A new Triple-O (Canadian burger restaurant I wrote about before) opened at the Exchange Square right opposite to the IFC. I gave it another go last week.
At the T-O, one pays for the food, grabs a receipt, and waits for the receipt number to be announced, then goes up to the counter to collect the food, not unlike Fairwoods et al. The problem is, T-O is nowhere as efficient like Fairwoods et al. Fellow customers were all getting frustrated waiting.
I ordered their standard burger for HK$29. Either their burgers come w/ extras, or they have made a mistake, or it was compensation for the long wait, they threw in a portion of chips/fries and a soda. I certainly didn’t complain.
It is difficult not to compare any burger establishment w/ McD. Q1: was the HK$29 burger that much better than the HK$12 Big Mac? I would say it was, but I suspect that people may not be willing to pay this much for a take-away burger.
We’ll see. We could certainly do with more choices.
7 responses so far ↓
1 James // Apr 6, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Originally I thought a burger at such a price T-O is charging I would only go for it as a I-happened-to-be-passing-by basis. M and Alec like it so much we ended up going direct on some late Sunday mornings. I am sure it is strictly the time period difference that allows them to deliver our order to our table every time.
The manager knows of me. Although I think he is already aware of the problem, the next time I see the manager I would mention the problem you described to him.
At $29 + $10 for cheese or mushroom for a fast food style burger is quite expensive for me, not to mention the $40 return cross harbor tunnel trip and $20 parking on top of the food enough for the family. However, Alec started questioning why DR’s restaurant burger is so much more expensive, and I had to explain to him that DR’s is a full fetch restaurant. However, Alec said he meant strictly in a matter of taste speaking.
With the Mad-cow decease in question, IMHO, all burgers are over cooked and the patties became too dry as a result. That’s when the T-O sauce does the trick. Remember to ask for extra sauce the next time you’re in.
They also have one in IFC II, I believe you mentioned before, and Rex has tried an liked. Rex also went in during off hours when he has to do OT, and he gets OT food compensation for the exact amount for 2 T-O burgers. So he almost always go there.
As for MD’s, if only T-O shops were as plentiful as MD’s… I am still hoping and waiting for one on the Kowloon side.
2 tin_the_fatty // Apr 7, 2005 at 3:27 pm
I hope Rex doesn’t do too many OTs.
3 Philip Tse // Jun 16, 2005 at 1:33 pm
Not trying to being prejudised, but after tasting McD, you know what is a BAD burger. But trying T-O, you know what is a really GOOD burger. With Burger King gone (except at the airport, sad), Wendy’s gone, Jack-in-the-box gone, I’ve not tried a nice burger.
The price difference is worth to pay. I’d rather eat one good burger rather than 2-3 really bad burger.
4 tin_the_fatty // Jun 19, 2005 at 7:20 am
On Wendy’s 2nd arrival, I only tried it once at their restaurant in Wanchai opposite the Southorn. The burger wasn’t grilled. No different to McD’s.
I love Jack-in-the-Box. Sad that it didn’t survive.
It seems that HK$25 is about the highest price the majority of Hong Kong people are willing to pay for a burger meal. Face it, T-O is niche, and anybody selling a burger meal for less than HK$25 can’t compete w/ McD’s size, efficiency and advertising budget.
5 Candice Suen // Jul 11, 2005 at 10:53 am
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for the comments. We are always looking for ways to improve and really, there is no better way to find out what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right than by hearing from customers. I’d like to address a few issues…
1)THE WAIT: I’m sorry that burgers take longer than expected. Yes, we are a fast food restaurant but we do make all of our food MADE-TO-ORDER. So we prepare your burger when you order it, not before. This does take a bit of time since we do not stack all of our food under warmers waiting for a customer. However, I will bring this up with our Manager and see if there is a way to make things a bit speedier.
2)THE COST: Yes, our burgers cost a lot. And Tin is right, we are a niche. The reason for our pricing is simple – we only buy premium food to make our burgers. Pure 100% chuck (not just 100% beef but also 100% chuck) and whole chicken breasts. Nothing is frozen nor does anything have preservatives or MSG. This does come at a price. And we think that you can definitely taste and feel the difference.
3) GETTING THE ORDER WRONG: Thanks for bringing this up. We do strive to give fast and accurate service. But I’m glad that you got extra food rather than less food!
4) KOWLOON: We are presently negotiating for space in TST and are very very close to closing the deal. We’re waiting for the space to be ready as it is presently occupied. If all goes well, we are aiming for the end of the year or the beginning of next year.
I really do hope that all of our customers are satisfied. If you do not like your food, please bring it back up to our staff and we’ll make another one for you.
With thanks and best,
Candice Suen
Director
Triple O’s by White Spot Hong Kong
6 Karine Chan // Jul 28, 2005 at 2:07 pm
To All Burger Fans out there,
Having been a resident in Vancouver BC, I’ve been reminiscing the juicy mushroom burger at the White Spot restaurants ever since I came back to HK a few years ago.
So one can imagine my excitement when I found out about the 1st white spot outlet at the Great Supermarket in the basement of PP Seibu. Yes, a lot of locals/non-canadians may bitch about the burgers served at Triple O being a bit overpriced compared to the regular ones from the big M’s, but sure if anyone who has tasted the White Spot burgers, he/she can instantly tell the tremendous difference. So who cares about paying a bit more to get satisfaction of a top quality old fashioned freshly-made charcoal grilled burger with the Oh-so-yummy Triple O sauce! Not to mention the icing on the cake: mad cow disease worry-free!
7 shahe // Jan 18, 2007 at 10:55 am
Are you still checking this blog, Candice?