I’m a two-cups-of-coffee a day person, breakfast and lunch mainly. Nothing fancy, just a filter/Americano/drip with milk and sugar (why there has to be three different ways to ask for “a coffee”, is beyond me). I get my morning coffee each day from Pret a Manger (pronounced: pray ah monjay for you non-French speakers) at Central’s MTR station. I go there, partially because it’s on my way to the office but also because it’s coffee is the cheapest and tastiest around.
Amazingly, since I started buying my coffee at Pret, the price of a regular coffee has only increase by 10% to HK$20 (compared with these prices). Also, ordering my coffee has also improved from the shambles that used to occur when I first started. The conversation used to go something like this: “I’ll have a white filter, please,” to which the young Nepalese behind the counter would reply, “Pardon?” After repeating the order, the barista shouts it to the nearest person to the filter coffee maker. In the meantime, while I’m waiting, I would listen to other orders being taken without a second question. This was particularly irksome, because the requests were usually delivered in a mumbled fashion for some sort of exotic combination such as “skimmed latte” or a variant of such. For a while, I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong: I was speaking in my clearest Queen’s English, but every time I asked for my coffee, I was asked to repeat myself.
Fortunately, as time passed, the baristas have come to recognize me, and know what I want. In fact, as soon as I enter the store, someone will shout out “white filterrrr!” So now I don’t need to say anything. It also means, that, ever so often, I’m treated to a free coffee.
Although communications were difficult to begin with, my persistance has been rewarded, and there’s been an extra bonus, because, once in a while, when I’m least expecting it, the baristas will give me a free coffee. So, now I have two places (the other being Dan Ryan’s) where I can get my daily caffeine fix – for free.
