- Lately the topic -and importance- of identity has repeated itself in many of my daily experiences.
We are only the people we are willing to be
is what I see written in the signs and now having arrived back from watching Cloud Atlas again I’m inspired to make a public announcement. One which will call to the heavens (or universe) to prepare for a great push
I am no less special than anyone!
because!
I will work in the kitchen of a Chinese Restaurant!
God damnit I will! lol – Reminder: I am a chef here at Valhalla. and my passion for the Asian Gastronomy has consumed the greater good of my pallet for far too long!
I want to master the great art of stir fry, and expand my knowledge to give back to my fellow universe with tasty love pockets!
There lie secrets in the back of Chinese Restaurants, I can feel it. Mush like the nature of their history; controversial yet sophisticated are their dishes. They only hire within their community, there is never more than 1 or 2 fluent english speakers and the cooks all look like they never left their motherland – I truthfully believe they hold culinary knowledge that we take for granted.
No person can deny, A Chinese Restaurant Owned By A Chinese Family is ALWAYS delicious. I’m not talking about some franchise restaurant where ingredients are consolidated and stored in a football-sized grey manufacturing plant. I’m talking about those cubes of open space occupying the base of an old building where food can be not fresh and yet fresh at the same time. Where you can’t tell if the inside is mid-renovation or in need of some serious floor and wall cleaning. Where the prices don’t have to include tax because they only accept cash without receipts. And where you can even sometimes stumble by after a late cap or blaze and feel immediately warmer at the sight of their tall glass panes – through them; happy people are gathered around round tables sharing steamy creations of pleasure.
My Obstacle: Have you ever tried to apply to a Chinese Restaurant Owned By A Chinese Family?? Hahaha! Its not the easiest kind of job to get. They seem to just look at me, unfazed by my persistence and love. They talk to themselves (in their language) behind the counter like I wasn’t right there in front of them. – I’ve offered to start at their lowest rank and I’ve even offered to work for free! But nothing convinces them…
You’ve been warned Universe – the hardships these families may have had to not let them trust a fellow Caucasian red-bearded hippie will be transcended by the courage I have within my heart.
ChefX will be inherited by a chinese kitchen crew
amazing! good luck in your endeavor young kitchen warrior.
Hhahahahahahahaha this is the funniest post ever!
I died – but ya you gotta spend a solid month working in one of these places just to fit begin to fit in hahahaha!
yeah, at first they will be critical – no doubt – but I know the experience would pay off
this is hilarious haha
I always feel so sad for people when I realize their home kitchen isn’t Asian. It’s so wonderful. There is always so much love and happiness in our food and an almost annoying persistence to share it until its all gone. My Lola even cries when I say I’m full or don’t want to eat! However… As a filipina I am going to bluntly tell you that the avg chinaman is an Asian supremacist. But I do say that coming from the most unrespected eastern nation. It’s different in relation to Korea and successful Caucasians. The best way to a Chinese heart is to impress them somehow. If you try to flatter them I imagine their thoughts like… “yeah yeah. I know. Why are you wasting my time? I already know. Order. Pay. Or get out.” But the easiest way to a Chinese restaraunt owners heart is to become a regular customer, always eat all the food you order, give compliments to chef, and burp loudly! And make racist jokes at your own expense!