House of Chow - Adelaide

When we arrived, the greeter was on the phone & we waited (no problem). However, then some diners came out of the restaurant & when she hung up the phone, she turned to deal with them first which annoyed me. I strongly believe in being served in turn. There are a lot of wait staff but none seem dedicated to a particular table which surprises me with the cost they charge for meals here. The staff move around quickly, making it hard to catch their attention. My sister & I got our entrees but my husband was sat watching us eat, waiting to see if his entree would show up. After a while he caught a waiter's eye & it was chased up. I believe that this should have been addressed by the wait staff when our entrees were served. I had my fave crab claw (one). It was large & rubbery. I was disappointed. For my main I had the Sizzling Fillets of Fish with Szechuen Sauce which was delicious & spicy leaving me needing to chase up busy staff to top up my water glass a few times. For some reason when we asked for water for the table, a bottle was stored under a plant stand between two tables nearby - why couldn't it sit on our table which had plenty of room? (I also saw this happen with a red wine bottle.) When the water bottle ran out with my glass topped up half way, that was the end of the water supply. No more was brought to fill my glass or anyone else's, the waiter leaving immediately. They had Shallot Pancake & Chicken Satay Sticks for entree which they both enjoyed. They both had Beef with Black Bean Sauce for they main course & also enjoyed it. My sister asked for some chili oil which was happily brought to the table. Its a lovely building & the aquarium is very impressive - getting a table beside would have made my night.

When we arrived, the greeter was on the phone & we waited (no problem). However, then some diners came out of the restaurant & when she hung up the phone, she turned to deal with them first which annoyed me. I strongly believe in being served in turn. There are a lot of wait staff but none seem dedicated to a particular table which surprises me with the cost they charge for meals here. The staff move around quickly, making it hard to catch their attention. My sister & I got our entrees but my husband was sat watching us eat, waiting to see if his entree would show up. After a while he caught a waiter's eye & it was chased up. I believe that this should have been addressed by the wait staff when our entrees were served. I had my fave crab claw (one). It was large & rubbery. I was disappointed. For my main I had the Sizzling Fillets of Fish with Szechuen Sauce which was delicious & spicy leaving me needing to chase up busy staff to top up my water glass a few... read more

Well I have to admit, I have not been to this establishment for quite a long time, even though it’s 5 minutes from my home! I suppose it’s just one of places that I have said to myself, “I really must go back there!” So we did. This is definitely not the same House of Chow that I remember. What a shame. Service was okay, the restaurant was full and very noisy and it really isn’t the type of restaurant that makes you feel special, more factory like, dishes are cleared before they are even finished. I gather, that would be, so they can quickly get another sitting in. Menu had hits and misses, nothing really outstanding and prices are high. Started out with Abalone, which was nice, stuffed mornay crab, again nice. Ham and chicken roll, terrible, I used to order this years ago and you don’t see it too often on menus anymore, but this was probably the worst representation of this dish I have eaten, presentation really lacking. Quail not too bad. Followed with bugs, which were nicely cooked and also the stuffed scallops. I will make quite a harsh mention on the stuffed scallops, to start with they were $31 and we don’t even know what this was? It tasted like something straight out of an Asian supermarket processed premade freezer take home dinner something or rather! Didn’t eat it. Overall, would we return? Not at all.

Well I have to admit, I have not been to this establishment for quite a long time, even though it’s 5 minutes from my home! I suppose it’s just one of places that I have said to myself, “I really must go back there!” So we did. This is definitely not the same House of Chow that I remember. What a shame. Service was okay, the restaurant was full and very noisy and it really isn’t the type of restaurant that makes you feel special, more factory like, dishes are cleared before they are even finished. I gather, that would be, so they can quickly get another sitting in. Menu had hits and misses, nothing really outstanding and prices are high. Started out with Abalone, which was nice, stuffed mornay crab, again nice. Ham and chicken roll, terrible, I used to order this years ago and you don’t see it too often on menus anymore, but this was probably the worst representation of this dish I have eaten, presentation really lacking. Quail not too bad.... read more

Over priced, tiny portions and no flavour is the case here. As other reviewers have said, if you like generic country style Asian food that seems like it's from a Bain Marie made with packet mix, go here. Otherwise, don't waste your money, there's much better. Dim Sims.. Taste frozen, drenched in soy sauce, in no way worth $12 for tiny portions. Spring Rolls.. Again, no flavour, poorly fried, barely crispy, not worth $13. Satay Beef.. If I could say one redeeming feature, meat was soft. Otherwise packet mix fest, and an overwhelming taste of MSG. Texture of baby food. Would not be out of place in a cafeteria for $7.90 today's special. Lemongrass Chicken. Sadly best dish. Has flavour, not very good though. Drenched in some chilli garlic mess that tastes like MSG. Nothing special at all. Hokkien Combination Noodles.. No. Just no. Tastes of nothing except maybe msg and black pepper. Not worth $23, maybe $8.90 as a lunch special. Seriously. I can not stress this enough. Don't bother. Save your money. Unless regional Asian bain marie is your thing. In which case, go for it.