Three Meals A Day
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Sep 2, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
PETER is checking his Quora notifications.
PETER (V.O.): "Is having three meals a day a universal concept?" That's an answer request.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It reminds me of the days when I worked as a part-time waiter at Castle Peak Hotel. My colleagues and I worked a 12-hour day. Their cliche was that we had to work because we needed three meals a day.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For staff meals, there were two rounds: lunch at 11:00am or 11:30am, dinner at 6:00pm or 6.30pm; and late-night noodles at 10.00pm or 10:30pm.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There was no breakfast though.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): An American nutritionist suggests that we eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That might have reinforced the three-meals-a-day concept.
Act 2
INT. SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the catering industry suggest more than breakfast, lunch and dinner, there're high tea and late-night snacks.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That would be five meals a day.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're holiday packages that used the 5-meal days as gimmicks.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our biological needs don't require us to eat 3-5 meals a day, or at specific times.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But to have meals at specific times of the day would give us the predictive comfort.
INT. RESTAURANT - DAY
Sitting at a table near the entrance alone, the unmasked Peter is enjoying his wonton noodles and red bean ice.
PETER (V.O.): After a simple breakfast, I need to have an afternoon tea set.
Head down, Peter sees a walking support aid parking and then a masked MAN (70s) taking a chair.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hmm, for the sake of both of us during pandemic times, I'd better move to another table.
Smiling to the man.
PETER: Yes, you sit here.
Peter then makes a move with his food on a plate.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We, the old men, have our predictive comfort in action.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I need a walking support aid myself, I believe I would still prefer to eat in.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was with the government, I dreamt that there would be full-diet pills for me to swallow, saving the time to get more work done.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't work for three meals a day, I worked for work's sake.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That was then.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm aware of the fact that not many people in the world can afford to have three meals a day.
As he sighs, Peter types his answer on the phone. Then he sees something.
Act 3
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's another answer request: What's the best breakfast you've had from a country you've visited?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There was one. It was winter 2019, when my family were touring in Matsushima, Japan.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We checked in a cosy onsen ryokan and it so happened that we're the only guests. Everything became exclusive to us.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At breakfast time, the landlady prepared our breakfasts and we had a toro breakfast the first time.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We ate like Japanese kings.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the best part of the breakfast wasn't the exclusivity or the toro; it was the hearty service of the landlady.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The scenes are still resonating in my mind. I actually work for such rewarding moments - not just three meals a day.
Peter types his answer on the phone.
FADE OUT.
THE END
Comments