Well! After all this time, I walk in and there’s someone there. Sure I have to shout in the back, but a person comes out.
I say “I’d like some food”, and she says “What kind?”, like I had asked her for some abstract art. “Well, you’ve got a sign outside, with some food, like that?” “Oh, how about some hummus?” “Sounds great!” “Maybe with chicken? or beef?” “Chicken sounds great.” “And some nice warm pita? It comes with?” ( this is the longest negotiation I’ve had about a plate of hummus ever ). “Sure”, she says, “I’ve got a few things to do first, then I’ll whip that right up for you.” As if, somehow, she’s not running a food take out operation, maybe a shoe store, with a sideline of hummus.
I step outside to enjoy the fine free flowing air, and keep an eye on the counter, but she’s vanished again. 5 minutes, seems like longer, and I poke my head back in, and she’s putting some food in a bag. She then points at things, as if I’m some kind of idiot savant, “hummus!” “chicken!” (it’s cleverly concealed on the hummus) “Pita, nice and warm!” in a paper bag.
I ask if there’s a menu ( one of those small things we tend to have in restaurants ), and she says, “no not really, I mean, almost, but we’re getting them printed”, as if the boba tea menus weren’t just printed on a color printer and laminated to the counter, an operation that takes an hour. “Just getting started, you know.” “Oh, I live around the block”, I said “Happy to have a new place for lunch. What will the name be? Probably not cup o tea, maybe village hummus?” "Village hummus is one of my other restaurants, " she says “this one will be myTastee”. I welcome her to the neighborhood and take my hard won hummus and chicken home.
Speaking of authentic, I’d be a little furious if she had made any sounds about authentic. Her accent and general size and shape reminded me of India, southern, or perhaps areas that the indian dispora have landed, like indonesia or singapore. The hummus wasn’t of any of the sorts we’ve discussed, it was pretty fresh and pretty light, but could have used a little zing, like some fresh lemon or a bit of garlic. The chicken, on the other hand, was a very tasty curry, which reminded me more of singapore. It had nothing to do with any chicken I’ve had in israel, in any case, wasn’t quite indian, but could have been; much more like singapore. The sauce was fairly good, the chicken was simmered boneless thighs, my new favorite.
There you have it… “myTastee”, not really open for business yet, could be a very nice addition to the neighborhood, for anyone jonesing for a true hawker stall experience ( not like oak-town hawkerfair at all! ).