NOT REALLY A CHINATOWN THING

Screaming, shouting, wailing and the gnashing of teeth. A scene from the pit. Infernal noise. Three Cantonese gentlemen talking politics and money over cups of caffeinated beverages. Urban Cantonese are sometimes like American tourists, enchanted with the belief that if you just say it loud enough the other person will understand. And, if necessary, you repeat it.

我唔識玩錢，淨係識玩蛋撻。

One of them asserted at one point that he didn't know how to pursue money, he just knew how to pursue the egg tarts. And then spent the next fifteen minutes talking on point about finance. I, meanwhile, pretended that I didn't know a single word of Cantonese and calmly continued eating my 豆腐炒魚飯 and enjoying my milk tea. My assertion fell on deaf ears, largely because the three gentlemen weren't listening. I know all of them conversationally.
And we've had discussions with each other many times at the same place.
But I'm not fluent enough, or sufficiently glib, to talk politics.
All I know about is tofu and sautéed fish rice.
With a tasty brown sauce.

Usually I don't eat there, because the food is sort of pedestrian.
But if you choose wisely, it's okay 㗎啦。
Good with Sriracha.

Strictly chachanteng, but the milk tea is excellent.

There wasn't a visit to the usual Tuesday night haunts because the bookseller went to New York. So it was an early evening. Probably just as well; the weather has gotten much colder and I haven't pulled my wintercoat out of the closet yet. I'm still pretending it's movie California out there, not arctic blast California.


After dinner, while strolling toward Sacramento Street smoking my pipe, I saw Tat Yee on the opposite side heading toward the karaoke bar. It's quite likely that the dear man is spending all of his retirement having cocktails. Punctuated by crappy pipetobacco.

It would be pointless to introduce him to the good stuff. He's happy with the Captain, and would not know where to get real tobacco anyhow. He doesn't leave Chinatown much.
Everything is available in Chinatown. Just not pipe tobacco.



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