A Table for Two part 1 of 2

It had been a low-key Saturday. We had social plans for the evening, but our friends canceled due to illness. It worked out because I was having a hankering for a big ol burger.

So later that night, we found ourselves deep in the belly of one of Hong Kong’s innumerable malls. We ate at “Triple O’s” a Canadian burger chain that makes the best –and among the few- chocolate milk shakes in the New Territories. As Julie and I were walking away from the counter, I overheard the Caucasian man behind me say to his wife “What do we have to do to get a table around here?” as he surveyed the very crowded restaurant.

I turned to Julie and said “Uh oh, somebody’s new to Hong Kong.”

Obviously, they didn’t know how things worked around here.

Fast food restaurants and mall food courts –like everywhere else in Hong Kong- are almost always crowded. Invariably, there are more diners than there are tables. Last Fall, after several meals which included the four of us walking around a food court with our trays aimlessly looking for a table while our food got cold and our patience grew thin, we developed a system. After we all decide what we want to order, Annika and Elise fan out into the restaurant to secure a table while Julie and I place the order. The food usually takes about seven or eight minutes to arrive which can be about how long it takes the girls to secure a table.

As the Anglo couple wandered past our table, I offered “You just have to kind of keep milling around until a table frees up.”

Julie chimed in “If you see people who appear close to finishing, just go ahead and stand right next to their table -even if it takes a minute or two.”

“It’s just kind of the Hong Kong way,” I added.

They express their thanks and wandered off.

A minute later, we noticed they had themselves a table.

Welcome to Hong Kong.

-Jack

In Hong Kong, you don't clear your own tray from the table at fast food restaurants. They have people for that. In fact, they get upset if you do clear your own tray. It's as if you are trying to work somebody out of a job.

Stand up.

Walk away.