(1306) Tumour

Lately the food served during breakfast came out late for a few days. At first I attributed it to heavy rains in the mornings. Yesterday I turned up at 7:15am, only one noodle was fried and three side dishes were out. They were: eggs sunny side up, bitter gourd stuffed with fish meat and brinjal cooked as the gourd. I was surprised. The customer in front of me asked why they were so very late. The lady boss said her cook was on MC. He had a tumour in his neck. The assistant cook and the cook's boy were having a hard time filling in. Normally at 7:00am there were at least three types of noodles and at least 8 dishes. Besides those three listed above, we have deep fried egg roll, curry taufu pok (fried tofu stuffed), fried pork hakka style, barbecue meat slices, and squid in dark sauce.

This is the second cook I knew of taken ill. The first one had an abcess in his abdomen.He elected to return to his village in the interior and not trust government surgeons. One restaurant owner called it occupational disease. Most cooks have been apprenticed from age twelve. They were usually from poor families. The position in the kitchen enabled them to have much opportunity to eat what they like, within reasons. The consumption of unlimited food bad for them over time bred ill health. A skillful cook earns $1,200 per month with housing, two meals a day and sometimes a second hand car for marketing. That is considered good remuneration here for a local who did not get an educational certificate at age 17.