I had lunch today at the Tivoli Restaurant in Mandarin Hotel.
I wonder what the significance of this life-sized sculpture to the history of Mandarin Hotel is.
I thought I would be late to our 12:45 pm meeting because I spent time preparing for the program. But I got there at 12:35 noon. I immediately texted Johnny “I am here”.
I had lobster bisque
Johnny’s order — “consomme with foie gras”.
We split the caesar salad
This head waiter has been working at the Tivoli for 31 years according to Johnny.
While we were eating the salad, my text message to him “I am here” just arrived. Globe?
I ordered the liquid ice cream in nitrogen. The preparation was quite a spectacle.
Johnny Litton is holding a copy of the Ford Cainta grand opening invitation card.
We discussed the program sequence for next week’s event wherein Johnny would be the emcee. I appreciated Johnny’s efforts in trying to understand the purpose of the event, the people, and the business. He’s not just going there to read his spiels. He made an effort to understand what the celebration is all about.
About Tivoli, last time I was here was some 15 years ago. But Johnny seems to be a regular. He knows the first names of the waiters, he is good friends with the chef. He has memorized the menu selections. The waiter and the chef already know Johnny’s favorite dishes. I bet he’s been a patron for decades.
And in fact, he’s there again tonight, emceeing for the birthday party of Connie Haw.
He’s so hard-working. He said he has no plans of retiring. He showed me his calendar and it’s punung-puno.
One thing I liked about him is his love and dedication to his wife, Tere. She’s sick and been having twice weekly dialysis. Johnny loves her very much and he has no qualms telling the whole world about it.
Most men would not do that. most men would find that “un-macho”. Most husbands are drowning in their ego and would be too proud to express their emotions to and for their wife, most especially when in front of their friends.
