戴著手套的前台服務生，熟練地將一杯杯醬油注滿、蓋妥，再依序排列成行。這一幕，讓我想起多年前在香港餐館廚房暑期打工的日子。
每天清晨，火尚未點、鍋尚未熱，我便開始為即將到來一天的忙碌備戰——補齊所有醬油、鹽、糖、醋，把昨夜冰凍的瓜菜一一解凍，逐樣備妥中午所需的每一道材料。那是一段節奏明快、汗水交織的歲月。
午市一過，廚房稍得喘息。短暫的空檔裡，師傅們會順手教我幾招實用的廚藝技巧。記得第一次學的是怎麼正確的拿刀切菜，然後師傅就教我怎麼「拆雞」— 就是把一隻完整的煮熟的雞切成小塊，然後將它原封不動地還原回盤。
Wearing gloves, the front-of-house waitress deftly fills each small cup with soy sauce, seals them tightly, then lines them up in perfect rows. The scene brings me back to my summer job years ago in a Hong Kong restaurant kitchen.
Every morning, before the stoves were lit or the woks were hot, I would begin preparations for the busy day ahead—refilling all the soy sauce, salt, sugar, and vinegar, defrosting the vegetables frozen the night before, and getting every ingredient ready for the lunch rush. It was a time marked by sweat and rhythm, fast-paced but deeply formative.
After the lunch service ended, the kitchen would settle into a rare moment of calm. During these short breaks, the chefs would casually pass down practical kitchen tricks. I still remember the very first thing I learned: how to properly hold a knife to cut vegetables. Not long after, I was taught how to “break down a chicken”—cutting a fully cooked bird into pieces, and then arranging it neatly back onto the plate as if untouched.