I went to one of my all time favourite restaurants last night and found myself in a bit of a Twilight Zone. Where was our favourite bubbly always laughing and cheerful singaporean-cuisine-slinging Kam? Who were these new waitresses? Why were they so glum? Who was that man in the cash area? Something was definitely up.

Then came the food. The pineapple fried rice was dry, the curries less creamy, the chicken more processed and not cut as nicely. On the whole, the food was quite a disappointment from the usual to which I had grown accustomed. I even passed on dessert because I didn't want another disappointment. It's possibly still a good value. I haven't reconciled that one in my mind yet.

Anyway, it's obvious the place has changed hands. Goodwill can only go so far. If you start messing with recipes and your staff can't keep up the positive vibe that the place had previous, then people will stop coming. And that goodwill the new owners paid for will have dried up like the crummy fried rice I had last night.