Edition:
avatar image
Advertisement

On the Menu | Why waiting ages for food to arrive is worth it when it is made with love and care

Waiting for food can be a joy when it is made with love, as it is at Yue Hing in Hong Kong, where patience is rewarded with a humble meal

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The signature pancakes at Neko to Kotori Tei in Furano, Hokkaido, Japan, take up to 90 minutes to arrive, but waiting for food can be a joy when it is made with love. Photo: Charmaine Mok

In recent weeks I have spent a lot of time waiting for food. I am talking about literal hours, and the strangest thing was, I did not mind.

This is coming from someone who once ranted about the tyranny of the tasting menu and the fury of being kept hostage as course after course continued to arrive with no end in sight.

Context matters, of course. In one instance I was sat in a coffee shop in Furano, Hokkaido, in Japan, run by a silver-haired woman who pottered gently around making pancakes and coffee.

Her cafe was filled with warm winter sunlight and a dining table covered in books, so I was more than happy to while away the afternoon reading while I waited.

At Neko to Kotori Tei cafe in Furano, Hokkaido, customers can select from a number of books available on the main dining table. Photo: Charmaine Mok
At Neko to Kotori Tei cafe in Furano, Hokkaido, customers can select from a number of books available on the main dining table. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Coffee came at the one-hour mark, pancakes came at 90 minutes. She was constantly apologetic to every customer, but no one flew into fits of rage, and I got through two-thirds of the novel I started when I sat down.

Charmaine Mok is the Deputy Culture Editor at SCMP and the desk's food and wine specialist. She has been working in food media since 2007, and most memorably drank 50 coffees over three days in the name of research. She’s devoted to telling unexpected stories of the dining scene in Asia and those who shape it, and is always in the mood for noodles and/or a cheeky beverage.
Advertisement