As someone with a little bit of OCD, dining out during the era of COVID-19 is like navigating a minefield. You become hyper aware of your surrounds and micro decisions are required almost every step of the way. For instance, when approaching the entrance to a restaurant, there’s the door handle: use one’s elbow or fish out a piece of tissue paper to touch it? Or perhaps wait two seconds and someone will hopefully open the door from the inside?
Once seated, I notice the cutlery placed on the table, resting on but a flimsy barrier of paper napkin beneath. I wonder how long it’s been sitting there, and if it has picked up possible pathogens on the tabletop left by the previous customer. Is it terrible to ask for a fresh set? “I get inexplicably happy when I see forks, spoons and chopsticks individually wrapped in plastic these days,” says a colleague whose most pressing concern at the moment is not waging a war against single-use plastic. After a lengthy scrub at the toilet sink, I return and panic a little when the waiter hands me a greasy menu. Damn, should’ve washed my hands after ordering. I eye the raw items on the menu: sashimi, salad, and wonder if getting some is akin to dicing with death.
And then, the server fills my water glass. To my dismay, he picks it up by the rim — where my lips would soon touch. Should I throw caution to the winds and drink it anyway? My equally fastidious friend laments, “just the other day, a waitress stood too close over my food and took forever to explain every single dish. I couldn't help but think of all that saliva.”
Many of these fears are born from paranoia, but some are legitimate causes for concern. Still, if one wanted to be almost 100% virus-free, the only way is to never leave home and eat all three meals cooked in one’s own kitchen. But because this isn’t possible for most working Singaporeans like me, it warms the cockles of my germophobe heart when I see the various safety measures painstakingly taken by many eateries during this fraught period. Especially when restaurants and even famous hawkers are seeing significant dips in their business as Singaporeans avoid crowded places.
It’s tough enough cooking and waiting on people for a living, but imagine having to do that while constantly disinfecting tables, chairs, (even menus), having to take one’s temperature twice daily, washing one’s hands nonstop and trying to breathe through a surgical mask. It’s both touching and reassuring.
Compiled below are a few of the steps employed by restaurants to help curb the spread of this virus. Now, go forth and dine out. Have a good time, support these hardworking folks and keep our makan scene alive. Just don’t forget to wash your hands.
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1/401/40YA HUA BAK KUT TEH -
2/402/40Wrapped cutlery -
3/403/40Compulsory hand sanitising -
4/404/40Masked staff -
5/405/40DIN TAI FUNG -
6/406/40Sanitisation of tables and chairs with alcoholic cleanser -
7/407/40Nightly disinfection of restaurant premises -
8/408/40Daily temperature checks for staff -
9/409/40Hand sanitisers for customers -
10/4010/40YONG’S TEOCHEW KUEH -
11/4011/40Only two customers allowed inside the shop each time -
12/4012/40Hand sanitisers -
13/4013/40SHAKE SHACK -
14/4014/40Temperature taking -
15/4015/40Hand sanitisers dotted all over the eatery -
16/4016/40Get in line -
17/4017/40CRYSTAL JADE -
18/4018/40Staff masked up, sanitisers at entrance -
19/4019/40Antiseptic wipes -
20/4020/40Cleaner hands for customers -
21/4021/40TSUI WAH -
22/4022/40Mandatory temperature taking for all guests -
23/4023/40TIM HO WAN -
24/4024/40Surfaces specially sanitised four times daily -
25/4025/40LEVEL33 CRAFT BREWERY RESTAURANT & LOUNGE -
26/4026/40Sanitising menus and more -
27/4027/40IMPERIAL TREASURE RESTAURANT GROUP -
28/4028/40Compulsory temperature-taking -
29/4029/40Heavier disinfection -
30/4030/40PROJECT ACAI -
31/4031/40No more takeaway fee -
32/4032/40Good riddance to the communal spoon holder -
33/4033/40THE NAKED FINN -
34/4034/40Travel checks, sanitisers, ozone generator -
35/4035/40KOH GRILL & SUSHI BAR -
36/4036/40Even the sushi chefs wear masks -
37/4037/40TANUKI RAW -
38/4038/40Staff empowered to direct unwell customers to clinics -
39/4039/40UNA RESTAURANT AT THE ALKAFF MANSION -
40/4040/40Tables spaced father apart