working

Man, working is really exhausting. Physically, mentally and emotionally. I never knew working would be SO hard, well maybe just my job. I mean, I know it’s hard but I didn’t know it’s that hard. How did I even get myself into this mess?

(and the hour hand on the clock turns …round and round…back to the past)

It all started on Thursday. Brandon and I went to Northbridge to look for my work. So kind of him. So we walk around and saw a few notices. But sadly, THEY WERE ALL CLOSED!!! Well most of them anyway. I didn’t know restaurants are closed on Thursday before. So, on Friday, I went to Northbridge alone for walk-in interviews. I left my name and phone numbers in quite a few restaurants, like Oriental, James St. Kitchen, some weird chicken rice shop (I was desperate). I went to Jade restaurant（皇朝）, you know, the high-class, grand-looking restaurant. I told what I wanted and they immediately asked me to come the next day for training. This proves two things:
i) they are really short of manpower
ii) they are smart enough to not lose someone like me to some other restaurants

The unnoticed notice - 'Hiring waitRESS only' and i went in

Anyway, that evening around 5 something, I received a call asking me to tryout at 5.45pm. I was like, ‘what the hell, I am 10kms away from the city centre (I was at Cottlesloe)’. But since I need a job real bad, I told her I would go. But, in the end I still called her and said I can’t make it. Thank god I still can go try out on Saturday.

Sunset in Cottlesloe

Saturday morning. I was late for my first work. I was a few minutes late and end up having to wait more than 20 minutes for the next bus. Bad start. I got there at around 11 (suppose to be there at 10.30) and starting learning all sort of stuff. Some of the stuff are:
i) how to hold four plates with bowl, teacup and saucepan on each plate on one hand and look fancy
ii) how to stack eights plates, bowls, saucepans, teacups along one arm and walk around and look professional
iii) how set a proper table for four, six and eight people even though no-one really care if the cross on the table cloth is pointing towards the door or not

James St. Kitchen

One interesting things I learnt was how to set the table for a Vietnamese wedding dinner. They put the settings on one table, put another piece of round wooden planks and put on the settings. They would stack up quite a few layers and when it’s time, they would ‘fly’ the table tops together with the settings to individual tables, and you will get a table for ten people. Cool huh?

After eating crappy food as lunch at around 4pm, I went to the state library. Not to study, you dumb. I cleaned up refreshed myself and went to the first floor to sleep.

Sofa where i rested

At 5.45pm, I went to James St. Kitchen（红屋小厨）I had my dinner at around 6pm. I didn’t eat much coz it was a bit too early and I just ate my lunch. The working environment here was better. The workers and the boss was better than those in Jade. I guess in Jade everyone’s too busy working and pressured. The first day in james, I got to eat fish, tofu and some other thing which I forgot. I also got a glass of iced milk tea. There so much stuff I had to learn:
i) Check on the prawns, crabs and fish and how to catch them.
ii) How to set the table (same-a lot of bunga-bunga)
iii) What to prepare when customer eat fried dimsum, steamed dimsum or soup as dimsum
iv) what to prepare when customers eat crab or prawn (finger bowl-to wash hands, plates to put the shell, a spatula kind of thing- to korek our the meat, a nut craker-or in this case a crab/prawn cracker)
v) how to scoop rice, noodle, or other expensive food (so my ‘si zay’-a very experienced lady says) using spoon and fork as thongs in one hand
vi) how to clean the table and stuff every plate, bowl, cup on one big plate and bring it away at one go even though you can do it separately

Bad demo- needs more practising

There was one thing I learnt, well not really, just that I never realize it was that important. Try to do as much as possible at one go. Get as much stuff as possible out (as in out from the counter) at one go (dishes, plates…), do as much stuff as possible before you come back (ask anything-refill teapot, change plates) bring as much stuff back as possible (empty plates, teapots, dirty tablecloth…).

Jade dynasty

Working in Chinese restaurants are quite fun. You call the chefs ‘sifu’ or ‘X go’ (Brother X). You call any lady in the kitchen ‘X zay’ (sister X). They call me all sort of name coz they still haven’t really know my name: ‘Ah zai’ (boy), ‘leng zai’ (handsome boy- a bit skeptical about that), or ah long (my name), david (my working name) for those who know me better.

All in all it was a pleasant experience undergoing training in these two restaurants even though I don’t get paid at all during training and when I start working, I will still get low pay. Well at least next year I can say I have working experience. Oklah. I guess I stop here. Will definitely blog more about my nightmare jobs.