I was in one of my favourite eating places the other day, when something they always do struck me as rather odd. I refer to this little Hong Kong style cafe as the ‘No Bullshit’ cafe, the reason being, you go in, order, the cutlery gets literally thrown down on the table, you eat and then pay as you leave. No airs or graces here, just good honest food for a reasonable price. I’ve eaten at this place, and many other similar establishments, more times that I care to remember during the past eight years. More often than not I’ve attended these cafes with a Cantonese speaking friend, which makes ordering a much less stressful operation than if I had to do it myself, with my embarrassingly small knowledge of the local lingo!
Anyway, the point of this entry is to tell you what puzzles me about these places, and that is the fact that as soon as you sit down, they bring a plastic cup of lukewarm tea and plop it down on the table before taking your order. They have a big tray, with dozens of these plastic cups ready to go. I’ve never seen anyone else drink this tea, as almost all diners order a drink with their meal, in my case iced lemon tea, dong leng cha.
So why do they do this? Can anyone put me right on why they serve me a drink that they know I, and probably all the other diners in that cafe, are not going to drink? Is this an ancient Chinese tradition that I am ignorant of?
What other puzzling things like this have you noticed, not just in Hong Kong, but wherever you are?
That's the same in Russia. They use a lot of plastic stuffs. I guess the restaurants want to show that having a meal there is very economical. They're cheap; still, you can get a cup of tea for free. In most cases, people don't drink the tea but they will use the hot tea to wash the tools...
ReplyDeleteHey Don,
ReplyDeletethis is normal practice in Honky styled restaurants. You guys are so classy. Cheap people like myself and Joe - we sometimes drink that weak tea-like water. Free "tea" so why not? Often if the meal is big enough, we don't waste money ordering a special drink. Often we do order the special drink so we leave the free stuff. Most of the eateries in Russell St between Bourke and Little Bourke do the same. Try A1 two doors down from the grocery shop. We know the owners there. If you come with us, you get everything up-sized and more polite service - indeed the boss ladies serve us themselves. If you go by yourself, they will throw cutlery at you. Same deal with Wong Kee in London - even more rude as often you share table with multiple parties , so one does not know if the cutlery was intended for which party?! Good social observation. See the chinese know other chinese to like freebies! We drink that stuff like water and warm water is better than cold, so the chinese believe. K