Fast-food pizzas. Ah. Who can live without them?
OK. Actually, we all can live without it.
Anyway, I've always loathed going to McDonald's. Sure enough, I actually like their sundaes. But the rest are forgettable. And don't even get me started on their pathetic attempts at fried chicken. IMHO, KFC still makes the most kick-ass fried chickens, as far as fast-food restaurants go. Period.
But these days, even KFC is also becoming loathsome to me. I mean, well, I'm growing old, and, inevitably, fried things are slowly moving down the list of my favorite foods. So, these days, whenever I have a fancy for some unhealthy fast-food, Pizza Hut is among my top choices.
This past Labor Day (1st May), my wife and I went to a Pizza Hut restaurant in Bandar Baru Ayer Itam (to locals, the area is simply known as "Farlim", the company that developed most of the housing projects there).
We ordered a combo set that came with a regular pizza, 4 pieces of cheese sticks, 2 bowls of mushroom soup, 2 glasses of Pepsi. I ordered an additional garlic bread (I fell in love with their garlic bread ever since the first time I ate at a Pizza Hut), and for the pizza, I chose the "Thai Seafood" topping.
Ah. Thai Seafood.
To me, that is Pizza Hut's best pizza topping. Forget that it is actually not so much "Thai" as "pretending to be Thai". IMHO, it is a blend of spicy and slightly sour taste most perfect for a pizza. Very appetizing. I can finish a whole regular pizza with this topping without getting tired of the taste. It used to come with cilantro (coriander) leaves, which made it even more heavenly yummy. Unfortunately, that has been taken out of the recipe, because very few people can stand the taste of cilantro. :-(
Speaking about cilantro, the next time you eat Hainanese (Hailam) Chicken Rice, chop up some cilantro and mix it in with the chili sauce. It will make you fall in love with Hainanese Chicken Rice all over again. Cilantro also goes very well with Thai chili sauce. In fact, I believe cilantro will go very well with most things Thai. Especially if the recipe has a Teochew (Chaozhou) origin. Cilantro is a favorite ingredient for the Teochews.
But I have sidetracked. Back to Pizza Hut.
To me, the top three Pizza Hut toppings are:
1) Thai Seafood
2) Cool Lime Chicken (not sure if this is on the regular menu; it came with their "Sensasi" promotion)
3) Pepperoni
By the way, try the pepperoni topping on a crispy crust pizza. It is a pleasantly light fare perfect for an afternoon snack. But don't try the crispy crust if you have weak teeth.
What surprised us about that particular outlet in Farlim that day was how crispy and fluffy their normal pan pizza (not the above mentioned crispy variety) turned out to be. It was the first time we actually enjoyed eating the crust.
***
Now, one more thing you should know about eating at a fast-food restaurant: always smile to the waiters/waitresses. Yes, even at the risk of incurring the wrath of your significant other.
That day, while eating our pizza and its various accompaniment, I idly directed my stare towards the counter where the foods were coming out (honestly, I wasn't really looking at anyone in particular; our eyes have the habit of finding moving objects to look at, and at that moment, the counter area was teeming with motions), and then I suddenly realized that a waitress was smiling politely at me because she thought I was looking at her. So I returned the smile.
Five minutes later, the said waitress came towards the general direction of the dining area with two plates of nachos and cheese dip in her serving tray, and when she turned her eyes to find me looking at her (again, my eyes were just following moving objects, honestly), I smiled at her again, and she smiled back. Then she veered towards our table and proceeded to set down a plate of nachos & cheese dip. "Uh, we didn't order that," I said.
"It's on the house, sir," she said.
Oh. "Thank you." I must have grinned from ear to ear. Nothing pleases a glutton more than free food.
This picture here was taken after we had eaten half of the nachos. The dip was very nice.
We realized later that not all the customers were served these free samples. In fact, those two plates were probably the only two plates that were given out at that particular moment.
So, again, the moral of the story: always smile to those who serve you.
I mean, I am not a handsome, attractive young guy. And I was obviously with someone who is not my sister. But that waitress had chosen to give us the free sample probably because she thought it more worthwhile to give it to a person who was friendly enough to smile at her. I mean, it is very probable that such a person will be more grateful for the free sample she was about to give, compared to that grumpy-looking guy at the next table.
So, smile to those who serve you. Unless, of course, you look like Jack Nicholson.
In any case, at least be friendly.
***
To further convince you about the need to be friendly to those who serve you food, here's an anecdote I heard from a restaurateur friend:
In a posh restaurant, a customer as grumpy as Grumpy called for the waiter.
"This steak is overdone. Ask your chef to make another."
The waiter duly conveyed the message, and although the chef did not quite agree with the customer's opinion, he made another steak, because, well, customers are always right, aren't they?
The new steak was served, but obviously it did not please the customer either, because the waiter was called again almost immediately.
"This one is too rare. What do I look like to you? A wild animal with fangs and claws? Ask your chef to make another."
The waiter was a bit apprehensive about how the chef would take it, but, fortunately, the chef was still able to contain his anger. Nevertheless, instead of making a fresh new steak, he simply reheated the one that the customer said was undercooked.
A short while after the reheated steak was served, the customer called for the waiter again.
"Now this is too hard! How am I supposed to eat this? Do I look like I have steel teeth? Ask your chef to make another!"
This time, the chef was furious, and he was starting to make a scene in the kitchen. So the manager came to find out what the problem was. After understanding the situation, the manager placed the steak on the kitchen counter, took off one of his hard-heeled leather shoes, and started to pound the steak with his shoe. In between bouts of pounding, he spat on the steak.
"Serve this," he then told the waiter.
So the waiter served the "specially treated" steak, feeling both happy (he was tempted to join the manager) and worried (would the customer notice?).
To his surprise, the nitpicking customer finished the steak, and left him this comment: "My compliments to the chef. The tastiest and most tender steak I've ever had."
:-)
Bon Appétit.
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