Tag Archives: merida yucatan

The Casual Restaurant Critic at Katori

Casual Restaurant Critic, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Katori entrance

There is yet another new sushi restaurant in town, located right across from the City Center shopping center, where Walmart planted its flag much to the consternation of politically correct ex-pats and the delight of locals who enjoy the shopping experience thank you very much.

The Critic visited the new establishment yesterday, in the company of the always charming Better Half and their friend HC (Houston Critic) who was in town and suffered stoically through the Critic’s taking of photos throughout the meal. “Don’t put your fork in it just yet!” said the Critic, brandishing the very indiscrete Canon he brought along for the purpose of this critique. The good news is that HC is still on speaking terms with both the Critic and Better Half; no friendships were harmed in the making of this review.

This is an ‘upscale’ restaurant and one of their draws is Wagyu beef; there is a Wagyu rib eye on the menu – 200 grams for a paltry $1900 pesos – which on this occasion the Critic and Co did not sample, not having robbed a bank in recent memory. It must be fantastic though.

Front, a lychee mojito. Back, a lychee something or other in a martini glass. Complimentary water bottle is a nice touch

Drinks were ordered and one of these was the somewhat watery lychee ‘mojito’. Not sure what the ‘mojito’ moniker adds to the drink as there wasn’t much to it besides a faint watermelon flavor and presumably some rum. The other drink, whose name escapes the Critics memory this morning, was much sweeter and well, that was about it.

The rolls were fine, the appetizers also, and the standout was the camarones roca which had some sort of extremely thin (asked and were told it was salmon skin) something on top, which actually MOVED as it was set in the middle of the table. It was almost eerie and seemed alive, which apparently it was not; it was a reaction of the heat of the dish or so the group was told, albeit the server also said that the ramen soup had chicken in it so not sure if this was really what was happening with the belly-dancing movements on top of those shrimp.

IMG_3948 (video)

The ramen soup, an eternal favorite of the Critic, was not particularly flavorful, leeching into the bland side of the taste spectrum. No comparison with Miyabi’s chigue-ramen soup which is not only 50 pesos cheaper but 100 times more flavorful. Skip it.

Service was fine, especially since one of the servers knew Better Half, but not particularly fantastic, as a place like this might warrant. The room is attractive, parking is nil (valet is your best option) and the place fills up with locals up for a sushi lunch.

If you want to try it, do. And let the Critic know how the Wagyu beef was, if you try it. But if you are looking for a great sushi lunch or dinner, stick with tried-and-true Miyabi, just a kilometer or so down the road.

Enjoy the photos!

The camarones roca and their interesting belly dancing topping

Menu

Squid appetizer

Ramen soup

Roll 2

Roll 1

HSBC and their Deposit Machine. A Cautionary Tale.

Life in the Yucatan, , , ,

Don’t assume, as I did, that HSBC’s automatic deposit machine works.

Wanting to make a quick deposit, I arrived at the Gran Plaza HSBC branch and found it closed, so I thought I would make my first ever deposit at the machine that said ‘quick and easy’ just outside the locked gates of the bank.

Following the instructions, I typed in the amount I wanted to deposit and, having read at some point that the machine won’t give more than $50 pesos change, deposited a few large bills, leaving a difference of $20 pesos. Also, being my first time, I deposited each bill separately and then when the screen popped up asking if I want to deposit more, I added more. Total of three bills.

The final screen indicated that I had deposited an amount different from what I had initially indicated would be the amount. In answer to the machine’s question ‘continue or cancel’ I chose cancel.

WRONG ANSWER!

A big red error message flashed onto the screen, saying the machine was out of order! No money, no deposit, no nothing. Then, to my relief, a ‘receipt’ was printed indicating the error. Something, at least. One of the tellers, just inside, told me to call the service number to report the incident and I spent the next 27 minutes (really) on the cell phone, pushing this number and that, in answer to all the options given to me by the recorded messages I was having to navigate through.

Finally a person came on who asked me my account number and name. Why they ask for the account number I don’t understand, since the recorded message already had asked for that info. He then transferred me to a second person, who asked me for my name and account number. The second person then transferred me to a third person who I could not understand as he sounded like he had stuck the microphone of his headset inside his mouth and it was extremely distorted. When I basically talked over him to ask for a better connection this third person then transferred me to a fourth person, who asked me… you guessed it… name and account number.

At least she apologized and gave me a security questions exam, which I apparently failed as she told me I needed to go to my branch and make the complaint there, because she couldn’t open my account info, seeing that I had failed the test.

The next day, I went to the nice young lady at the entrance and gave her my info and explained the case. She entered all the info and waited. Then, the ‘system’ went down and so, she was unable to complete the filing of my ‘aclaración’. She said to leave my info and she would do it later, when the ‘system’, that mysterious robotic world that has a mind of its own, came back online.

At home, I received an email that said my complaint had been registered.

Two days later, a text message came in saying that my complaint had been resolved and that I needed to go to the branch to see what happened.

At the bank, I talked to one of the ‘executives’ who looked at the case number and did a lot of mouse clicking on her computer while I watched and then said that the case had not been registered for some reason and that I needed to re-enter the information and file another complaint. Same questions, and this time the system cooperated and the complaint was apparently accepted. “It won’t take long,” she said, “they will check your claim against the money they find in the deposit machine and if there is a discrepancy and the information you have provided is corroborated, we will deposit the money into your account.”

Holding my breath and crossing my fingers, but 4 days after the machine swallowed my money I still don’t know if it still exists or if HSBC has absconded with it.