The Han Jing Pang Stall

There were just 2 female customers when I fixed my attention on the Han Jing Pang Stall. Directly translating "Han Jing Pang" would give you something like "Salty Deep Fried Pancakes". Well, strictly speaking, they don't at all look like the pancakes you get at Macdonald's; they are hollow balls of dough that contain sweet red bean paste on the inside and are deep-fried till they float to the surface of the oil - after that, these hot balls are scooped out and seasoned with some salt and peanut powder. They make great snacks, albeit a little on the unhealthy side.

Something strange went on at this stall. The old man, the owner of the shop, was busy making the raw dough balls. And, one of the customers, a lady in red shirt, was holding a long pair of chopsticks and stirring the wok dilligently. On closer observation, this became more absurd. The lady was actually deep-frying the dough balls herself! So she stirred those worthless balls and waited patiently for them to float up. As soon as that happened, she waived some magical chopstick skills and picked each ball up one after the other. An assistant at the shop gathered the newcomers, dipped them in the peanut powder and salt and threw them in the big brown bag.

One, two, three, four, five, six and seven. Seven pancakes for $1. The lady paid for the pancakes and went off. Soon, a queue built up. Five men and women took turns making their own pancakes and paid for pancakes made by themselves. The mood at the stall was calm and controlled, and the way the pancakes were made reminded me of the factory production line - one caps the toothpaste, and the other puts the tube into the box.

I can't imagine why someone would want to buy food made by themselves. I wouldn't. I came out for a meal because I didn't want the hassle of buying raw materials at the supermarket, and then going home to cook them. I also didn't want to spend precious time washing up the dishes after the mess of cooking. Now, I am going to pay someone to allow me to cook? This isn't some sort of steamboat or barbeque shop! It isn't in any way exciting to be stirring some dough balls and waiting for them to float up. The heat of the oil would just soak my shirt in grease and sweat.

Then I realised why those people wereputting up with this crazy concept. There was this green certificate on the wall in the stall:

"Best Food Award 2004"

This unhealthy snack - a deep fried oily chinese pancake - is "Best Food". Best food?

That old man is certainly very conceited. Just because he makes the best Han Jing Pang, he orders his customers around. This is called opressing with power; just like what Hitler did to Germany and the world. Someone give me an atomic bomb. This old man needs a lesson from America.