This entry was inspired (or rather provoked) by my very recent visit to AEON Jusco last Tuesday, my off day. Took my wife out to the mainland to keep her sane. We ended up in AEON Jusco having lunch at Sushi King. It was pretty early, just after noon and I had breakfast at 10:30am. So, my next meal was supposed to be at 2:30pm. But since the boss was hungry we went ahead and had lunch. Or rather she had lunch and I ordered a snack. I ordered an Agedashi Tofu.
And that is where it began. It triggered some thoughts that I had which I had pushed aside but now it’s crept up again. My Agedashi Tofu was horrible.
This is how an Agedashi Tofu should be like... deep-fried tofu in some tentsuyu sauce garnished with daikon, ginger and spring onions. In some variations you get julienned seaweed and/or bonito flakes.
What I got instead was deep-fried tofu drowning in supposedly tentsuyu but tasted like soyu with water and garnished with spring onions. I was upset! This was the first time it came out like this.... even for Sushi King. I glanced over at the prep area to see who the idiots were preparing the food... as usual... young cikus. Sigh!
It seems like we are doomed...
My wife and I had his discussion before... we no longer enjoy most fast foods as they no longer represent what they used to be... even KFC... and if we look closely at who the people who were preparing the food, it was the same... young cikus.
Before some of you start foaming in the mouth, the issue here is not so much the young cikus (although it is a big part of the problem). I was a young ciku before too but I never did produce substandard shit like these people do. And for the record, as a young ciku, at the very tender age of 19, I was crowned Master Bartender and represented Malaysia the following year... chewahhh!! Ko ada?
Anyways, back to the issue... society these days teach tasks and not results...
The next time you’re queuing at McDs, take a look at the ‘factory line’ producing the burgers and observe. They just pile the accompaniments... how they do it is of no consequence and when you open your so-called burger, it is a mess. Of course, everything is there but generally just in a mess. McDs normally serve good fries as their turnover is pretty good and the facilities better. But try having fries at KFC... if you do get them as good as McD in KFC, please buy 4D!! They don’t give a rats ass anymore... even if it is cold and dry, they still dish it out. Just like how my simple tofu dish went awry... to the person who prepared it, the tofu is the main ingredient and the rest probably was not important... to him at least. So missing out on the daikon, ginger and seaweed was no big deal... to him.
Let’s take a look at it from another example. My wife got her driver’s license months ago. She was ecstatic about it and came home saying “I can drive!”... I said, “No, you got your license, you can’t drive yet”... obviously she was upset with me as she felt I was not supportive and did not want to give her credit for passing... but I was just being truthful... there was more to driving than she understood and I was sure she would learn over time... from me. What she didn’t quite understand then was that I knew driving schools teach you to pass the test... not how to drive... that is the problem. I am sure some of you don’t understand either.
Okay... in the driving school, when learning your parking they will tell you to count the poles when doing your parking. You reverse to a certain pole then maneuver in and voila, you are parked.
When I was taught that, I asked my instructor.... so, when I go parking at the shopping mall or on my own, I have to bring these poles along and place them so I can count them before I park? Duhhh...
See what I mean now? They teach you to pass the test... not how to drive.
My wife had to unlearn what she learnt to some extent. I taught her the use of the A pillars and B pillars in the car. I explained to her that these pillars are where your wheels are located and if you don’t know where your wheels are then you can’t maneuver your car effectively.
In school we are taught to pass the exams... that was the focus. Just like driving schools... maybe that’s why I am not messed up coz I was never in class while in school. Therefore, I was not subjected to the brainwash of memorising the answers. Yeah, believe it or not... the only class that I attended was Chemistry (you don't mess with Mrs Ho!!)... all other classes I skipped all the time. I never skipped school but I skipped most of my classes.
Another example, close to home... my culinary team here. Frankly, I gave up on them. You can’t teach people to cook if they have no interest to cook. Just like the young cikus in McDs and Sushi King and whatnot. Cooking is a passion. As soon as someone tells you that it is a job, game over! Start looking for a replacement.
I watched many times as the guys here prepare a simple dish of Aglio e Olio. Very simple indeed but if you don’t know what and why you’re doing what you’re doing, the dish is gone. As the name suggests, it is about the garlic and olive oil. A chef who knows what he is doing would start with a low to medium heat pan, add the oil, then very quickly after the oil, add the garlic. The whole idea is to sweat the garlic so it infuses with the oil. The goal is NOT to burn the garlic as garlic is bitter when burnt or too brown. They are taught to sauté the garlic. If you ask them why and how it should be done, they have absolutely no clue. And when you try to teach them, they’re just to stubborn to listen. Just because you are employed as a cook, does not mean you cook better than me or you know more about food than me.
Likewise, just because you use a fancy ass phone does not mean that you know more about it than me. I had someone ask me... is your iPhone ‘jailbreak’? You mean jailbroken? No... I think it is comfortable in its jail. Then I asked... yours is I assume. Tethered or untethered? He goes blur on me... so I rephrase my question. If you rebooted your phone, does it remain jailbroken? Hmmm... don’t know... Hmmm... never mind then. I wanted to ask why he had his phone jailbroken but I thought I’d better spare myself the misery.
And on the flipside of this... one of my subordinates asked me a question the other day. I looked at him and said, Geesh, I don’t know... why don’t you go and ask Mr. X. He looked at me bewildered. And I said, what? Just because I am number two here does not mean I know everything! Tiu...
Back to the issue... ummm... what is the issue, really? Sigh...
There was a time when people used Job Description but we use Job Scope. What’s the difference? If you give a person a job description he or she will perform exactly as described and if not described then it will not be done. A job scope gives some parameters and anything within those parameters has to be done. Basically, one is task based while the latter is results based.
I guess the issue is that we do not teach to achieve results. We teach to accomplish a set of tasks.
Is the issue with the parents or the issue with the children? Is the issue with the system and the teachers or is the issue with the students? Or is it the environment?
Then there is the issue of formula milk. There are those who swear by formula milk and that nothing else is good enough for their kids. Well, if you can afford it why the hell not? But if you can’t, what’s wrong with the normal stuff? I grew up with the blue and red Dumex. So, did a lot of others. The last time I checked my IQ was 131. What’s the point of providing formula milk to your kid when you’re not going to give your kid the environment to grow his or her mind? So which is more important? The environment to learn in or the formula milk? Ideally, both... but which is more important?
Enough of rambling for today lah... all it takes is one thing to make me upset and my mind starts avalanching with all this shit.
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