Roadside Restaurant Win

The dish shown above was made by a local roadside restaurant here on Ko Yo. We ate at the restaurant for the first time a few days ago. We were happy with the taste of the food and the price. We had discovered the restaurant a few days before that when the owners gave us some information about a mobile vegetable cart nearby. At that time, they hadn't opened yet so we had to wait a few days before we could eat there.

Earlier, we ate there again for the second time. We wanted to order something vegetarian for Haruna. We asked if they could replace the meat, typically found in basil rice dishes, with tofu instead. They said that they certainly could and that it would be no problem. When she tasted the food, Haruna expressed her delight at the amazing taste. I tried it too and it was really good. This isn't the first time we ask a restaurant if they could serve up some tofu instead of meat. However, I'd like to compare the experience we just had at the roadside eatery with another restaurant we had stopped at beforehand.

We've been living on Ko Yo for a week and a day. We had limited our options to two different houses before opting for where we're at now. Earlier, while exploring the island and looking for a restaurant at the same time, we stopped by at a restaurant with a big red sign right across the road from the house we hadn't picked. We sat and were given menus by one of the owners. I presented the menu to Haruna and we picked out two different dishes. One of the owners came to take our order and when I asked about replacing meat with tofu, she started telling us very loudly that they couldn't do that. Meanwhile, her husband, who was sitting two tables away, started bitching and moaning about how if we wanted vegan food, we should go to a vegan restaurant. He kept going on and on. "This isn't the restaurant for that kind of thing," he said in an incredibly irritated tone of voice. I had to wait for him to finish his long rant before I had the opportunity to translate to Haruna what all the fuss was about.

I told her and then we just left without saying anything. Obviously, these restaurateurs don't need the business. In fact, they must be very well off to be able to suggest we go find another restaurant. Some people just aren't eager to serve. They're not willing to do a little more. Considering it's the pandemic and a lot of the restaurants on the island normally depend on the travellers passing through to make their cheddar, it's interesting how the big red attitudes of the big red restaurant can afford to shoo customers away. And I don't blame them for wanting to do less work but some of the restaurants I always revisit have won my customership by going the extra mile. While the roadside restaurant had absolutely no problem taking our customized order, the unambitious couple managing the restaurant with the big red sign were very annoyed by our request. 

Attitude matters. It's unlikely that we would return to the big red restaurant with the big red attitude. The true attitude should be one that's ready to serve. They could've simply said that they didn't have tofu or that they weren't able to change the ingredients for that particular dish. They could've also offered other alternatives. Going off on a rant about our special request, acting super annoyed, and suggesting we go to a different place are ridiculous ways of treating customers. I would want to be a restaurateur that could accommodate the various needs and wants of different individuals; one that would be willing to go the extra mile to satisfy customers. Thank goodness for the roadside restaurant for providing excellent service at good prices.