escape (Php 110)

What a nice name, Grape Escape.  Maybe it means escaping the world by drinking grape juice hehehe.  It’s basically it, a grape shake.  Freshly made, as expected 🙂

• Beef Stroganoff (Php 390)

Their specialty wagyu beef cooked with mushrooms, red wine-cream sauce & pasta.  Served with toasted bread.  Presentation was so nice that my colleague hesitated for a moment before he started eating.

• Steamed John Dory Fillet (Php 290)

When you’re on a healthy diet, fish is usually the meat of choice when it comes to ordering.  As much as wagyu is a preferred order in Malcolm’s, their fish also tastes really good.  Cooked with onion & leeks, with butter sauce & garlic rice on a side.  It’s a pretty simple, light, yet substantial dish.  Steamed fish has always seemed to pair well with some sort of butter sauce, and having the leeks incorporated in the dish also gives it that added touch of flavor not normally found in many steamed fish dishes.   Malcom’s steamed fish fillet is truly a simple but very tasty dish.

• Wasabi Steak Sandwich (Php 350)

You love wagyu but you also love wasabi?  Then this sandwich is for you as it has both of your faves 😛  A sandwich with wagyu beef, grilled onions, wasabi, mayonnaise & lettuce served with french fries.  This is definitely a dish that will satisfy.  I didn’t order this but just by looking at it, I could already imagine just how delicious it probably was.  And once again, presentation is key as this sandwich is made on a panini style ciabatta bread.  Just that extra touch which makes this sandwich stand out from the ordinary, every day sandwich.

• Wagyu Cheesesteak (Php 350)

Just the same as the previous item above, it’s wagyu beef, grilled onions, bell peppers, mozarella cheese & cheddar cheese.  I bet this is their most-ordered dish.  In our table alone, there were 3 people who ordered Wagyu cheesesteak.  After we finished eating (well, them, I didn’t get to eat, I’ll go into detail at the later part of this post), I checked, no leftover from either one of them.  What can I say?  Must be a very delicious & yummy dish!

• Salisbury Steak (Php 345)

Malcolm’s own version of salisbury steak.  I was able to take a bite, boy, it was sooooooooo good!  Well, what can I say?  It was a wagyu beef patty cooked with mushroom sauce.  Perfect, this is my favorite among their wagyu specialty dishes.  Very tasty & sinfully yummy!

• Grilled Sausage (Php 360)

Last but not the least, my order of grilled sausage.  It’s really saddening as I try to remember my experience with it.  Anyway, let me describe the food first and narrate later of my experience.  This was basically 2 pieces of italian sausage fried.  Not sure if the sausage was home-made but anyhow, it tasted good.  I wish there wasn’t too much oil but I think boiling sausage won’t taste as good as frying it.

Now, it’s time for me to share my disappointing experience with the service of Malcolm’s Place.  When I ordered the Grilled sausage, the waiter asked me what side dish I wanted to go with it.  I answered mashed potato.  After an hour, my order still hadn’t arrived.  I also noticed the other guests in a separate table following up with their order and also saw their disappointed faces wasting so much time waiting for their order.  I also remembered that it was also our complaint before with the restaurant but I never thought that after 2 years, they would still not have changed that aspect of their restaurant experience. 🙁

I waited still but after an hour, my order still hadn’t arrived.  My colleagues were done with theirs and was already planning to go back to the office.  We called for the bill and followed up with my order.  The waiter went back and apologized that he forgot my order.  They had already started cooking the sausage and said that they would serve shortly.  I asked them to pack it instead, since I decided to just have it as a take it out.  When I saw my order, they gave me the wrong side dish, I asked for mashed potato but I was given garlic rice.  I didn’t complain anymore as the damage had already been done.

• My order was forgotten
• waited for an hour and
• when my order came, I was given a wrong side dish.

I love their takeout packing though.  It makes you feel that you had a premium meal.  Simple but very elegant.

When we went down, we also heard another customer fuming mad about the service.  Complained that it took forever for her order to arrive.  I share her sentiments but I was just too tired to raise my concerns.  It was an old complaint.  We experienced it 2 years ago.

This reminds me of Shakey’s which has the best tasty food but awful customer service.  I wish Malcolm’s would work on their service, I guess maybe make it more efficient.  Their food is awesome but if they don’t improve on their service, they might lose some customers, or maybe they already have.  I will still go back but will make sure that I have lots of time to kill when I go back to Malcolm’s Place & enjoy their yummy wagyu dishes (especially salisbury steak, yumyum!).  Great food, oftentimes though will not be enough for the success of a restaurant.  Keep it up, and not even their Wagyu beef will save them.

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Malcom’s Place
108 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 844-0000