Last night we went for a short bikeride around Westlake, and then visited a 'Wonton Restaurant'.
The restaurant is extremely popular. An online 'recommendation' read that one can always find inebriated patrons eating on the footpath (sidewalk). Apparently, inebriated patrons only frequent quality eateries. Outside we found such people.
The gentleman on the far left of the photograph paid for the evening out. It was his 24th birthday. I don't know if that is 24 Chinese birthdays, or 24 western birthdays, so, I don't know if he's 23 or 24.
The little tea-pot on the table does NOT contain tea. It contains vinegar.
The owner made our wonton.
She began the restaurant many years ago. She worked in a department store for RMB400 per month [USD$50/month]. This was not sufficient to pay for her sons education, which can be twice that or more. She began with a pot mounted on a trolly, and sold from the footpath. She was constantly avoiding the police, who periodically arrest street vendors. The shop keepers inform the police. I have seen a raid by the street vendor police. The little trolleys make off at considerable speed. All head in different directions.
After a time, the wonton woman rented her own premises so she would no longer need to play hide-and-seek with the street-vendor-gestapo -- and then she probably started informing the police about the street vendors.
With so many years experience, she can pump out these wonton like a machine.
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Last edited by jamie at 2007-10-26 11:28 ]
