In Rome for business I went to a restaurant in Piazza Navona and ordered lobster linguine from the menu. The dish should have been called lobster shells with pasta. Not one tiny piece of meat. Very disappointed.

Similar thing happened to me in Shangri La Hotel in Qingdao China.

I ordered Pekin duck. The whole duck was brought over to me for approval. My surprise, when served, was that the meat of the duck was absent and the pancake rolls contained only the skin. Tasted alright though.

The management informed me that in top restaurants in China only the skin is served when Pekin duck is ordered..

I never send food back in restaurants as friends who worked in kitchens have told me horror stories.....if I dont like the food I just leave it, pay up and go on my way.

Any restaurant reminiscing?

crdtny, you have certainly touched a nerve when I read through your two misadventures with ordering something which looks incredibly appertising on the menu only to find out it's far from what you imagined would be presented on your plate!
We too tried Pekin Duck in Hong Kong and it must have been cooked from scratch as we waited over an hour and then it was horribly fatty - not crispy enough but at least we got our pancakes seprately.
It almost makes you want to enquire about every dish before you order it - like "Is there ANY actual lobster meat (you know the white stuff?) in the Lobster Linguine"?? But of course you don't want to get the ire of the waiter from the word go so just hope for the best.

Slightly off topic, but I thought the breed of duck was Pekin(g) and the dish Peking?

hetismij - It's now known as Pekin duck 'cause the OP had to peck around looking for the meat! LOL

Great on here getting English lessons, duck breeding advice and geography lessons......you clever people!

I am sorry that you have been disappointed. But I am afraid, it did not happen incidentally.

Firstly, in a proper Italian restaurant you never get meat with the pasta. Meat (or fish or seafood) will be served with the secondo piatto. The primo piatto (pasta or risotto) has only meat or fish or seafood FLAVOUR and contains just tiny bits of meat or fish or seafood. A proper Italian meal consists of four courses: Antipasti for vegetables, primi piatti for carbohydrates, secondi piatti for proteine and dolce for sugar. Most Americans find authentic pasta or risotto disappointing, because it is just flavoured carbohydrates. E.g. risotto in Barolo is nothing but rice cooked in red wine. Period.

Secondly, restaurants on Piazza Navona are generally tourist rip-offs. No native would go to Piazza Navona for lunch or dinner.

Another thread with a similar subject:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...i-got-this.cfm