Before going further, I would need to pre-qualify that the staff at HDL are indeed friendly.
We turn up to the restaurant @ 5pm on a Sunday and still had to take a queue number, which we did not mind as we had already expected it. About 20mins later, we were shown to our table. We ordered food, drinks etc. About half way through our meal, a waitress came, doing her usual rounds of clearing plates, checking if any tables needed any help, additional orders or topping up of soup base.
She stopped by our table and noticed our little one sitting in her stroller, playing by herself. This waitress then started a conversation with us, mostly about our baby. At first, it was saying she's such a cutie, and asking how old she was, the usual preliminary questions.
Before we knew it, the conversation had developed into a "How To Care For Your Baby 101".
- You should not sit here with your baby - it's directly under the air-con, too cold for her. I looked up and could not spot a specific aircon vent directed at my baby. It was ambience air-conditioning throughout. Where would you prefer us to sit? In the kitchen?
- Why is your baby not wearing socks? She should wear socks. Did you bring any? Looking pointedly at our large diaper bag, perhaps thinking, your diaper bag so huge, surely you must have a pair of teeny socks for her? I said no politely and smiled.
- Your baby has a lot of hair! To which I said: Oh, it's because I have not cut her hair since birth. I like it like this: thick & fluffy, with a small tuft sitting nicely atop her head. Oh no, you should shave her head, the waitress commented. Her hair will grow out more. By this time, I was thinking, is this my kid or yours?
- How come there are red patches on the sides of her mouth? The cloth you're using is not clean, is it?
The waitress then gave us a 5 minute breather and went about her actual duties. Thankful that she had gone away, I then bent down and reached for my baby, picked her up from the stroller and tried to sit her on my lap and eat at the same time. Almost as if on cue, the same waitress came back and offered to help carry her. Without waiting for my response, she reached out for my kid and pulled her close to her chest.
At this point, I should add that even pre-kid, I have always been an advocate of personal space and personal boundaries. Now with a kid, this "thing" has become even more important for me. So when this stranger, in her work attire, which must have been dirty from serving and clearing dishes reached out to pick my kid up, I was horrified, BUTTTT, i was dumbfounded and could not find the right words to say! The HORRORS!
The waitress then carried my baby and leaned my baby close to her chest and started soothing her, to which I thought, excuse me! even my nanny did not do that in the first few weeks of caring for my baby! The waitress then turned to me and said, don't worry, i have 2 daughters myself. They're grown up now, so I know how to take care of babies. I was lost for words. I don't give a rat's ass if you have 1 kid or 100 kids! This is my kid, so keep your hands off her.
To make matters worst, this waitress carried my baby away to the cashier area, which was about 5 steps away, where there was another waitress colleague looking at us. And the horrors of horrors! The 2 waitresses started playing with my baby. Their hands all over her body!
My husband and I looked at each other. Yes, we need to hurry up finish our dinner and get the h*ll outta here. My husband finished up and walked towards the waitress, signalling that he wanted his baby back. From a distance, I could not hear the conversation between my hubby and the waitress, but she sure as h*ll took her bl**dy sweet time returning my kid!
So we paid for the bill and left. We agreed we're not going back to this restaurant in awhile.
In hindsight, for the benefit of that waitress, perhaps she was trying to help us as she could see we were juggling eating and taking care of our kid at the same time. Or perhaps my kid is cute and draws attention from strangers. But nonetheless, she made us feel really uncomfortable. & till today, I can't wrap my head around how some strangers can invade your personal space and yet be so nonchalant and oblivious to it, is wayyyy beyond me.
MYOB lady!
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