Han's Kitchen

[Gwbiii†]

(( Richard Han continued from : Debate Exposes Doubt ))

Richard had finally made it to Han's Kitchen, his home and the home of the finest Chinese cuisine in town; In his opinion anyway. It was a decent sized restaurant not far from the school with a glass and wood façade and "Han's Kitchen" with a Chinese approximation thereof written above it in large, painted red letters. His father had thought neon would be better but mum decided it'd look too tacky, and looking tacky was the last thing she wanted. It had taken longer than usual to get back by bus, and it was around four o'clock when he did. Regardless, the restaurant didn't open until five and most of the traffic didn't come in until around five thirty, six. He walked up the steps leading to the front entrance and disregarded the "closed" sign hanging off the knob inside as he opened the door.

The first thing anyone notices on entering Han's Kitchen is the red, red carpet, red wall hangings, red tablecloths, red serviettes, red. The second thing is the smell, the aroma from the kitchen was ever present, though since it hadn't been used since the night before the rich smell of wood was more obvious. This came from the dark, lacquered wooden floorboards, side panels and roof which framed all of the red and dominated the ceiling, broken only by the lanterns which cast a mild golden light over everything. Or would, anyway, once the sun went down and people started turning up.

Richard's mother, a stout, middle-aged woman wearing a traditional black dress with a white apron tied around it and a kind face, was setting out the night's tablecloths as he came in. She looked up and smiled as he came in and he left his bag by the door and went to help.

"You're late aren't you?" she said, smiling.
He grabbed a tablecloth and shook it out over a table, moving it around so that it sat straight. "Yeah, school ran a bit late, then I missed the bus so, here I am!"
"So not hanging around with a new girlfriend you haven't told us about then?" She teased him about that pretty often, and always laughed the same way; Friendlily and without a hint of cruelty. Though even she knew it was kind of old.
He half rolled his eyes and looked at his mother with an eyebrow raised as he waved another tablecloth open, "Hardly."
They chatted for a while about school work and Richard's lack of a love life, and school work and, well, more of the same. Until all the tables were set and he took his bag upstairs. Dad wouldn't be back for another half an hour or so, and mum was still setting up downstairs, So he warmed up a few leftovers and plonked himself down on the couch to watch some Naruto. Upstairs was completely different from downstairs, it was calm, comfortable, if pastel could describe the feel of a place, this was it. Despite the fact his parents were relatively wealthy they had quite subdued tastes. For instance, this couch had been around forever, covered with a creamy crocheted blanket, and it was the centre of activity to a large extent. The three of them would often sit there together and watch this or that. It was... cosy.

A while later, his father arrived home and came upstairs. He was quite a tall man, dressed neatly in appropriate "private doctor" garb, with neatly combed black hair and neat, shiny black shoes. This all belied the fact that he was a very relaxed guy, actually.
"Hey! How was school?" he asked in standard Mandarin, dad always liked to try and keep Richard's Chinese sharp, including his Cantonese, which he'd often swap into mid-conversation.
"Not bad, not great either, how was work?" Richard replied with the same.
He fell back next to Richard and kicked his shoes off. "Like you wouldn't believe, some of these people, I dunno..." he sighed. "Anyway, what are you watching?" He rattled this last question off in Canto, expecting the same from Richard, and getting it.
"Naruto, like usual, just re-watching some old episodes I haven't seen in a while" Swapping languages made it a little harder than just keeping to one, but Richard was pretty used to it.

They just sat around and watched TV for half an hour or so more before customers started arriving and Richard figured he'd go down and help out with the cooking.
"Still good for Iron Chef tonight?"
"Yeah! Wouldn't miss it."

He headed downstairs into the kitchen itself, It was open to the rest of the restaurant through a kind of shelf-window hole-thing in the wall. They had a couple of full time chefs and some waiters/waitresses, though his mother was both head-chef and manager and dad could always help out when things got busy, though he was usually pretty worn out from work. He said "hi" to one of the chefs, Stacy, a semi-professional in her early 30s with her hair tied back into a bun, she came from Szechuan province and really knew how to cook the area's food. Michael was back in the store-room, he was a bald Thai guy in his early 20's, and was working there while studying in Uni. Richard scrubbed up, put on a cap and an apron and got to work next to his mother chopping vegetables, with a good view out into the restaurant, which was starting to fill up. Michael came up to the counter with a crate of yet more vegetables. "Hey Richard, looks like it's gonna be a good night."
"Yeah, definitely." He smiled, this was exactly the sort of job he could see himself doing for the rest of his life, and tonight was yet another one to look forward to.


((OOC - Open, food's good and relatively cheap, and Richard can always take a break if someone from school turns up))

[banthesun†]

((Katelyn Wescott's debut. The Wescott family are NPCs))

Cooking for a family six can be hard work. Doing it every night is even harder. Sometimes, when work runs late or children need to be taken to hockey practice, it just can't be done. Sometimes a mother just needs a break. It was under these circumstances that the Wescott family went to Han's Kitchen for an easy, cheap and tasty meal.

"Ma, is there really such thing as a rhinophant?" Sophie asked her mother.

"A what?"

"A rhinophant. Katie showed me a picture of one online."

"Well I guess it must be real then dear."

"See, I told you it was real," whispered Katie.

"Wow!"

Sophie ran on ahead, pleased with her new knowledge. She doubled back and started trying to explain the picture to Ryan. Katie walked next to her older sister Jess. They were both enjoying the scene. Oh the wonders of gullibility.
The Wescott household was only a few blocks away from the restaurant, making it the perfect place for them to go for a meal. Car trips, even short ones, were always a hassle, considering how much time it takes to get everyone organised in the car. A restaurant within walking distance was a must. As such the Wescotts were regulars at Han's Kitchen, they'd practically grown up eating there.

Inside, the regal red restaurant was filled with the smells of the various dishes, in particular the spicy smell of Szechuan cooking. Thankfully there was a table free with enough seats for them. Sophie dashed ahead and hopped onto a red cushioned chair, just ahead of Ryan.

"Hotpot! Hotpot! Hotpot!" she chanted.

"Huo Guo! Huo Guo!" joined in Ryan, trying to show people that he remembered the name Mr Han had taught him.

The family always had to order the spectacle of the hotpot, but mainly for the value of family tradition. Of course, it was always dramatic, and would keep the children entertained. Personally Katelyn preferred the texture of Shuizhu. Everybody in the family had their own favourites. It didn't take long to choose their dishes; they had been through this ritual many times before. After placing their order the parents would talk to Mr Han, and unless things were very busy, the children would go off to play with Richard. Jess was a bit busy with research for uni, and Sophie and Ryan were busy with their own conversation, so Katie was the only one to really take the time to talk to Richard. They slipped out of the restaurant area, so they could talk easier.

"Looks busy, eh? Having fun?"

((Longer than I expected...))

((Katelyn Wescott continued in Decisions, Decisions))

[Gwbiii†]

((sorry for taking forever to reply, mark it down as laziness, also i think i'll represent mandarin with red quotation marks, give it a try anyway.))

*tak tak tak tak tak* turn *tak tak tak tak tak* slide
Richard had settled into an easy rhythm as he cut the cabbage into little pieces and slid it across the wooden cutting board into a bowl, ready for use by the other chefs. The restaurant was pretty well full now, and hey, the Wescott family had just turned up.

"Hey mum, the Wescotts are here"
"Ah, one more cabbage should be plenty, then you can go talk to them."
"Thanks mum."

He took another Napa cabbage out of the crate, lopped off the end and shredded it like the last one, then slid it into the now brimming bowl.

"Great, and you'd best tell dad as well, have fun!"
He nodded, gave a bit of a wave and walked to the stairs, composed himself for a moment and then shouted:
"Dad! Wescotts are here."
"Great! Be down in a sec."

As he headed back out into the restaurant area Katelyn walked up to him and said something barely audible over the noise. At Han's Kitchen, family restaurant meant family restaurant; that included family size noise pollution.
He gestured further back into the building with a general sort of 'let's go over there' wave. "It's a bit loud!"

She nodded, so they did.

"Looks busy, eh? Having fun?"
"Yeah, like always. How've you been? Didn't see you at school today."

((Richard Han continued in Decisions, Decisions))

[Carthrat†]

Your current balance is $552.55. Would you like to make another transaction?

It hadn't been a bad month so far, all things considered. He'd come out ahead, scraping together about ten extra dollars from last month. For a poker player, at least keeping your bankroll steady was a core concern. Without money, you can't make money. Without money, you can't *play*, and that was the fun part.

Pocketing his wallet, Ash started off down the busy sidewalk. He was planning to play tonight, as well. As long as he was back by at least ten, his parents wouldn't raise an eyebrow- they knew him to be a careful child. They didn't know he gambled. If they did, they probably wouldn't be nearly as upset as Ashley thought they would be, but the coward within him didn't see that. What it did see was the cutting of his allowance, and, worst of all, a curfew- and that simply wouldn't do.

Before heading to the ring, though, came dinner. And he knew just the place. The clamour of Han's kitchen was a set of familiar sights and sound by now, and he frequented past almost weekly. Chinese food had been a rare treat before he started coming here a couple of years back, but he'd soon taken a liking too it. That it was cheap- and that a friend worked there- were added perks.

Sauntering inside, he took a quick look around, and started ambling slowly towards an empty table, just near the kitchen. He couldn't see Richard around, but the guy was working here today- at least, he thought he was- and would show up sooner or later.

For now, he ordered some noodles and a coke- he didn't recognize the waitress, she must be new- and soon dropped into his seat. He couldn't resist picking up the chopsticks, though, idly twirling one around his right hand and spinning it on his finger- while his left lightly tapped the table in time with the methodical cutting sounds from the kitchen.