Wednesday, May 07, 2008

White People Don't Order Squid

On Monday night, Minh and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with the traditional Chinese Take-Out. I gave him carte blanche to order whatever he wanted and told him that if he put it under my name I'd pick it up on my way home.

Apparently, he was halfway through giving them his order (which included duck and squid) when the guy from the restaurant asked, "Hey, are you Chinese?" Once Minh 'fessed up to being Asian, the guy became very friendly and even discouraged Minh from ordering the baby bok choy because it was not as fresh as the Chinese broccoli. (You know that they gladly sell the wilty bok choy to the white folks!)

Not knowing any of this transpired, I was impressed at how very friendly they were at this restaurant (to which I had never been before). My order was not quite ready when I arrived, so they gave me a seat at the bar and offered me some tea. And the guy who sold me the food small-talked with me about the fact that my husband called in the order and then commented on my lovely jade bracelet (which, in case you don't know, functions like a membership card at most Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants).

The lesson? Even if you don't want to eat it, ordering squid over the phone can have hidden benefits. Go on, try it!

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