It's funny how someone can piss you off so much without saying a word. Take for instance, my local egg waffle man.
A few weeks ago (yes, I hold a grudge), I was hoping to ask him if it'd be possible for him to make me some red egg waffles for my friend's moon-yuet party -- a traditional yet modern twist on those red eggs usually served at those parties.
I know it seems like an awkward request, but I deliberately chose a time when he had no customers to make my approach. Walking up with a friendly smile, I told him the story of how my friend, who had been in confinement for the past 30 days, would love nothing more than to have some yummy Hong Kong egg waffles at her party, and if it were at all possible, if he could just make a few egg waffles for me if I brought the red dye to him, perhaps before he opened shop one morning.
The egg waffle man, a skinny Chinese guy in his late 20s or early 30s who'd been staring at me with a dull facial expression, took a few seconds to process this and then ... shook his head.
"What do you mean?" I asked, hoping to find out why he couldn't do it. "I'll bring the red dye and I only need 1-2 waffles."
He shook his head once more with his jaw jutted out.
"I'll pay you double, no, triple for them, and I'll even clean the batter jugs for you afterwards!!"
Again, he shook his head with that 'yeung seui' expression on his face. Now, I was getting angry.
"What do you mean no? Can't you just tell me why? What's the reason you can't do it? Tell me so I can understand!" I sputtered at him in my crappy Cantonese.
Once again, he simply shook his head.
"Who's in charge here?!" I demanded to know.
And then, finally, the egg waffle man spoke. "I am."
At that, I did a complete 180 and left fuming, cursing the damn egg waffle man for not even trying to be helpful or at least having the courtesy to make up an excuse for why he wasn't going to help me.
I mean, it's not like I was trying to take over his stand! If he was worried about mess, or trouble, or anything like that, I would have understood (okay, I might have tried to convince him otherwise first) but still, to be shut out like that by someone who just won't even talk to you -- I just didn't get it!
Five steps later though, I finally got it. The dude's an EGG WAFFLE MAN. He only makes one thing, all day, every day in his life. He's not the rainbow egg waffle man, nor the chocolate chip waffle man, or god forbid, a fish ball man. He's a frickin' egg waffle man -- and that is all he shall EVER BE.
(But damn, does he make good egg waffles.)
11 comments:
May I suggest purchasing your own waffle maker then. Perhaps this should work if he agrees to sell the batter instead. ^_ ^
lol they aren't ordinary waffles, they're the 3D Hong Kong-style egg waffles! It's damn near impossible to make 'em yourself... :(
Lol! So funny that you lost your temper to a waffle man and had to rage about him in your post just because you couldn't buy what you wanted with your money.
The waffle man wasn't obligated to answer you at all. Hell, in fact nobody is!
Maybe he wasn't in the mood to help you, maybe he didn't have a friggin clue what you wanted or maybe he just didn't like you.
Just get on with your life and understand that you don't always get what you want.
Why didn't you just blow him. Maybe if you gave him something that he wants, he would feel obliged to give you something that you wanted. It's just an idea, no need to get your panties in a wad. I just thought that if money did not move him to act, then maybe a gratuitous act of fellatio would suffice.
I saw see egg waffles in hong kong come with different color!! red for strawberry flavor, dark for chocolate flavor,etc!! but it's not very popular, i can hardly see that now:(
Darn it, it's a matter of principles! It's like asking Vincent Van Gogh to paint the sky in "Wheatfield with Crows" in yellow. It's blasphemy!
You should have hijacked his waffle stand grand theft auto style.
This is a fantastic story. I love how you demanded answers! I audibly lol'd!
Whoa, whoa - I think that last part of your post was a bit much, don't you think? No need to insult the guy and belittle what he does for a living just because he refuses to give you what you want.
Great blog Miss Fong
Creativity, cool observations and thinking out of the box are the great themes on your blog, so thank you for sharing.
This post is about attempting to ask a local, who provides a traditional product, to do something unfamiliar and something that is out of his comfort zone. Anyone who has ever experienced trying to encourage people (locals or otherwise) to try something different for once in their ordinary and mundane lives will completely understand your rationale and your frustrations.
Looking forward to your next posts.
HKSAR Blog
you probably looked "yeung seui" to him that you did not warrant a reply. LOL
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