“Why, sure,” I answered.
Taking the pitcher of juice from the drinks station, I went to the guest to pour out the drink.
“Can I have some ice,” the guest asked with her glass extended mid-air as I place down the pitcher at the drink station about five feet away.
“Certainly,” I responded.
But I did not act immediately to bring the guest the ice. Was it the guest’s tone of voice? Was it the fact that the ice station was so close that she could have stood up to get the ice herself? Was it the fact that she did not bother to thank me when I refilled her glass? Keeping my pride in check, I brought the guest some ice. I knew that waiting on guests would be part of the work when I volunteered to help friends at their beach resort.
And so it went the whole day of showing guests the restrooms, of kitchen duty, of rushing food to the impatient guests (ala “Hell’s Kitchen”), and generally making the guests feel pampered.
The experience brought back memories of corporate events I used to manage. Then, I had a lot of staff who, at my command, took care of the menial tasks. This time, I was just one of the staff of a lean team.
Indeed, it was a humbling experience at my friend’s resort. My appreciation for people who work to serve was brought several notches higher. The chamber maids, the waiters, the dish washers, and the maintenance crew are just a few.
I made a mental note to be generous with my tips and show of gratitude the next time I am served.
~ ~^ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~^ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~
It was not all work at the resort. My friends and I arrived a day prior to the event. We had fun shopping for provisions at provincial markets along the way.
Arriving at the resort, we took time to cool off in the pool
and marveled at the beautiful sunset.
On the day itself, there were many happy instances like joking and occasionally bursting into song with the kitchen staff as meals were being prepared. And after the guests have been served and had moved on to their karaoke session, the staff took a breather to lunch on the same delicious meal served to the guests.
I readily said yes when asked if I would come back to help out in future events at the resort. This on the condition that the same sumptuous breakfast spread be served: garlic rice, scrambled eggs, fried dried danggit and bistek tagalog.
Serve bistek tagalog to your family as well and you’ll get a huge tip in the form of their satisfied smiles.
Bistek Tagalog
Ingredients:
1 lb beef sirloin, thinly sliced (if meat happens to be tough, pound on it with the back of your knife to tenderize it)
1/4 cup soy sauce
Juice from 3-4 pieces calamansi or 1 lemon
A dash or two of ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced into rings
4-5 tbsp cooking oil
salt to taste
1. Marinade beef in soy sauce, calamansi or lemon juice, and ground black pepper and place in the fridge overnight.
2. In the morning, heat the cooking oil in a pan then stir fry the onion rings until they become soft and translucent. Set aside.
3. In the same pan where the onions were fried, fry the marinated beef. Add oil as needed. Remove from pan when done and set aside.
5. Pour the marinade into the pan. Bring to a quick boil then lower heat.
6. Put in the fried beef and simmer for a few minutes or until meat is tender.
7. Season with salt.
8. Transfer the beef to a platter, pour the resulting sauce over the beef and top with the fried onion rings.
9. Serve hot with lots of rice.
No comments:
Post a Comment