Brief tenure as a waitress at some Jap restaurant
When I said 'brief', I meant just that.
I only survived one day before saying sayonara to the boss.
Admittedly he and the rest of the staff, with the exception of the kitchen and counter staff though, were rather nice people. No cute waitress and that hastened my departure. Just kidding.
The push factor was actually the fact that everyone was speaking Japanese. Most of the clientele were native Japanese and ordered in Japanese. Naturally I told them I didn't understand a word of Jap and they would have to do it in English or no food for them! LOL! That, apparently, did not make things easier for anyone.
For instance, they couldn't seem to be able to tell the difference between a JUG of beer and a GLASS of beer. But of course, the customer is always right so I ended up taking the blame. Or there were times when they told you it's dish no. 94 that they wanted but it turned out that what they really wanted was no. 47. Their fault again but I'd just have to take it as mine.
The restaurant has 2 kitchens. One of them is actually the open kitchen or what some called the sushi counter. But they do more than just sushi there. In fact, they don't do sushi at all. They do sashimi but no sushi. There are also some other cold dishes like the all-time favourite: cold silken tofu in soy sauce.
The head chef at the counter was an ass. We, the waitresses, were supposed to say something in Jap (can't remember what the phrase was) when we informed them of new orders. So it's "(Japanese phrase), new order: blar blar" and you stick the order sheet to the rows of sticky tapes above the counter. The counter has 3 sections. One for barbecuing, one for making sashimis and other cold dishes and the last for making sobas or noodles. So if you get single orders for just soba, then you go stick it at the soba corner and say the necessary 'passwords'. But if you get a variety of orders with barbie (that's how Jamie Oliver likes to call his barbecues), sashimi and soba, then you would have to stick it at the cold dish corner because that's like where the head chef, a.k.a The Ass, would be and he can then pass the order along the production line.
Why was the chef an ass? I mean if you are a just a fucking chef, there is no need to get all haughty or downright condescending, especially if it is towards someone new on the job. He picked on my handwriting. And he was also pissed that I didn't respond immediately when he said the food was ready. Well, the fact is I didn't know that he said the food was ready because they all said it, again, in Japanese.
But the last straw was this: he asked me "Are you a waiter or waitress?" I was like "Fuck you!" (Nay I was too much of a wimp to say it to his face. I only gave him an irritated look.) That's how the ah peks and aunties are. They like to ask politcally incorrect questions. The younger generation is not necessary any more polite. They just think about it in their head and don't ask it out loud. That is acceptable because everyone is allowing to have shit in their head.
Back the counter, there is also this area for making drinks. They have quite a wide range of cocktails. We need to learn how to make them but it was quite easy and the recipes were all pasted there. The cocktails consist mainly of juice + Jap wine/Tiger beer. The Japanese all seem to be very taken with our local beer. No idea why. But one thing is for sure, the Japs are pretty heavy drinkers. Half of the staff were drunk before dinner started. And I could smell alcohol in the boss's breath. I wasn't even standing very close to him so you get the picture. Oh, when the boss was showing me how to make the various cocktails, he made 2 for me to try. They were pretty good. So I was also one of those who were drunk before dinner.
I was saying they have 2 kitchens. The main kitchen or 'the one inside' is for all the hot dishes. The dishes to be prepared at the counter are circled while those prepared in the inner kitchen are not. Those which require efforts by both are put in brackets. So it is pretty easy to mix them up. And the chefs get really testy when they see the wrong symbols. Well...
Decidedly the chefs/cooks in the main kitchen were nicer in a way that they didn't bother me much. Some lame jokes here and there like "Soki soba or soki soki?". Don't get it? Yeah, just goes to show how lame it is.
There are 3 tatami rooms there so when you serve in them, you've got to take off your slippers (we had to wear slippers) and then kneel down to serve the customers or take their orders. Quite a novel experience but somehow, images of the Japanese Occupation kept flashing through my mind when I had to act all subservient (oh those Japs dig that). That never happen when I am using Sony Walkmans (okay I don't use Sony walkmans, used to, but not anymore. I use an iPod!) or eating sushis or buying any other Japanese goods (usually edible ones). So it's not really the anti-Jap sentiments at work there. Just the wounded pride speaking.
The tricky part was carrying 6 bowls of a soba at once. Man, they were heavy. And I was glad that I didn't spill any or worse, spill them on the customer. I would probably have to kneel and apologise to them alongside my boss if I did. Guess even my boss wouldn't have dared to offend these big bosses. You have no idea how much they can spend on a meal. I don't know about the room with the 12 people or so but the table which I brought the check to (and there were only 4 people) had a bill totalling $300. No wonder Japanese restaurants can afford higher pay - they have a higher profit margin.
I did, however, break several glasses and it happened right in front of the customers. Nice job there! The boss was visibly angry with me. That could also be why he wasn't very insistent when I told him I wanted to quit. He was probably thinking "good riddance!" He was more concerned about whether Sus was going to quit too which I assured him that she wouldn't even though I wasn't sure at all if she was going to stay. LOL! But I think she ought to stay since she's learning Jap and it was a ready-made Jap environment for her to work on her Jap. She said the kitchen staff were a little intimidating. Well, I think she should just ignore them.
Would like to go and try the food myself some time. Just to piss the counter chef off. The deserts looked really good!
I only survived one day before saying sayonara to the boss.
Admittedly he and the rest of the staff, with the exception of the kitchen and counter staff though, were rather nice people. No cute waitress and that hastened my departure. Just kidding.
The push factor was actually the fact that everyone was speaking Japanese. Most of the clientele were native Japanese and ordered in Japanese. Naturally I told them I didn't understand a word of Jap and they would have to do it in English or no food for them! LOL! That, apparently, did not make things easier for anyone.
For instance, they couldn't seem to be able to tell the difference between a JUG of beer and a GLASS of beer. But of course, the customer is always right so I ended up taking the blame. Or there were times when they told you it's dish no. 94 that they wanted but it turned out that what they really wanted was no. 47. Their fault again but I'd just have to take it as mine.
The restaurant has 2 kitchens. One of them is actually the open kitchen or what some called the sushi counter. But they do more than just sushi there. In fact, they don't do sushi at all. They do sashimi but no sushi. There are also some other cold dishes like the all-time favourite: cold silken tofu in soy sauce.
The head chef at the counter was an ass. We, the waitresses, were supposed to say something in Jap (can't remember what the phrase was) when we informed them of new orders. So it's "(Japanese phrase), new order: blar blar" and you stick the order sheet to the rows of sticky tapes above the counter. The counter has 3 sections. One for barbecuing, one for making sashimis and other cold dishes and the last for making sobas or noodles. So if you get single orders for just soba, then you go stick it at the soba corner and say the necessary 'passwords'. But if you get a variety of orders with barbie (that's how Jamie Oliver likes to call his barbecues), sashimi and soba, then you would have to stick it at the cold dish corner because that's like where the head chef, a.k.a The Ass, would be and he can then pass the order along the production line.
Why was the chef an ass? I mean if you are a just a fucking chef, there is no need to get all haughty or downright condescending, especially if it is towards someone new on the job. He picked on my handwriting. And he was also pissed that I didn't respond immediately when he said the food was ready. Well, the fact is I didn't know that he said the food was ready because they all said it, again, in Japanese.
But the last straw was this: he asked me "Are you a waiter or waitress?" I was like "Fuck you!" (Nay I was too much of a wimp to say it to his face. I only gave him an irritated look.) That's how the ah peks and aunties are. They like to ask politcally incorrect questions. The younger generation is not necessary any more polite. They just think about it in their head and don't ask it out loud. That is acceptable because everyone is allowing to have shit in their head.
Back the counter, there is also this area for making drinks. They have quite a wide range of cocktails. We need to learn how to make them but it was quite easy and the recipes were all pasted there. The cocktails consist mainly of juice + Jap wine/Tiger beer. The Japanese all seem to be very taken with our local beer. No idea why. But one thing is for sure, the Japs are pretty heavy drinkers. Half of the staff were drunk before dinner started. And I could smell alcohol in the boss's breath. I wasn't even standing very close to him so you get the picture. Oh, when the boss was showing me how to make the various cocktails, he made 2 for me to try. They were pretty good. So I was also one of those who were drunk before dinner.
I was saying they have 2 kitchens. The main kitchen or 'the one inside' is for all the hot dishes. The dishes to be prepared at the counter are circled while those prepared in the inner kitchen are not. Those which require efforts by both are put in brackets. So it is pretty easy to mix them up. And the chefs get really testy when they see the wrong symbols. Well...
Decidedly the chefs/cooks in the main kitchen were nicer in a way that they didn't bother me much. Some lame jokes here and there like "Soki soba or soki soki?". Don't get it? Yeah, just goes to show how lame it is.
There are 3 tatami rooms there so when you serve in them, you've got to take off your slippers (we had to wear slippers) and then kneel down to serve the customers or take their orders. Quite a novel experience but somehow, images of the Japanese Occupation kept flashing through my mind when I had to act all subservient (oh those Japs dig that). That never happen when I am using Sony Walkmans (okay I don't use Sony walkmans, used to, but not anymore. I use an iPod!) or eating sushis or buying any other Japanese goods (usually edible ones). So it's not really the anti-Jap sentiments at work there. Just the wounded pride speaking.
The tricky part was carrying 6 bowls of a soba at once. Man, they were heavy. And I was glad that I didn't spill any or worse, spill them on the customer. I would probably have to kneel and apologise to them alongside my boss if I did. Guess even my boss wouldn't have dared to offend these big bosses. You have no idea how much they can spend on a meal. I don't know about the room with the 12 people or so but the table which I brought the check to (and there were only 4 people) had a bill totalling $300. No wonder Japanese restaurants can afford higher pay - they have a higher profit margin.
I did, however, break several glasses and it happened right in front of the customers. Nice job there! The boss was visibly angry with me. That could also be why he wasn't very insistent when I told him I wanted to quit. He was probably thinking "good riddance!" He was more concerned about whether Sus was going to quit too which I assured him that she wouldn't even though I wasn't sure at all if she was going to stay. LOL! But I think she ought to stay since she's learning Jap and it was a ready-made Jap environment for her to work on her Jap. She said the kitchen staff were a little intimidating. Well, I think she should just ignore them.
Would like to go and try the food myself some time. Just to piss the counter chef off. The deserts looked really good!
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