Emperical Meal

In the midst of lameness and boredom, it's nice to have events like this one, once in a while, deo volente...

A friend studying Hotel Management in KDU nearby, extended an invitation for a meal in KDU's own restaurant. Not the canteen, but something you get in hotels when they are serving buffets and whatnot.

He told me that students from the KDU School of Hospitality, Tourism and Hotel Management will be serving us. I thought it a nice and interesting event, and so I went. They would be training their students, hands-on, and we will be their convenient targets of practice. Hmm...

So I went there, parked my humble motorbike among the splendid fleet of other bikes, and went into the college, and found our destination.

Having already prepared myself for this, I stopped by the registration. Of course, even the welcome-staff were students giving out shaky and unrefined 'Hello sir'. Naturally, naturally.

We were shown our seats, and before managing to sit down, were halted by their lecturer, or master-trainer as I prefer to call him. He asked my man the course of his showing. The guy was taken back, and replied in the positive. Master-trainer beckoned for the guy at the registration and asked him to check his books. Immediately both were puzzled, and that prompted a minor tap on the wrist for the duo.

All the time I was standing there, helmet in hand, bag over shoulders, unsure as to my disposition. What do you do when your peers are given a drubbing? So I stood there, and was immensely glad when the master-trainer was satisfied and showed me my table.

Not forgetting that during the stint, about 20 other students were looking at us, me the unwilling participant. I threw a nervous, half-humoured glance at my friend, and he merely smiled and shrugged.

Given the nature of my beginning, I suppose that readers can now easily anticipate what happened thereon. At every interval, I was entertained by the sight of the master-trainer lecturing his apprentices on subjects I never noticed, for instance the size of each member of cutlery and their respective use. Even their posture of carrying our water jug and meals were reprimanded and corrected. I failed to control my grin, when at one occasion, this guy was walking briskly to the kitchen. His progress was halted by the master-trainer, who took on a perfectly mocking imitation of the former's stroll, before stopping in front of the bewildered guy and lectured him on the racket his footsteps was creating and how the hotel managers are going to chase him outside. Really, it was all very amusing.

I may sound very sardonic and all, but I really admired the manner of which the students trained under. Coming here opened my eyes as to how these people are trained and how they studied, refining their skills and character, until they are ready to play on a bigger stage. The process is definitely not easy; I noticed a few reluctant ones. I respected them.

I had my meal and was thanked by my friend on my leaving the place. I thanked him for inviting and told him to work hard at his thing, and we parted.

It was really an eye-opener. And when you compare them with the way things are at my own college...

Penang has been looking like this.