Recently, I read some conflicting comments related to articles on VietNamNet introducing famous pho restaurants in Hanoi, where diners lined up in long lines to enjoy. Many people commented: "Why do we have to line up just to eat pho?", "Isn't this the subsidy period anymore that we have to waste so much time?", "It's really hard to eat, humiliating to eat"... Personally, I think that those who criticize and make such disparaging comments have completely misunderstood queuing. They have nailed it in their heads that "queuing" is a specialty of the planned economy , of the subsidy period, while in the market economy, there is an abundance of goods, consumers can freely choose, and never have to queue. Actually, that's not true, queuing is not a "specialty" of the subsidy economy, queuing is when the demand of users is higher than the supply capacity. Queuing is also a manifestation of civilization (of course, queuing in an orderly manner, without jostling).
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Diners line up to order and pay at Pho Tam restaurant (Mai Anh Tuan, Dong Da, Hanoi ). Photo: Linh Trang
Perhaps, they do not know the fact that, currently, the people who have to queue the most are in the US, Japan, France, Italy and many other European and American countries, countries that are typical of market economies. In those countries, people not only have to queue when eating and shopping, but also when entering museums, amusement parks, and entertainment areas. Sometimes, they have to queue up to 1-2 hours, even 3-4 hours just to use a small need. Since 2016, I have shared my different experience in Tokyo. Even in 5-star hotels, diners still have to queue, at least 5-10 minutes, at most 20-30 minutes. In the US, the games in Disneyland and Universal Studios usually take an average of 45 minutes to queue, and the exciting games can take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Once in Los Angeles, we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. I and many other diners lined up from the sidewalk, in the middle of the cold winter, and it took 15 minutes to get into the restaurant. Only then did our names and number of people come in, and it took another 15-20 minutes for our names to be called and our tables to be arranged. In San Francisco, there is an original Hanoi chicken pho restaurant (clear pho broth, fresh lime, fresh chili peppers, basil...), the owner is a man from Hang Bo Street, Hanoi. The restaurant is crowded and small, the owner posted a piece of paper in front of the door and left a ballpoint pen next to it, customers came to write their names and wait outside on the street, and when called, they could go in. Another night, while wandering around San Francisco, I saw young men and women lining up in a long line on the sidewalk. Curious, I went to see, it turned out they were lining up to go to the bar, and the bar only had a live band, beer, wine, nothing else. Even though the lines were so long, everyone was patient, orderly, polite, not impatient, not noisy, whether in parks, restaurants, bars, or in 5-star hotels. Earlier this year, during my trip to Japan, I waited in line for more than 60 minutes just to eat a bowl of ramen in Tokyo or waited in line for more than 60 minutes to have dinner at a sushi restaurant in Hokadate. Many Americans and Japanese also waited in line to eat at those restaurants.
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Mr. Do Cao Bao and his wife at the New York cafe in Budapest, Hungary. This nearly 130-year-old cafe is known as “the most beautiful cafe in the world”. The line of people lining up to enter the cafe stretches from the sidewalk, from morning to night, and is always full of customers.
Back to the topic of “why do we have to queue just to eat a bowl of pho”, I think that, although they are all for eating, people have different needs. Some people eat to relieve hunger, some want to eat delicious food, and some want to enjoy the food. People who eat to relieve hunger can eat anywhere, as long as the price is affordable and they don’t have to wait in line for a long time. People who want to eat delicious food, to their taste, have to choose a restaurant, choose a dish that they think is delicious, they accept to go a little further, wait a little longer. People who want to enjoy the food, they choose a restaurant (or a pho restaurant) that they want to enjoy. For them, the food is not only delicious, but also has to have a special flavor, and be beautifully presented. For them, queuing is fine, even if they have to book a week or a month in advance, they are still willing. Obviously, everyone’s eating needs are very different, so don’t impose your thoughts on others. If I don't want to queue to eat pho, I can go to another pho restaurant, or even eat vermicelli, rice noodles, or bread. As for other people, they accept to queue, even order weeks or months in advance, that's their business, we need to respect that, there's nothing "hard or humiliating" about it. If we say it's hard and humiliating to eat, then are Americans, Japanese, French, and Italians also humiliated by eating? I think that when we start to queue to go to pho restaurants, to go to restaurants, it means that Vietnam has become more civilized, the economy has improved, and we're richer, so we should be happy, right?
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Mr. Bao and his wife booked two months in advance to enjoy a meal at Ninja restaurant, Tokyo, Japan.
The image of diners queuing to eat pho at some famous restaurants in Hanoi recently received mixed opinions. Many netizens said that it was "suffering and humiliating to eat", "it's not the subsidy period anymore, why do we have to wait for food?" Besides, many opinions in the opposite direction said that, not only in Vietnam but also in developed countries around the world, tourists also have to queue to enjoy delicious dishes. Many restaurants and shops have become international tourist attractions thanks to the image of queuing. VietNamNet Tourism section invites readers to share stories and opinions on the topic Queuing to eat: Civilization or 'humiliation'? to email [email protected]. Appropriate articles will be posted according to editorial regulations. Sincerely thank you.