You got served! By old timers

Gingko House restaurant is staffed by non-grumpy seniors who serve risottos with a large side of nice

Gingko House's staff: Older, wiser and still dishing out the goods.

Retirees face a number of pressing issues -- how not to get confused by fake designer goods, how to most effectively apply pressure for more grandchildren. But Gingko House, a European-style eatery, addresses one of the biggest problems facing old folks -- what to do with all that extra time?

Gingko House is a group of Hong Kong restaurants popular not only for decent food, but also for great service provided by a staff of old folks. We're not talking about the frowny, acerbic types typically found at cha chaan tengs who have been waiting tables every single day of their long professional lives and are more than slightly bitter about it. We're talking about restless retirees, many of who recently held mid- to high-level management jobs and who do not want to slow down despite retiring.

One of them is Ma Sir, a 65-year-old who used to be the principal of the Kowloon Motor Bus Technical Training School. In an interview with Apple Daily, Ma Sir said he could still work and didn't want to be on welfare.

The restaurants are doing so well that plans are in the works to open another branch in Mongkok that will serve Chinese food. In anticipation of the expansion, Gingko House held an open recruitment yesterday for anyone 60 and older.

Joseph Yam, who just stepped down from his post as head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, paid a visit to Gingko House on Gough Street last month and jokingly asked to be employed there after his retirement.

http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/none/you-got-served-old-timers-850769

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