Sight-seeing no longer draw much attention to me unless there are some new destinations that pop up once in a while. Hence, I find that meeting someone you know, who you can call, a friend, is a highlight to me already. It seems like a meaningful and stimulating conversation can be more fulfilling and comforting than seeing the familiar sights of visited places.
In my recent trip to New York, I met Bro’s ex-colleague. She introduced me to her sister-in-law, from Hong Kong whom I thought is such a lovely person.
We met at Hard Rock Café at Times Square at 7pm. I suggested the venue as I thought everyone in this city should know where HRC is situated. I was early and I stood patiently at HRC’s entrance and there was a non-stop flow of people walking in front of me. It was dark already and as it was a weekend, I think the number of people in the street just doubled up.
Finally, a voice calling my name came from the crowd and I instantly sighted two quite petite Chinese girls with broad smiles and excited hand gestures. We greeted each other like we have known each other for years. As we joined the crowd, we walked to Olive Garden, a famous Italian Restaurant, centrally located with a great view of Times Square and the splitting of Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
The queue for a table would take one and a half hour, so we decided to wait at the bar with our drinks as starter. I ordered a Riesling and we blended in like any other New Yorkers. Our conversation was dominantly in Cantonese, and my inquisitive mind queried about their lives here in New York. It feels great to converse in our own mother-tongue and still feel like a New Yorker in this kind of setting.
After some waiting, our buzzer vibrated, which means our table is ready. I haven’t come across a long wait which was so much fun, since a long time ago. Our stomachs were growling but we managed to use our heads when ordering the food. We started with salad with freshly baked Italian bread, and then followed by a great Italian sampler of appetizers and for main, we had ravioli and tiramisu for closure. The portions were huge but surprisingly, we finished it all, clean!
We talked about life, our backgrounds, our recent encounters and our aspirations. We talked about Bro a lot and some travel plans to make routine lives bearable.
When the time reached almost 11pm, we bid our goodbyes in the middle of Times Square. We took some photos and some with passer-bys whom didn’t seem to mind at all. Like tourists we snapped away and soon, we departed to our separate ways. I walked back to 57th Street at Seventh Avenue and the girls left to take a subway all the way back to New Jersey.
Although it was late, I didn’t feel afraid at all. The streets were still very much filled with people and traffic flow was as busy as during the day. I walked back with my stomach filled and most importantly, my heart smiling again…
