I walked past the Ramen place. Parang sawa na ako. I crossed to the Flamingo area looking for Chipotle or Panda Express. I remembered eating there with Edmund sometime ago. I followed the crowd going towards the ferris wheel where there were lots of restaurants, bars, clubs, shops.
I saw lots of people going inside the Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips restaurant. I know Gordon Ramsay, cable viewers all know him from his numerous tv shows on lifestyle and food channel.
The one taking the orders / cashier was a Filipina. She didn’t smile at all.
I could hear the oil sizzling every time they fried something.
They have tables and bar stools for only about 20 people. There was no more extra chair for me. I approached a white lady (not ghost) and asked if I could share her table, she said in a loud voice “We are five!”. A man, seated on one of the bar stools heard her and he gave up his seat for me. He wasn’t done eating, and about to get a beverage for himself and his little daughter. I hesitated to get his seat. He said “come, don’t worry about it”.
I ordered Fish and Chips with two kinds of dips.
They also have other stuff like shrimps and chicken but the name of the restaurant is Fish and Chips so I should try this first, what they are supposed to be good at.
Ay init. What I don’t like about the fish and chips in this time and age is that every restaurant now use dory (pangasius fish) because it’s cheaper. Before dory became more popular, restaurants used grouper. I liked the texture and taste of the grouper but it’s a lot more expensive now so no restaurant would ever use that for their fish and chips.
I couldn’t finish the potato fries. Even after I was done eating, I lingered for a while. I had nothing to do back at the hotel but sleep. Dito, I could see lots of tourists, parang masaya. I stayed for another 15 minutes. Medyo the noise died down because at least half of the customers had left. Customers came in waves. I could hear one woman and a man having some “getting-to-know-you” kind of conversation. They’ve been there since I arrived and they seemed not to notice their surroundings. Nakakatuwa what they asked each other “Do you go rock climbing?” “Do you like going to the beach?” “Where do you buy your food?” I also heard the guy talked about his mom. You can spend hours and hours with someone you’ve just met and not get bored. There are millions of things to talk about because you still don’t know this person. You are in the discovery stage. That’s why it’s common when people say “I enjoyed his company. He’s not boring, we talked for hours”. Try marrying that person and live with him for 10 years. At this age and technology? They will go back to celebrity super chef Gordon Ramsay’s Fish and Chips restaurant, eat together while glued on their respective iPhones.
I noticed the Filipina cashier sweeping the floor. She was right behind me. I wanted to say hi and make friends but she wasn’t smiling. I just pretended not seeing her and kunwari I was focused on the remaining fries. Some of our kababayans get embarrassed when we see them doing ordinary jobs. But there’s nothing really to be ashamed of. Ganito talaga dito sa America, multi-tasking. I’ve seen it many times, they take the orders, accept payments, cook, clean the dining area, clean the toilets, throw garbage. Naalala ko tuloy yung madalas sabihin ng papa ko nung maliit pa ako, na basta masipag at marangal ang trabaho walang dapat ikahiya.
