Dinner at Shunjuu – photo no enough

Met up with some old Bristol friends today and we had dinner at Shunjuu at Robertson Quay. We ordered lots of robatayaki (skewered foods) and other dishes.

My favourite was the tofu with century egg sauce topped with roe.
As a new fan of black pig meat (best experienced so far at Tom Ton restaurants in the form of katsu don), I tried the black pig robatayaki. The meat was tasty but drier and more chewy than the katsu version.

We tried the gingko nuts. They have a bitter taste when grilled.
We also had various beef and pork combinations. So the meat wouldn’t feel too ‘heavy’ in the mouth, we also ate it along with the cabbage leaves provided.
I was pointing my camera at another plate of skewered meat, when suddenly a waitress came over and told me I was not allowed to take any more photos!
I was stunned but obediently turned off my camera, never to photograph their food again *sob* I took a few shots of my friends and that was about it.
But later on I wondered, WHY? Why can’t the restaurant let its patrons take photos of its food?
It’s not like it’s the only robatayaki restaurant in Singapore and the recipes or presentation is so unique. I am not from a rival restaurant trying to copy their style. And seriously, it was just two pieces of skewered beef!
And in this modern age, if you see anyone sitting at their table not eating but taking photos of their food, you have a blogger in your midst! Be nice to them because they are probably planning to write a food review that very night and upload lots of pics of your food.
Now, if you know your food is good (and this restaurant does have a good reputation), you should have nothing to fear. If you see me hovering over a plate of food with a dead cockroach in it, that would be a different story.
If it’s the former, you can safely assume I will write something positive, or at least neutral. And the sight of food photos along with the blog review will attract some readers who may then want to check out your restaurant!
So, restaurants with a no-photo policy, I strongly urge you to rethink your marketing strategy. You can pay lots of money advertising your restaurant, getting it listed in food directories, setting up your own website… but ‘word of mouth’ marketing is increasingly important as well. Don’t stop your fans from writing good things about you.