The Food Buff

As I sit in my office, sipping my morning coffee my eyes fell on my watch ..11.10am ..

“You can’t be late !! Be there Sharp 11.10am. Not a minute late..”

Our food connoisseur, popularly called as Mr Hoo-ber , was very very particular about time ..being the first one in food queue gave him adrenaline rush, a rare one ..I’m serious . Don’t believe me?

It was a bitter cold Wednesday morning in August of 2018. It was 11am. We were working on 29th floor of a beautiful heart shaped building overlooking the splendid Swan river, when my phone buzzed with a message from Mr Hoo-ber ----

"Hey Rich, make sure you guys are at QV1, “sharp” 11.10am for ramen . And mind you, these ramen are no ordinary noodles...These are really really good, second best outside Japan."

We put our laptops to sleep and rushed to the lift as fast as we could. Remember 11.10am, not a minute late. We dared not upset Mr Hoo-ber. He was generous enough to take us to a new lunch place, every single day, during our stay.

Mr Hoo-ber could eat anything, anytime of the day. He was a food veteran ..While he probably only visited Singapore, Australia and japan , he had touched every corner of the world through ” food “..and yes, nothing could deter him from eating . Not even the hot chilli that made him sweat miserably. Well, our Mr Hoo-ber would just smile while wiping sweat from one hand and continue eating from the other. No restaurants / cafes have gone unnoticed from his radar. He could take you to the “second best food outside every country”.

We ran across the streets as fast as we could and finally reached QV1 at 11.15am. But Mr Hoo-ber wasn’t in food queue. My eyes fell on my phone. It was flooded with numerous message in a span of just 5mins. “Where are you”. “It’s already 11.10”. “Remember I told you we all need to be in queue”. “I can’t hold the table for all of you”. “Ok I am getting inside the ramen place”. “I am sitting in a corner”.

Without further delay, we entered the restaurant. We were given a warm greeting in Japanese style. It was a small place with 4 tables. We saw Mr Hoo-ber sitting in the corner.

“Hello Mr Hoo-ber. Sorry we are late by 5minutes.” but Mr Hoo-ber did not look at us. He was busy filling the ramen noodle order form. Before we could take a look, he pressed the bell and submitted the forms to the waiter. We were late after all, by 5minutes.

“I have ordered ramen for all of you. based on your personalities, I know what each one of you would like”, said Mr Hoo-Ber. He was a food genius after all.

Next, he distributed the complimentary hard boiled brown eggs amongst us. I was amazed to find that while I was half-way peeling my egg, he had finished eating 2 eggs already. He took my half -peeled egg and generously peeled it for me. He offered some mayo sauce and explained how these sauces were the speciality of Japan and enhanced the taste of eggs. He also taught us how to grind the sesame seeds like professionals.

While we were waiting for food, he talked one after the other about different kinds of food. It was no surprise that every cafe or restaurant in the city knew him.

“Mr Hoo-ber , you should be a food consultant or a food critic. Or, maybe you should start blogging about food”, said I.

Gleaming with pride, Mr Hoo-ber blushed. “Yes my friends love me. I recommend the best food. Even those who are fussy about food, rate my recommendations 10/10.”

And, finally our ramens arrived. Indeed, they were sumptuous, as Mr Hoo-ber had described. In matter of minutes, Mr Hoo-ber finished his noodles. After gazing at us for 15minutes while we were struggling to finish the noodles, he finally said “are you guys done eating or want to eat more. I still have room for Japanese buns and coffee from the shop across the street”.

We respected Mr Hoo-ber’s wishes and followed him. While we did a take -away for 1 chocolate Japanese bun each, Mr Hoo-ber easily had 4varieties of buns- chocolate, whipped cream, azuki beans and matcha with a double espresso. As always, Mr Hoo-ber added, “these are the second best Japanese buns outside Japan”.

As we prepared to leave, we heard his voice from the far. ”How about starting your day tomorrow with the doughnuts from Chu bakery. They are really really nice. Well don’t forget they open at 6.30am. And don’t worry, I will come and pick you”.

Mr Hoo-ber is a celebrity in his own way. If you ever want to try any food with him, there would be absolutely no trouble to find him, for people would just say -MR Hoo-ber , oh you mean the food guy 🤣