Hawkers Update

Went back to Hawkers and had a different experience. This time, not as good. They are on only their fourth day of service and I will say that they went to a lot of trouble to make it right.

Some of it had to do with "team service", of which I have not been a fan. It means that lots of different people bring you your orders and no one person is responsible for you, even though you have a server. For it to work, everybody has to be in the loop. So, if for example, somebody is running out an extra order out to you to make up for a screw-up, you might turn them away because you assume it's a mistake. And because all they were told was to bring you the order, they'll leave.

It's true, this time around the difficulty level was raised. I brought someone with me who has coconut and nut allergies (but can do peanut) and they were very careful about it. The server wasn't incredibly versed as to ingredients, but he did take it seriously and so did the kitchen. However, this made us the sort of table that sucks the server's time.

The server assumed that all the orders came from one person. He left quickly after getting an order for the small plates. I didn't get to put my order in, but managed to be happy with the small plates. And my hungry husband, who wanted an entrée for himself, was left wondering why he was passed over. He was finally able to put his order in, but some time later, the server came back, telling us they were out of the item he ordered.

The server did not wait after delivering the news, but instead faded away into the crowded din. My husband was not happy about that. Sharing is kind of a big thing at Hawkers, so realize that if a server sees food on your table, they mainly come back when you're getting low. They will assume that you're happy with small plates, just like our server did. Unfortunately, what we had on the table wasn't what my husband wanted. The server needed to check with all of us, or even ask if we needed anything else. I realize that he was busy, and the questions about ingredients took a lot of his time.

Points for Hawkers:
--Once we were able to communicate what was wrong, they did their best to make it right and came by several times to make sure we were satisfied. Once in a while, stuff happens.

--They managed to get the allergy thing right! I know, because my friend is not in the hospital. If they had messed it up, she would be.

Things to know:

--Sharing is kind of a big thing at Hawkers, so realize that if a server sees food on your table, they mainly come back when you're getting low. They will assume that you're happy with small plates.

--Team service means that you have the right to FLAG ANYBODY down, not just your server. I'm not saying that's an easy thing to do, because they move at a high rate of speed.