大和0045
Prologue: The deputy head chef at Yangming Palace, Mr. F, whom I had been supporting for a long time, was transferred to the head chef position at Shinagawa Prince Chinese Restaurant this summer. I rarely visit Shinagawa Prince (no overnight stays, only had tempura once for a meal), so it's a difficult place for me to go to. However, I had already informed them that I would be going during the academic lecture at the end of November. Since I couldn't meet F head chef at the cocktail party after the lecture, I decided to go to Sun Wukong on the 4th floor of the main building the next morning with the hope of seeing him. I tried to find details about breakfast on the hotel's website, but I couldn't find any information. On November 27th around 8:55 am, I arrived at Sun Wukong. I went down to the 7th floor, took another elevator to the 2nd floor, crossed the connecting passage to the main building, and then searched for an elevator to the 4th floor. When I entered Sun Wukong, there was no one at the reception! I walked a bit forward towards the seating area on the right, waiting for the staff to notice me. Soon a staff member in black came and handed me a large card saying "having a meal" and told me to sit at any table I like. When I asked if F head chef was there, I was told he was off that day (which was disappointing). Most of the 2-person and 4-person tables in the center were already occupied. I was allowed to use the round table at the back alone (which gave me a good view of the whole place and the staff's behavior). The breakfast location information mentioned that Sun Wukong was a "Chinese and Western buffet," but the options were limited. Mini meat buns, shrimp dumplings, shumai, water dumplings, Shanghai-style fried noodles, Chinese-style burger (mostly like a flower roll), dried radish, fried eggplant with ginger flavor, stir-fried pickled vegetables and pork (the most common was bamboo shoots). For drinks, there was a drink bar-like machine where I got orange juice, oolong tea, and ginger ale. Finally, I had coffee. There were also paper cups and lids for takeout coffee, but there was no indication, so it might not be obvious to someone unfamiliar (there was also no trash can). The mini meat buns, shrimp dumplings, and shumai were above average in taste and satisfying. However, the Shanghai-style fried noodles were disappointing (it seemed like they just put something that looked like fried noodles out for the breakfast buffet without much thought). The Chinese burger had almost no filling, so it would have been better to serve it without anything inside as a "flower roll." One of the few positives was the variety of soft drinks to choose from. Despite being a hotel restaurant, having a drink bar-like machine for soft drinks was considered a positive point, which reflects the overall situation. The two tables near me were already empty when I arrived, but they were not cleared up until I left, which was disappointing. I noticed some young male and female staff playing around instead of prioritizing clearing tables that were done eating. Personally, I am looking forward to having lunch at Dunhuang in Ginza, so I didn't mind the limited food options for breakfast. The breakfast cost was 2,800 yen? I don't want to stay at Shinagawa Prince again, so I don't think I'll ever use this restaurant again. I briefly thought about leaving a message for F head chef with the staff when leaving, but I realized it was pointless and felt a sense of loneliness as I left.