Malaysian, Take 3? HELLZ NO!

I was really excited, extremely excited, to try Aqua, the third and final (that I know of) Malaysian restaurant in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. It's a damn shame because I was so looking forward to it, and because it is small and cute and stylish.

We were going to catch a movie at the Film Fest, so I specifically planned to go there since I could walk there from the Ritz. Did I mention how excited I was? When we arrived, it was a bit crowded, with some people already waiting. Right in front of us a group of 3 got seated right away. I was thinking optimistically at this point. I told the hostess there were two of us, she looked around, and she said can you wait 10 minutes? Sure, I said. So then we waited. A big group of 6 came in right after us, and then another group of 3. We waited some more.

It's very sparsely decorated, but has a spectacular waterfall/water display towards the back. Really, it is quite cool and stylish. Did I mention we kept on waiting? Then they sat the group of 3. I was getting peeved. Meanwhile, for the past 15 minutes, an empty but unbussed table sat unbussed. I was willing to bus it myself. They moved some tables around. We waited some more. 20 minutes after initially talking to the server, we went over again and said we'd been waiting for longer than people she had just sat. She said "oh, I did not know about you."

That was the end for me. And we were out of there. If we weren't in a time crunch, I might have stayed and tried it anyway, if for nothing else than the food. But because of the time, we bolted. And I was pissed. I'd read some reviews online that the service was not very good and could be very spotty. If my experience is any indication, I'm never going back there. It is such a sharp contrast to Penang and Banana Leaf since the service there is so fast and attentive. The fact that Aqua made me wait 20 minutes after saying 10 minutes and then "forgot" about me, is a deal-breaker. I realize it was a busy Friday night, but you can't just forget about people. If it's that easy for them to screw that up, then how easy can they screw up everything else? Sorry Aqua, I guess you'll have to feed someone else with your bad service instead of me. Thanks anyway. To the public - don't bother! Stick with Penang and Banana Leaf!

Aqua Malaysian & Thai Restaurant
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