Mr Kong

I've been to Oxford Street to get material and a pattern for my seamstress practice. Now I'm at my favourite restaurant in Chinatown - 'Mr Kong' on Lisle Street.

My soup arrives very quickly, and as usual I have to resist the urge to wolf it down. The moment my empty bowl hits the table it is whisked away. I just hope there is a decent gap before my main course arrives, as I'm in no hurry.

A number of years ago I was sent by my employer to Singapore to help on a project there. I was part of a team that had been assembled with colleagues from Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. I loved everything about Singapore, though the Hong Kong guys moaned about the terrible service in restaurants. Too slow they said.

The whole team got together each lunchtime to try the various local restaurants. It was while I was there that my abilities with chopsticks went from pretty competent to expert, as the team worked hard to max out on the very generous expense limits we'd been given.

I sampled all the Chinese delicacies the Hong Kong contingent ordered. Bird's Nest soup, Shark Fin soup, Abalone and Fish Maw soup stand out in my memory, but each lunch was a 14 course banquet consisting of many things I couldn't name, while jokes and conversation flowed around me in Cantonese.

I noticed a number of my dining companions drummed the table with a finger whenever someone served them tea. Curious, I asked the significance and was told the custom dated back to when Emperor Qianlong would travel incognito with his servants.

Stopping at a restaurant on one occasion the tea pot was placed in front of the Emperor. Custom dictates that the person that the pot is placed before must serve his companions. The Emperor's servants could not take the pot to serve the Emperor without compromising his disguise, so they had to allow him to serve them. Unable to bow and acknowledge the honour he did them, the servants tapped two fingers on the table instead.

The tradition continues to this day, to thank the person serving the tea.

While I've been rambling on about my Southeast Asian adventures, I've been tucking into my main course - Crispy Shredded Pork with Garlic Sprouts. Absolutely delicious.

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