阿莉莉台灣小吃
During my search for good food, I stumbled upon this restaurant. At first, I thought the decor was interesting and the Google reviews were high, so I decided to give it a try. Little did I know it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Upon entering, I gently closed the door (really, it was super gentle!!), but apparently, the way I closed it upset the staff. They said you shouldn't close the door like that and immediately demonstrated how to properly close it. They mentioned that you should turn the doorknob first before closing (like when you're trying to quietly close a door). Then they said, "Closing it like that will ruin my door." I was baffled. If the door is so delicate, why not put up a notice? How would anyone know? After all, it's not like I slammed or forcefully closed it.
Getting lectured as soon as I entered left a sour taste in my mouth. Then I noticed a big black dog in the store. The staff asked if I was afraid of dogs. I replied that I was allergic to them. Yet, the staff's question seemed more procedural because after that, they didn't close the small gate to keep the dog away. The dog lay next to our table, watching us eat and sniffing around.
My last hope was that the food would be delicious, but when it came, it was extremely mediocre. The batter for the egg pancake was oddly sweet. The hot pot noodles were incredibly average. A bowl of kimchi hot pot cost 140 NTD with hardly any ingredients inside. The pearls in the bubble tea were super hard!!! They claim to promote Taiwanese cuisine internationally, but this might just be an embarrassment. Moreover, we ordered fried pudding from the dessert section, and it was covered in so much sugar we didn't know how to eat it. Even after removing the sugar, it tasted very average and strange. (Oh, and by the way, the dog stayed by our table the whole time, sniffing the guests. Even ignoring the hygiene issues, if a customer tells you they're allergic to and afraid of dogs, shouldn't you prevent the dog from bothering them during their meal?)
Overall, it was a very unpleasant experience, and it's a place I would never visit again!!
The decor is indeed unique, giving the impression of a nightclub in a snack bar. But I must say the Google reviews are excessively exaggerated!! I got so angry that I looked up more reviews and discovered many others were deceived by the ratings. You can check the one-star reviews for the real story.