Complaint in order?

I should have read the article Complaint in order? Time to speak up (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 17), before I left the house that morning.

A few days before I was attracted by an advertisement in the Post for a prasmanan (buffet) of dim sum, several types of porridge, desserts and wedang ronde (small balls made of flour in hot sweet ginger tea).

The place was a lobby lounge in a hotel near Sarinah Thamrin.

Known for its good cuisine I was tempted and with a few friends gave it a try. Especially because the wedang ronde happens to be my favorite and although I used to prepare it myself every now and then, especially in the colder rainy season, for a change I felt like being pampered and having it in this hotel. The price of Rp 40,000 I regarded as acceptable for this five star hotel; coffee and tea were included.

So, after a bit of shopping we went to the hotel and rested our weary legs. While my friends started with the food I went straight for the wedang ronde.

But as soon as I took my first bite of one of the balls, I was disappointed. It was hard and still raw on the inside. I wondered what type of flour had been used to make them. I asked my friends also to try it, and they agreed that the balls were still raw.

I firstly called one of the waiting girls and made her taste it, so she could forward it on later to the right person. Coincidentally, after visiting the toilet, I saw a young man who looked like a cook at the coffee shop where I had to pay the bill. I approached him and told him about the ronde and asked him what he used for flour. "Rice flour" was his answer. I wondered whether he had tried it himself or not.

I told him the reason why the balls were hard and suggested that he use sticky rice flour instead, hoping that he would do a better job in the future. No harm for the cook and no harm for the hotel.

NETTY MULIA

Jakarta