Hooters: A place for bird lovers, III
Owl right! (Thanks to The Crow for this Saturday night pic)
While Hooters officially opens today, I somehow ended up on an invite list for a VIP party on Monday and a “pretend to be a customer” event on Saturday and thus got some sneak peaks. On my way to the party, I ran into a female journalist and brought her along, the perfect guest for a spot known for its “Hooters girls“, which stateside are often equated with being top-heavy and globally with wearing orange shorts, sheer pantyhose and tight tops while doing periodic dances to songs I generally loathe, such as Mickey and You Are My Sunshine.
The Beijing Hooters is on Workers Stadium East, just in front of The Den, and the place was hopping. A few observations:
- There was a free buffet of wings, ribs, mashed potatoes, salads, dessert and more - I would give the highest marks to the ribs and spuds.
- There was free flow beer, wine and some kind of bubbly drink from France that was apparently sparkling wine (I went Budweiser all the way).
- The Hooters girls were extremely energetic in terms of singing and dancing, but need a bit of work in terms of actually providing service, i.e. I asked for a beer six times and each time the waitress cheerfully said “right away”, headed off, and then forget all about my order by the time she got to the counter. I’ll chalk it up to opening night excitement. You certainly couldn’t knock their enthusiasm.
- The old maxim that “some people should never be allowed near a microphone” applied to the hostess (at least on this night) who decided to outline the history of Hooters halfway through the evening (when everyone was already loaded with food and drink) and repeatedly and relentlessly yelled out raffle ticket numbers and other info (yes, we heard it!). We’ll chalk that up to opening night excitement, too. The Beijing owner kept it terse and told everyone to have a good time.
- Miss Hooters 2006, who arrived in Beijing a day earlier, circulated and signed fliers of herself. In hindsight, I missed an excellent chance to get a “Dear Osama, all my love, Miss Hooters 2006. PS. That beard is a dead giveaway!” flier, which might have brought a pretty penny on E-bay. Also on hand from the states were several company bigwigs and a handful of Hooters girls to train the local staff.
- The place is L-shaped, two-tiered and spacious, with both booth and table seating. It’s a nice layout, though on slower nights, it might be a bit awkward having a dozen Hooters girls dancing for a few tables of patrons.
- The kitchen staff beat the crap out of the stainless steel countertops whenever the Hooters girls finished their dances. The hidden message - don’t mess with these guys; they have knives and spatulas and are not afraid to use them.
All in all, it was a fun party, particularly as my table was loaded with Europeans and I have several photos of them chowing through a third basket of cheese sticks. These will provide ample evidence next time I heard them mocking American cuisine. Mu-wha-ha-ha-ha!
As for all the talk about the Hooters girls’ outfits, it seems misplaced given the number of hotels and restaurants in town where the wait staff wear qipao slit up to their waists and show more leg than a giraffe.
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In the interests of sociological research, I dragged myself and my Chinese friend to see Hooters for ourselves last night. We got there about 8pm, which was clearly a bad idea. Although we were seated straight away, that’s all that happened for several minutes. Finally we were asked for our drinks (and food) orders, after which the young lady serving us seemed to forget that we were in her territory. It took three requests and 15 minutes to get the drinks, which arrived just after the fish and chips that we had ordered.
I don’t recall Fish and Chips being an American cuisine item, but I have to say, the fish was excellent. the chips were ordinary, and the cutlery fancy but difficult to use. They need to hire a Brit, just to cook the chips properly.
I took the precaution of ordering the second drink before finishing my first, but to no avail. It turned up just as we were thinking of leaving.
We also had Miss Hooters 2006 drop by our table for about 90 seconds (she seemed to spend more time at tables inhabited entirely by blokes.) A plastic and weary smile made us look twice at the photos on the flier - it seemed they were too different girls.
So to pass the time away while waiting for drinks, there is the scenery to take in. Of course I am referring to the TVs planted strategically so that every punter can see the replays of the EPL football. One can also study the decor, with the new trend of wrapped and painted ceilings and lots of timber colours blended with a pinky/orange trim.
Ok I have teased you long enough. The girls? Well, yes, one or maybe two could possibly get a job in an American Hooters. But that Hooters would probably be in Salt Lake City. They were dressed identically, down to the same brand of sneaker and white sox. They yelled out to each other, and screeched when supposed to be singing. But, short of some very padded bras, simply don’t fit the template.
So the manager hired them for their personality? Then he needs to brush up on his personality testing skills. And if that is really the case, why then do they insist on every other feature of the place being identical to their US cousins. For goodness sake, this is the ONLY feature of the place that we DO want them to replicate.
Cheers,
Paul.
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Actually, when I visited the Beijing Hooters recently I saw that the majority of Hooters girls there had nice-sized boobs. Either I’m better at spotting the nice-looking boobs, or Paul is a big light in the loafers!
@ joel,
I have no idea, I’ve never gotten into the “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” Hooters thing. On my visits, I’ve seen a lot of families and couples - if anything, the Hooter’s girls seem to be cheerleaders to those patrons.
Cheers, Boyce