THE REAL DEAL

Right around tea time it struck me that what we need is at least one more mixed bakery and chachanteng in Chinatown. Well within easy walking distance of a bus stop. With a modest selection of pastries and cooked dishes -- baked Portuguese chicken rice, salt fish chicken fried rice, beef chow mein, porkchops, dumplings in soup with a few stalks of yauchoi, stuff like that -- clean tables and actual crockery. Where one could dawdle over a pastry and a hot cup of milk tea on and in real crockery. Rather than paper cups and plates. There are in fact a couple of places rather like that, but I need an extra one. So that, hypothetically, on a day when I had to be in Chinatown early in the day, I could have tea down there late in the afternoon preparatory to smoking my pipe while wandering around.

[Baked Portuguese chicken rice: 焗葡國雞飯 ('guk pou gwok kai faan'), salt fish chicken fried rice: 鹹魚雞粒炒飯 ('haam yü gai naap chaau faan'), beef chow mein: 牛肉炒麵 ('ngau yiuk chaau min'), porkchops: 豬扒 ('jyü paa'), dumplings in soup with a few stalks of yauchoi: 韭菜湯餃 ('gau choi tong gaau').同其他。]

I need to emphasize the real crockery aspect. Ever since places reopened after the height of the pandemic paper cups and plates have been widespread. Which makes me feel that I'm paying too much for milk tea, and I dislike the picnic office party drunken frat boy pizza night similarities. Crockery. A cup and saucer.


Yes, I know that with San Franciso's raised minimum wage it would drive up the cost of doing business, because it takes a team of a dozen people to get actual crockery from a table to the dishwasher good lord the labour involved will put us all out of business we can't afford to hire even one more person! But the places that do use real crockery are already on my list of places I will go to this week, and lord knows there must be hundreds of old folks at the two or three senescent fossil facilities who would appreciate a nice chachanteng within two blocks or less. Where they could have some refreshment and gather their strength before going out to play gin rummy at Portsmouth Square. Real crockery.

This morning after my eye doctor's appointment (眼科服務；眼科醫生預約 'ngaan fo fuk mou'；'ngaan fo yi sang yiu yuek') the place where I had breakfast and milk tea had real crockery. I had a smoke afterword. The place where I plan to have a late lunch tomorrow (followed by a smoke) has real crockery, same for wednesday. Real crockery.

And surely there are many crotchety white pipe smoking gentlemen who would also appreciate that right around tea time. The real crockery.

Oh wait; I might actually be the only one.


Still, think of your Chinese American fellow citizens, especially the older ones.
Real crockery is so much more inviting and gemütlich.
They'll appreciate it.



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