Fluorescent Dreams Wax Cylinders - A lousy lunch...

19:02 - A lousy lunch...

The city I live in, Newark, CA, is very roughly one-third European-American, one-third Latino, and one-third Asian-American.

For lunch today, I tried a restaurant new to me, called HK Noodles. It was a "Chinese dive" -- six tables, and a simple kitchen. The kind of place that would fry up inexpensive meat and vegetables, then throw it over rice or noodles.

I considered the name of the restaurant as I read the menu, and I ordered what I expected to be a good dish... the Hong Kong-style wonton soup with noodles.

The waitress tried to dissuade me from ordering it, pushing me back toward the part of the menu with everything in English.

The owner told me, "No refunds!"

I stuck with my order, not knowing what to expect, except that it would involve noodles and something wrapped in noodle.

Ten minutes later, my order arrived, and I quickly saw why we round-eyes weren't fond of that dish. Especially for $5.

I worried that it would involve something offal. It didn't.

I was hoping that it would involve something unusual. It didn't.

I got what I expected least from a Chinese restaurant: exactly and precisely what I had ordered... and nothing more. A bowl of mediocre noodles, and four simple wontons with shrimp and pork. Nothing else. Not even a single leaf of bok choi, or parsley floating on top. Nothing.

I would cook this meal when I was ten years old. (Yes, I was a late bloomer. Bite me.)

It was worth it to shock the owner, by eating every bit of the meal he tried to dissuade me from. (Though I needed soya sauce and vinegar to make up for the flavorless broth.)

Ah, well. Sometimes, what's hidden is far less interesting than the search for what's hidden. And if they hadn't actively tried to dissuade me from it, I would have no story.

Take care, all.