[Alby]

so the boathouse staff are A-sexual - strippers ...hmmm reason enough just to go there out curiosity.

[midorosan]

was not writing about the grammar simply the appalling usage particularly of "like". As for capital letters and semi colons this is the age of instant messaging and this forum is not exactly the halls of academe, no offense of course. Nice to know that there are a few of you who know what punctuation is.
You will be happy to know that I am old enough to be grandpa to most of you and therefore assume the right to be grumpy.
regards to you all.

[RachRobin]

Getting back to the topic of the original post, I have to say I completely agree with PDLM's analysis.
I am an expat that has had the misfortune to work in HK's hospitality scene. The experience (which was thankfully short lived) sucked the life right out of me. I have been in the industry (elsewhere in the world) for 18 years.
Gawdchyld mentions "out on a wonderful night in Stanley" - I would assume the group had already had dinner etc. and were just looking for a place to sit, sip their warm water and pose. Perhaps order a herbal tea or someone might do something completely irrational and order a glass of wine. To share.
Trying to run a restaurant as a business and tolerate the local 'dining habits' is virtually impossible.
May I suggest the Boathouse 'saw you coming' and knew if they waited they would find some real customers that wanted to eat and drink as the food and wine gods intended.
It doesn't excuse bad manners. Unfortunately, bad manners seem to come easy when you are expected to work 6 days, lunch and dinner for less pay than you would get cleaning toilets at IFC. And smile while you're doing it.

[ScotchDrinker]

>>It doesn't excuse bad manners. Unfortunately, bad manners seem to come easy when you are expected to work 6 days, lunch and dinner for less pay than you would get cleaning toilets at IFC. And smile while you're doing it.>>

I'm sorry but they're making much better money than they ever will back in their home country. And as far as I know they manage to support their family pretty well with "less pay than what the cleaning ladies get".

If it's such a hard chore for them then in my opinion they can just f*ck off home. We all have to smile and "be nice" at work but most of us don't give people attitude day in day out.

[goleoboy]

it's so sad that the 'dining out' experience in hk is such a hurried affair. on our trip to paris we were genuinely shocked that we can literally chill and sit at a restaurant/cafe for an hour over a glass of wine and dessert ... and the waiters didn't think anything of it... even in NYC they don't treat customers as if they're just a walking dollar-sign (at least they have the courtesy not to SHOW it) and most places let you take your time with your meal... but in hk you really can't just relax at a restaurant unless you're at a really upscale joint or a hotel buffet. most places once you have your last bite, you're expected to be 1/2 way out the door already...it really sucks and really takes the joy out of eating out. i'm kinda surprised to see those who are the most vocal on here sympathizing with the RESTAURANT SIDE are actually expats - who've probably been more accustomed to enjoying a relaxing non-rushed restaurant experience back home. i guess Hong Kong changes you no matter where you're from...

also, not sure why so many forums on here end up with people throwing punches at each other about english/grammar correctness... hello?! being a native english speaker doesn't make you any more special than being native chinese speaker. so what if the original poster isn't a native english speaker... what does that have to do with anything? at least she's probably bilingual

[goleoboy]

Also, 'local dining habits' along with 'local shopping habits' and 'local entertainment habits' etc...is what drives the bulk of the hk economy... because...well, this is HK and uhh local chinese people live here...? if you actually venture outside the bubble you'll see that you're actually in China...

[PDLM]

I rarely have a problem taking my time over a meal in Hong Kong. I've had quite a few long relaxed lunches at the Boathouse, often after hiking over there from the mid-levels. But then even when I'm in relaxed mode I, and the people I am with, are probably spending at about HK$100 per person per hour so I guess the restaurant has no problem with that. Spending an hour over a glass of wine and dessert at the Boathouse would, I am sure, be no problem at all. Provided that it is per person, not one dessert and one glass of wine being shared by a table of four.

Restaurants that let their tables be occupied by people who aren't spending money when there are others waiting who would are not restaurants that will be around for long.

[Alby]

Originally Posted by ScotchDrinker

>>It doesn't excuse bad manners. Unfortunately, bad manners seem to come easy when you are expected to work 6 days, lunch and dinner for less pay than you would get cleaning toilets at IFC. And smile while you're doing it.>>

I'm sorry but they're making much better money than they ever will back in their home country. And as far as I know they manage to support their family pretty well with "less pay than what the cleaning ladies get".

If it's such a hard chore for them then in my opinion they can just f*ck off home. We all have to smile and "be nice" at work but most of us don't give people attitude day in day out.

The last time I was in the Boathouse the staff was mix.

I just want to point out that several of the Nepalese that work in HK service sector ARE in FACT Hong Kong Permanent Residences many 2nd and 3rd generation as their grandparents were Ghurkas .... so in fact the working generation today that are Nepalese are born, raised, educated in Hong Kong thus they have "**** off home" as you have put it.

[Krad]

Wow, how did this topic get so off track? How'd we go from talking about strippers, beer, and semicolons to talking about restaurants? Can we get back on topic please?

[Lammarite]

Originally Posted by PDLM

I rarely have a problem taking my time over a meal in Hong Kong.

Likewise- we quite often sit out for a while at various places and don't feel like we have to move on. This is not always at 'gwailo' places either- we have enjoyed taking our time at the restaurants in Shek O, Lamma, Sai Kung etc as well as a couple of the places in town which have a sitting out area or people watching zones!