Chinese Food, Mandarin and "Honey"

A visit to my favourite Chinese restaurant is always entertaining, not least because the proprietor is always so glad to see us, and gushes about how wonderful The Children are, but also because of the music they play.

"What sort of music would you expect to hear in a Chinese restaurant", I hear you ask? A nice bit of classical? Perhaps. Some Chinese opera? Probably not. How about some unsung digital channel that plays a constant loop of Rod Stewart, Boyz II Men, "Unchained Melody" and 50's Doo Wop? Now you're talking!

Except that last night it wasn't the usual station, and we found ourselves listening to backing tracks of easy listening songs that were familiar enough, but with a bit of a twist.... the vocals were sung in what appeared to be a high pitched squeaky chinese. "Mandarin". I was authoritatively informed by The Husband.

By the end of the meal, my nerves frazzled by the musical equivalent of nails on a blackboard, I was wondering if they could have played anything worse?

They could.

The next song started with a lush string intro, soaring soprano and the dreaded opening line, this time in english, "See the tree how big it's grown..."

In the time it took them to plant the tree, crash the car and get the puppy, we got the bill, and exited right on cue, just as the angels came.