Din Tai Fung is now famous for good quality service and good toothpicks on top of good food. It is instant fame and getting the best advertisement it can ever think of for free. Not bad, and thanks to Swee Say.
I received an email from a Jenny narrating her interesting experience with toothpicks in DTF. She is a regular customer at the Jurong Point and Paragon branches. She happened to be at the JEM branch one evening and strangely no toothpicks were offered. When she asked for them she was given a few pieces. On opening she found them to be wooden ones and not the famous good quality plastic ones.
On enquiry she was told that only Sentosa and Marina Bay offered the plastic ones. She knew it was not true as she had her good quality toothpicks from Jurong Point and Paragon. So she wondered why the change.
My thoughts, service outlets always take good care of their VVIPs. So they go all out to serve them. Maybe, I say maybe, in JEM and other branches they normally offer wooden ones but would still produce the good quality plastic toothpicks when VVIPs are around. There was this story that if one is important enough, one always get special treatment out of deference or respect or goodwill. When someone gets one egg in a plate of char kway teow, a VVIP may get two or three eggs. This is a truism and a very natural thing. Nothing mischievous about this.
So in the case of a normal customer, one may get wooden toothpicks or maybe a few pieces, while the VVIP like Swee Say could be served a box of good quality toothpicks out of respect and deference, and because he is a minister after all. There is nothing wrong with such treatments. Life is never fair.
There could be another reason for the wooden toothpicks. Now every customer are so impressed with the good quality toothpicks, many would be tempted to take half a box after dinner. That would not only add to the cost, the toothpicks would run out of stock very fast.
Now other than fancy toys, Sinkies have another fad, collecting good quality toothpicks for free. Don’t be surprise there will be overnight queues outside DTF soon.
You dun anyhow say they got double standard.If they give you wooden toothpick and give vvip special toothpick,it can be considered as a form of offering bribery .Dun get my dear minister into trouble.ﹰ
ReplyDeleteIf its ok to have double standard,i can oso sell ice kachang and give special tooth pick ,maybe gold one to those tua liap one.
Langgar dah!
DeleteLife is never fair.
ReplyDeleteRB
If life is not fair to someone or even an organisation, then it may partly be their fault also.
For instance, if a political party is not ready to be govt and so unfairly treated by the ruling party, whose fault?
If what you said is true, I blame LSS for citing such an example. He should have done some research first before he opens his mouth and make a mockery of himself. This is the same for KBW who proudly claimed his open heart surgery only cost him a few dollars. This is a shame and so detached from the reality. So is claiming $1,000 a month salary can afford to buy a new HDB flat. Totally disconnected from real life. It shows these are the people who never understand what is it to be poor. They are just add salt to injury.
ReplyDeleteNicely and aptly put.
DeleteThose Rulers ought to be barred
from holding any political office.
Period.
The PM said at the BBC interview recently that these jokers are overpaid because they are the best.Makes you wonder if Zorro may not be helming GIC or Temasek in the near future. Time to emigrate?
ReplyDeleteDoes he also get an extra egg?
ReplyDeleteBusinessmen will know how to treat their value clients differently lah. You see in banks they have special counters for their high net worth clients, no need to queue with the ordinary clients?
ReplyDeleteThis is business lah. Out tycoons like Ong Beng Seng or Wee Cho Yaw, when they check into a hotel, all the fineries will be rolled out for them even before they arrived. The hotels keep a dossier on everyone one of their VVIP clients.
I dare not to use free toothpicks placed on the dinner tables.
ReplyDeleteBecause when people need toothpicks, they will use their dirty fingers to touch touch touch touch the toothpicks before picking one or a few.
Hi, toothpicks from restaurants are individually packed. It's quite hygienic.
DeleteI was thinking aloud that we can cut costs by considering to recycle plastic, stainless steel, or aluminium toothpicks left on tables by diners. We can wash and dry them before reusing them just like chopsticks and spoons.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. Like recycling toilet water to new water.
ReplyDelete@1018:
ReplyDeleteYou are wise to not use those toothpicks.
>> they will use their dirty fingers to touch touch touch touch the toothpicks before picking one or a few.
Very true. I make it a point to scratch my cock and balls first before reaching into the receptacle and fondle a few toothpicks; taking the utmost care to spread my scrotal and penile detritus on the exposed toothpicks -- so that others can savour the delicate flavour of my genitals as they practice their postprandial dental hygiene regimen .
This is the reason I only accept and use toothpicks which are SEALED in an envelope. There are usually wooden and have a mint-flavoured tip. If you use unsealed toothpicks, then you are the bloody fool who deserves a nice dose of "contamination". :-))
As for DTF, forget the rest -- the one at Paragon is the only one worth eating at -- for me at least. Frankly I prefer the enterprises of our local entrepreneurs: Soup Restaurant and their culinary homage to the great Samsui women who built Singapore with their sweat, toil and grist; and the restaurant(I forget the name) on Level 4 at Ion Orchard started by a local zhi char kopitiam guy.
As far as VVIP's go: social rank, like any rank in any hierarchy has its privileges. Extra special people get extra special treatment -- that's a fact of life. However, they are also expected to tip extra specially lavishly. ;-)
I'm at Mcdonald's now. I took a few more servietts; I don't feel bad anymore.
ReplyDeleteSG girl,Before you leave,dun forget those sachets of sugar ,salt and pepper.Tissue oso grab.Hygienic.Next time come with container ,can take ketchup and chilli.Spent 2 lola on kopi and return with 5 lola.Me will do the same like you next time.Dun feel bad.
DeleteSg Girl learns fast
ReplyDeletebecause she had great
teachers in Sin.
Sin City looking sinfully attractive by the days.
ReplyDeleteEven individually packed is not safe.
ReplyDeleteDon't know how many dirty fingers have touch touch touch touch the individually packed toothpicks before, especially as described by Matilah 11.10.
I WONT DARE !!!!
Think Singaporeans not that hygienic, definitely not to the level claimef here.
ReplyDeleteSeen many using their hands all over the bodies and into hidden parts, then using the same hands to eat and drink. The process was repeated many times in one session.
Sometimes feel that hospitals are crowded because of very unhygienic lifestyles of Sinkies.
With hygiene standard falling, and with people walking around with contagious diseases, maybe one day everyone will bring their spoons and chopsticks when they eat out.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I use chopsticks to dig my teeth. The gaps in between are just too big and only chopsticks will work.
Few more years no need any chopsticks but walking stick.
Uncle suakoo lah.I oredi seen many tai tais bringing their own chopstick for dinners.
DeleteAnd you need not use chopstick to dig your teeth.Just listen to me and extract all your teeth like i told you here before.Save on tooth paste and brushes.
But are sure you still got teeth.
I always carry alcohol swabs with me. Before I use the dining utensils, I'll use alcohol swabs to clean them; in kopitiams or restaurants.
DeleteSG girl,
Deletebetter dun tell any guy on your habit else everyone will siam you .They will say you very lehcheh and they dun want to risk being told to wash their leg before allowing entry to the house if they stick to you.
My advice.
Paranoid leow. Singapore is cleanest place in the World.
DeleteRecycled sewage water can be consumed straight from tap.
And Singapore Leaders are corrupt free, another cleanliness found nowhere else.
Have faith when in Sin.
Agongkia
DeleteI don't like dirty men....
How about selling the concept of using recycled plastic toothpicks like chopsticks and spoons....in the name of RECYCLING MOVEMENT and reduce costs and service excellence..........
ReplyDeleteAnon 1224pm
DeleteThis using of toothpick to me is a unnecessity.Olden days many towkays,paikia and trisaw riders etc love to bite one in their mouth .
Should actually do away with this habit.Still very blur why one need to use toothpick.
Pls COOL it!
ReplyDeleteU WILL ALSO GROW OLD ONE DAY!
agongkia & redbean:
ReplyDeleteI carry my own chopsticks. I have nice stainless steel ones (Korean style), and also at least 2 sets of disposables. Redbean, please treat yourself to a few nice sets of ornately crafted chopsticks. My preference is for the chopsticks t be packed in a classy Chinese lacquer case.
Please lah, in Singapore you are expected to "make a statement" of your level of chiqueness and coolness, and be proud of your Asian heritage and millenia-old food culture!
MS
ReplyDeleteGood to know you like Korean chipstick like me,but remember not to misuse or abuse it on other purpose.
See?
ReplyDeleteLongkang water oso
no problem.
SG girl
ReplyDelete古龙 ever say ,the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Those who claim to be the dirtiest can actually be someone who is the most clean.I am one such clean man.
I always just eat at home, hardly go to those fancy restaurants. Eating at home is the most better, faster, cheaper thing to do. This LLS just showed that we are overpaying our useless ministers to eat at fancy restaurants. He even made all singaporeans looked cheap by pocketing all the toothpicks. If there is meritocracy around, he is only fit to wash toilets. Meritocracy, freedom, fairness - they are just myths.
ReplyDelete@304:
ReplyDeleteThe mere act of eating is a job provider and wealth creator -- you support the investment capital, infrastructure, production and distribution of food produce.
When you eat out -- fancy restaurant or roadside stall (if any still exist nowadays), you give more people jobs and more investors returns on their capital -- restaurant/ food stall owners and workers, marketers, transport industry (you have to travel to the place you eat, and return home after), and other agents not so obvious like: condom and lube manufacturers and distributors -- because if you are like me, you will want to bang the CFM-look chick you just taken out for dinner.
We are consumers. So we consume. Others consume so we can work. You just choose the level you're comfortable playing at. The more you spend, the more other people serving you earn. When it is your turn to serve others, the more they spend, the more you earn.
Capitalism is good karma in action. :-)