Chinese at Buffet. Wed, Nov 8, 2006.

11/08/2006. 744. I'd been to this place before, but it was not a buffet then. I don't know if it changed owners. I put the two kinds of Chinese Books of Mormon, an English Book of Mormon, and a bilingual Chinese/English Bible on my table. The buffet was excellent and was reasonably priced.

The waitress noticed the books as she brought my drink, and cleared away plates, but she didn't say anything, and she moved too fast for me to say anything without being too awkward.

When I was eating my dessert plate, she brought the check, and later came by to collect, again with the same quick efficiency that seemed to leave me without an opening. She seemed busy with other things, and other than one or two kitchen staff, she was the only one visible, so I concluded that she wasn't trying to avoid a conversation, just very busy.

On my way out, she was behind the cashier counter, and I decided to make the approach there. Her English was sort of limited outside of restaurant vocabulary, so that may have been another reason she was not chatty.

Since I had made a book placement at this location before it changed to a buffet, I asked her if she already had the Chinese Book of Mormon as I showed it to her. She said no. I offered it (the simplified script version), and she timidly, but not reluctantly, accepted it. I offered the English edition, and at first she declined to receive it saying she couldn't read English. I suggested that reading them together might help her learn, and that seemed to change her mind, as she then accepted the English edition.

I also gave her a Chinese language newspaper aimed at restaurant owners. I had received a few copies from a lady at another church that has a Chinese outreach mission.