Day 304: Waited on

Sunday, October 30, 2016

I can only surmise this place is so empty during the peak lunch period because the Hong Kong diaspora has largely moved out to the suburbs (and is somehow tolerating the hilariously bad service of places like Open Kitchen) and the Westerners are busy getting ripped off at the fashionably Chinese places that charge triple for absurd gimmicks.

There’s always been a part of me that has been fine with this: there’s more of the good stuff for me, and less crowds to fight through.

But this is something else.

There are eight or nine trolleys perched on the edge of this room watching every bite I take, leaning in towards every subtle gesture I make, just in case one of them could somehow be mistaken for a desire to eat whatever it is they’ve got.

And it’s quality food, too. Fresh. Hot. Not that deep-fried touristy shit. East Ocean is one of my favourites.

But it’s also super-awkward.

Hopefully I just caught them on an off day.