Palate Adventurers - Inaugural Run - First Quarter, 2011 - Peli Peli

First of all I would like to say that that Peli Peli is a beautiful restaurant. The decor is truly aesthetically pleasing. Sadly, looks are not everything. I really expected much better service. There were eighteen of us present and we were spread over two tables. Each table had a different waiter. The main thing that was displeasing about it was that we did not get our orders taken or our food brought to us at the same time which caused half of the group to have to wait for the other half at the end of the meal.

As far as what I ordered; it was the Chilean Sea Bass with Scampi. I felt like adding the scampi was not worth the extra money charged ($10 for four shrimp). The sea bass however was very scrumptious and paired well with the lemon garlic butter sauce they provided. The seasoning on the sea bass I thought was good and the fish was hot and tender. Regretfully my Couscous was cold and that was very disappointing since it was one of the things I was looking forward to trying for the first time. The Carrot Bredie though I found to be quite good. It is like mashed potatoes with carrot, onion, and other seasonings within. The scampi to me were just sort of plain. I did taste the scampi taste I was expecting, but not to the extent of what I'm used to. When I’ve had it in the past it is served in a small dish swimming in the sauce. Luckily, I already had the sauce from my fish to help it out. One of the other people in our group got just the scampi and he had to order something on the side to flavor up the plain tasting shrimp. I believe he ended up getting some mango salsa which he said was good. The baby spinach was edible and I say that only because I don't usually eat much cooked spinach. I thought the texture was totally doable and the flavor was decent.

One of the attendees ordered the Surf and Turf which was supposed to come with prawns. Shortly after ordering her entrée the waitress came back to say they were out of prawns. Boo! I was disappointed because the waitress had asked her if she had ever eaten prawns before and said there was a special way they were to be consumed. I was looking forward to watching this process, and enjoying the look on my friend’s face.

I had ordered a margarita which wasn't the best I had ever had. As an appetizer we went with the flat bread and I fondly nick named it super pizza. It was a different taste but very good. I also was given a stuffed peppadew which I have to say was pretty awesome. While eating it I felt it took me on a journey or told me a story. There were four different distinct tastes enjoyed while gobbling it down! I as well snuck some of my husband's sweet potato fries off of his plate and they were really good. They were perfectly salty to counter the sweetness.

As far as the other people in the group it seemed like everyone who had ordered a steak, except for one person, said that they were undercooked. The table on the outside complained about the temperature. Two of the people had to go outside and thaw out at one point, and my friends that brought their son had to go out and redress him, because he was complaining of being cold. My friend’s husband who is a chef in the country on vacation from England said that it almost seemed as if it might have been the chef’s night off, and that if the way we were served would have happened at the last restaurant he worked at someone would have lost their job.  One of the other things I found sort of ironic is that they say their food is "flame pepper fusion", and not one thing was spicy or felt like it had any spice to it at all.  Very disappointing. 

If you do find yourself stuck with eating at Peli Peli here are my top couple things to order. According to my boss, who didn’t tell me this before I had been to the restaurant, the lamb chops are where it is at. Of course he probably did not term it like that, but one of our group had gotten them and raved about them. The second choice is the Chilean Sea Bass just by itself. I let a few others try the fish and everyone seemed to have the same opinion about it. So like I said if you absolutely have to go… lol!

After eating at a place like Fogo De Chao it shows you that when you pay that much for your food there should be not just good service, but excellence. Like I said before it is about good food and good service. As far as Peli Peli goes I would say that the food was just okay for the price, the service was horrible, and congratulations guys the decor is beautiful.  I'm pretty sure I will not be returning to Peli Peli anytime soon. :o/

 I did however have a great time with everyone, and can't wait to do it again!!!
 
Peli Peli's Website