Specifically got off the main highway to have lunch here. I annually have to make a trip between Calgary and Brandon, and have stopped here during several of those trips, as this is the kind of place that employed my father back in the 1950s and 1960s, when Chinese immigrants started coming to Canada, and these small town restaurants were often the only place they could find work.
The people who run this business have been there forever and have a loyal local clientele as I saw several people chatting with the Chinese woman who was serving them, and they all seemed familiar to each other. For my lunch, I wanted something that was a little more of a traditional Chinese dish, but nothing elaborate: curry chicken with vegetables and rice. I had noted that the last time they made it for me here, they used cauliflower as the only vegetable. I asked the other waitress on duty if they would just make it with onions, as the traditional way of making this was with onions and green peppers. A few minutes later, she apologetically came back to say the kitchen refused to cook it that way. I found it odd, so I said "okay, make it with just chicken so it's as simple as can be." A few minutes later, she said the answer was still no. I asked to speak to the Chinese woman (who I could speak Chinese with), and she said it was something they wouldn't do normally, and if I really wanted the dish, they would charge me nearly triple the price on the menu. At that point, I just said make me their number 4 combo plate, which was lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, and fried rice; all westernized Chinese food. It was edible, but nothing I would have come out of my way for.
When I went to pay our bill, I told my server i couldn't understand what the issue was. As someone who had grown up in a Chinese restaurant, I knew how the dish was prepared, and I was trying to make it easier for the restaurant, and something that was of higher value and profit margin. The server told me that the person in the kitchen didn't like making special arrangements for customers for whatever reason. I guess this is the last time I come here. read more