I lived in Manila, Philippines for over four years in the 1980’s while working on a major construction project. The team of people on the project came from all parts of the world – USA, UK, Korea, Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore – and Australia.
As a mixed expatriate group it was quite common for us to share in the diverse food culture of Manila. A particular colleague from Hong Kong, was always keen on eating at Chinese restaurants because he really missed that cuisine. However, for those of us with him on such occasions, it wasn’t always a happy experience. He always seemed to find fault with the food. The sauce wasn’t original, the spice insufficient, the wrong cut of meat or the wrong fish. It could be quite on ordeal. It got that way that I would endeavour to change the cuisine just to avoid conflict.
On one occasion he came to me in my office and asked if I would join him for dinner that night as he was really missing Chinese food – his household staff only knew how to cook local food. On this occasion I declined. I finally told him that I was having a stressful day and I didn’t then want an evening of additional stress as he argued with the restaurant staff regarding the food. He went off in somewhat of a huff.
It wasn’t long before he was back. “We are going to dinner tonight”, he said. “I’ll pick you up at 5.30 pm – bring your passport.”
So, that evening we flew to Hong Kong for dinner. We dined at a Szechuan restaurant on Blue Pool Road and ate hot, spicy food which was fantastic.
Then, it was back to the airport and to home. While in the car driving from the airport, I informed my colleague that he could have saved a lot of money by only having the one airfare and flying himself to Hong Kong and getting take-away. Needless to say, that comment didn’t go down well.
With people coming out of COVID-19 lockdown in various places at the moment, people are rushing to be able to dine out or to organise overseas travel. I can’t help but think of this unique time when I managed to combine both these events by having an international flight just for the purpose of eating out.
But how different this experience was to my first ever meal at a restaurant.
I was 16 years old, working as a junior clerk in a legal firm in Melbourne (which is still going!). It was necessary to work back one evening to get some documents completed for court. It was usual for the office staff to be given two shillings (yes, pre-decimal) for ‘tea money’. Believe it or not, this was sufficient to buy a sandwich or meat pie. We would have had to go to the shop earlier and have the food in our desk drawer ready for the evening.
On this occasion, my boss decided that he would take me with him to a restaurant. Needless to say I was a mixture of excitement and fear. I had no idea how to behave in such an environment, never having gone to a restaurant for a meal in my life.
Our office was on the corner of Bourke and William Streets in Melbourne, so we hopped on a tram to the top end of Bourke Street. There we went to a place called “Pellegrini’s”, which still operates to this day.
At that time, you entered a restaurant section via door from the side laneway. I found myself confronted by a display cabinet of food I had never seen before. My only knowledge of spaghetti was what came in a tin! But here were stuffed peppers, chicken in various sauces, what I now know to have been ravioli, strips of veal, stuffed mushrooms, sauces of every colour and noodles of various shapes and sizes. I was petrified of making a mess or not liking the food, so chose the chicken – at least I knew what it was. It was fantastic! Unlike my boss who had a glass of wine, I stuck with water.
Fifty years later I found myself working within walking distance of Pellegrini’s, and would frequently take the opportunity to go for a coffee or lunch and remember my first ever grown-up meal, not only in a restaurant, but actually eating alone with someone other than family.
How times have changed. Now dining out is such a familiar activity for children and even if we can’t afford a restaurant meal, we still purchase meals through take-away outlets of all types. Eating at home, around a table, with the ability to speak with one-anther and share our days seems to have become the rare event. A restaurant meal is not the treat and exception it used to be. This became so obvious during the lockdowns in our cities as the vast number of people employed in the hospitality industry found themselves out of work, and people in their homes suffering withdrawal symptoms from dining out.
It is no wonder that such a change of culture has also spawned another industry – the management of food waste. Many people are being sustained with the uneaten food from many restaurants. What does this say about us and our respect for food?
Faye Schmidt's Thoughts 