After hearing Norman's talk, I headed over to have dinner at Mama Lan's. It was six, and the restaurant was deserted. I felt like crab, and crab was what I got. I ordered the Vietnamese Stir-Fried Crab, a crab coated in red chili, lemon grass and ginger. They have many types of crab available at Mama Lan's, but because of my cold, I wanted some ginger.
More on my experiences at Mama Lan's after the jump.
The crab arrived quickly, and a few minutes into my crab feasting, a woman stepped into the restaurant.
"I need a a table of two, my friend will be here shortly." she told the server.
"Any seat you want. " the server said, as the woman chose a table two tables to the left of mine.
The woman's companion arrived shortly afterwards. "Let's get the crab," she said. The waitress came to take their order.
"We want the crab." one woman said.
"Which one? We have four different kinds." the waitress said.
"Which do you recommend?"
"It depends on what you like, this one has chili and lemon grass, this one is garlic and butter, this one is in tamarind sauce, this one is creamy." the waitress answered.
"Which one is he having?" the other woman said, meaning me, the only male in the restaurant.
"That one is the Vietnamese stir-fried crab with lemon grass and chili pepper."
"We want that one."
A few minutes later, a couple stepped into the restaurant. They were seated at a table adjascent to me. "Wow, that looks good," the woman of the pair said. "Do you want crab tonight?" the man said. "Yeah, let's get the crab." The waitress came to take their order.
"We want to order the crab", the man said.
"Which one? We have four different kinds."
"Which do you recommend?"
"It depends on what you like."
The conversation was starting to get familiar. I was beginning to wonder if her responses were scripted.
"This one has chili pepper and lemon grass, this one is garlic and butter, this one is in tamarind sauce, this one is creamy." the waitress answered.
"Which one is the crab over there?" the man asked.
"That one is the Vietnamese stir-fried crab with lemon grass and chili pepper."
"We want that crab."
2 groups of people in the restaurant, all having what I was having. The second couple didn't know what the first couple had ordered. I was laughing to myself at this point as I tore apart the shell, getting to the sweet moist crab meat inside. I was amazed that of all the choices available at Mama Lan's, both couples had independently chosen to copy my selection.
It's about 6:30 now, and Mama Lan's, with their 9 tables, is one third full. 3 couples arrive in succession, taking up the tables in a row to the front of me. 2/3rds full. The crabs the other two dining groups ordered arrives. The other groups of patrons notice this as they stare at their menus.
"We want the crab"
"We want what he got."
"We want what he's having."
This was unbelievable. Everyone was having what I was having? This has never happened to me before, and I doubt it will happen again. But there we were, 6 groups of restaurant patrons in various stages of the Vietnamese stir-fried crab. A sixth and a seventh couple arrived, both also ordering the vietnamese stir-fried crab. By the time I left the restaurant, a total of 8 vietnamese stir fried crabs had been ordered. One by me, and seven by all the people who came in after me.
I have my theories for why this happened. Given four choices, and being able to see one of the four choices being devoured and enjoyed by me, they all thought that following the pack would be a good idea. What the patrons didn't know is that I would have devoured the crab in any of the varieties with equal gusto.
Mama Lan's
1316 Gilman St
Berkeley, CA 94706
(510) 528-1790
http://www.mamalan.com/
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