About a week ago I met up with my Dad at our shop just around lunch time. We frequent a very small Chinese food restaurant called the Green Garden, which is found in Porter Creek - a subdivision in Whitehorse.
The Green Garden is one of those quaint, 'nothing special' little places... all those little non-details make it a good place to go. There is a squeeky wooden screen door that opens to an older, not very clean looking metal door. The inside space is quite small but manages to fit about four or five tables that each seat four and another two tables that each seat two. The big west facing windows have some spindly live plants along with some plastic flowers for balance.
On the other side, the outdoors side of the two big picture windows, is a dining deck. There are two white plastic picnic tables with umbrellas sitting askew on fake green turf. The area is surrounded on each side by original wrought iron railings that remind me of our entry way where I grew up. The railings have Christmas lights originally from some far gone previous year.
Beyond the deck is a dusty area that in other places would be concrete or pavement. Next to that is the sidewalk, then Centennial Street, then a weed filled boulevard that buffers onto the Alaska Highway.
If you take a seat inside the restaurant you can see the menu that was long ago written on faded bristol board that is now faded. You can see the Chinese writing that the cooks to read if they must, to fill the orders. You also notice that the counter which houses the till is small, sometimes barely holding all the brown paper take-out bags. There is usually room just large enough to pay for the meal.
And again, if you eat-in, you are treated with the traditional paper placemat that gives what year we are in, including the ceremonial animal, your birth year and what animal you are associated with. To drink, I always have green tea along with a glass of water. The meal comes with wooden chop sticks that are still fused together and are presented in a sealed paper packet. As you sit relaxing, drinking your tea and reading the placemat, you hear the Asian people speak loudly at each other in a language I don't understand.
I love this 'normal' 'nothing special' 'hard working' place.
I think my Dad knew I was on my way in from Laberge and was kind enough to save me some chow mein, 2 chicken balls, (no prawns left), and the fortune cookie from his take-out lunch. We both always order this Combo # 3. My fortune:
I carried this fortune around in my pocket for the rest of the week. It is a pretty inspiring little piece of paper, not to mention one that brings me hope considering some events of these past months. Then when I was helping my folks out in the lobby of our family business I found yet another fortune. Originally I thought I had dropped mine, but discovered it was different.
Equally as 'feel good' I decided to put it too in my pocket. At first I wondered if it was bad luck to pick up the fortune of another... but decided that it is worth 2x the original value. :)