FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. RESTAURANT - SATURDAY NIGHT
Cosy. Sitting opposite to each other, PETER and SON, his WIFE and DAUGHTER are reading the menus.
WIFE: We'll order Lobster Bisque.
PETER: Why? Your home-made Lobster Bisque is on par with the best restaurant in Hong Kong.
WIFE: The standard of this restaurant isn't bad. I want to do some benchmarking.
PETER: Eat right. Okay then, we'll also have Lobster Bisque.
PETER (V.O.): I don't think the food ingredients here can beat my wife's.
They continue to read the menus.
PETER (Cont'd): I think we can skip oysters.
WIFE: Yes, we often have nice ones at home. We'll order other main courses.
PETER: Okay, I'll have Fish & Chips. I want to do some benching marketing with those I had elsewhere.
Act 2
INT. RESTAURANT - CONTINUOUS
A WAITER takes their orders by just listening.
PETER (V.O.): When I was working as a part-time hotel waiter, I did the same sometimes. I had very good memory then.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There wasn't Lobster Bisque in the hotel restaurant menu. The Russian Borscht soup was classic.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Hong Kong high society in the 1960s was less affluent than now. To have shrimps was already a luxury.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My first taste of Lobster Bisque was when I became a professional.
Soon, a main course is presented.
PETER: Oh! How can they serve the main course ahead of the soup! So unprofessional!
WIFE: Never mind. We share our food.
PETER: But the order of courses is quite basic.
PETER (V.O.): That's one of the first things I learned as a waiter.
Then, the Lobster Bisques are served.
PETER: They look good with puff pastry caps.
Peter tastes his Lobster Bisque.
PETER: Having some Thai flavour, it's a little different.
Peter stirs the soup.
PETER (Cont'd): There're two shrimps with shells. But no lobster meat.
WIFE: You shouldn't be comparing with the Lobster Bisque that I prepared at home.
Peter samples the shrimps.
PETER: Oh, they're tasteless! Worse than any Tom Yum soup.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): Shrimps aren't lobsters!
WIFE: What do you expect from a $70 soup?
After two more main courses are served, Peter's wife gestures to the waiter.
WIFE: Our Fish & Chips is still outstanding.
The waiter checks the electronic records in a device nearby.
WAITER: I'm ordering that for you now.
PETER (V.O.): When I was in his position, I was accurate and orderly in everything that I did.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Accuracy leads to credibility.
Later, as the waiter presents a main course, Peter's FAMILY focus on it.
WIFE: It doesn't look like Fish & Chips...
Later, the waiter brings them the accurate dish.
Act 3
INT. HOME - SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Peter's wife is going out.
WIFE: Apart from the main dinner courses, what soup would you like to have?
PETER: Your Lobster Bisque!
INT. KITCHEN - SUNDAY NIGHT
As his wife's preparing for Lobster Bisque, Peter checks it out.
PETER: That's quite a preparation.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.): I used to be a good cook. I learned by observing and experimenting.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Cooking is one of the great gifts to those we love.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): Let me cook one dinner for the family one night!
WIFE: Only when our maid isn't on leave.
Peter smiles.
FADE OUT.
THE END

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