That’s us, at T Chow’s, the wonderful Chinese restaurant in China Town, our Cheers, on the last night before Lockdown. The place is bustling and you can only see half of it because the photographer stood in the middle to get a shot of the group, the one with the bloke in the wheelchair. It’s always happy there and everybody does know our name. There’s always three of us, often four but sometimes it grows to seven or eight.
Things are different now of course. Numbers are limited and they do a roaring take-away trade and there’s a new bloke, Brian — they always adopt an English name [is that a form of racism, I wonder?] —- who zips between tables spread out over the four quadrants of the restaurant. He’s young, he’s zippy and athletic with a great sense of humor. Everyone is cheery at T-Chow’s. You never see a long face or a frown. It’s where we hang out Friday nights. It’s our Cheers.
- tell us about your favourite dining place: is it the food, the atmosphere, the company?
John Malone 
it looks and sounds wonderful! what a happy and welcoming place! I like a little diner near my house that I can walk to, with cozy booths, good food and coffee, friendly service, and who let me stay and talk and catch up even if it’s more than an hour )
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it’s good we have these cozy little places we can go to for nurturing of body and soul 🙂
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It’s great having a favourite place where people know you. We had that when I lived in Melbourne. A group from work would go to Mamma Vittoria’s – family run Italian. And Mamma would ask my friend to play the piano and a bit of a sing along might ensue.
But these days, my favourite night out is at my parents-in-law. The kids are relaxed there and the conversation is good. And it’s just our party so it’s relatively quiet. For me (as a Mum) it is a holiday from cooking without the bustle and confinement of a public restaurant.
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yes, the in-laws provide much needed sustenance, away from the bustle; I miss my in-laws cooking [ they’ve passed on now] and so do the kids
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Things are opening up a bit in my area. Tomorrow we’re going to dinner at a restaurant for the first time in three months. For now, all seating must be outdoors.
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Hooray, Neil; it’s so good to have the cafes and restaurants open, even thought they do so under restriction. Enjoy the meal 🙂
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Chow down on China Town
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Bless the China Towns of the world 🙂
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May apply: Based on 50s movie classic, The Wild One! LOL
https://getthemysteriousblogger.com/2019/09/13/the-wild-rice-ones/
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oh yes; I remember that movie with Marlon Brando 🙂
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A China Town classic remake staring Song Son Brando
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It’s interesting to finally know where your Friday night venue is, John. T Chow is a restaurant I’ve been to a few times over the years, it’s a big and bustling place for sure. I’ve been there to a few Christmas get togethers, for people working where I used to work, and my husband Graham used to work too.
Seeing those people now, many, many years since I resigned, to be a stay-at-home mum, then poet, writer, and editor is interesting. I wrote a poem about it, after the most recent Christmas lunch there, and I’m not sure if I’ll go again, next time. I prefer cosy over bustling,
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I know what you mean about T-Chow’s, Carolyn but we make as much noise as anybody 🙂
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Good on you John, being rowdy when you can is a fine way to go, as long as things don’t go too far.
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agreed; we only were involved in a few ‘incidents’ but they were ‘smoothed over’ 🙂 all is forgiven or forgotten 🙂
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The public servants at the Christmas do, get very rowdy.
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I bet they do 🙂
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It was at the most recent Christmas lunch I went to with Graham, that I had an epiphany about it all. Graham and I both worked at the same department, but at different levels. I was there as a clerical assistant, he was there as a clerk. I have no uni qualification, he has a law degree. And I left there many years previously, to have our child, and be a stay at home mum, then poet and writer, as well as a few little jobs between then and now. I finally realised they were a very different kind of person to who I was, and we shared little in common. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, we were just very different. The Office they’d been in, was a different Office to the one I’d been in, to a large extent. Same place, different duties, and very different pay packet …
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Aaaww, it must’ve been really nice there, John! What a great community you have. I used to go to the nearest Starbucks (it’s this specific branch that I love so much)… It’s comfy there and I dream everyday when I can sit there again and read a book. The atmosphere speaks a lot, huh?
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It certainly does; a good eatery nurtures the body and the spirit 🙂 but hooray! the restaurants and cafes are reopening albeit with some restrictions; enjoy your next gathering 🙂
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Cool! What’s your favorite cuisine in that restaurant? I haven’t tried a lot of Chinese restau around, could you suggest some? 🙂 I think though it would still be a long time before coffee shops reopen for dine-in. </3
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T-Chow’s is our favourite and we get as many dishes as there are people in our party: special fried rice, of course, crispy roast duck, lemon chicken, steamed chicken with veggies ….
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English names make it easier to blend in, but somehow it is racism, I think–The way everyone calls me Shehla at my Muslim in-laws’ place and Shaily at my Hindu parents’ house.
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it’s a tricky one especially when the waiters insist you use their Anglicized names
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