Dearest Minasan,

Yesterday I had dinner with my Japanese friend at "deluxe by Bakerzin" in Wisma Atria Shopping Centre (#01-37). The restaurant is at a secluded corner where there are hardly any customers, even on weekends. It’s a chain shop of the famous “Bakerzin” which serves yummy delicious sinful cakes, and the design of the restaurant is actually quite nice, with comfortable sofa seats facing the walkway of the shopping centre. They serve nice set meals at about $15 per person. Nevertheless, that “deluxe” shop just doesn’t attract customers. Sometimes, there is not a single soul inside at all, even at lunch and dinner times.

http://www.bakerzin.c...

Anyway, to avoid the usual long queues at dinner time, we ventured into that restaurant, even though we felt rather embarrassed to enter that “ghost restaurant” and thought that the food might taste bad and that is why it is always empty without customers. At that time, we took the sofa seat table near the walkway.

Miraculously, something happened! Customers started to pour in! Some were having dinner sets and others were having drinks and cakes. My Japanese friend commented that the restaurant might need some ‘sakura’ to attract customers.

“Sakura? Cherry blossoms for decoration?” Actually that word “sakura” also reminded me of an incident where I attended a friend’s wedding solemnisation reception last Saturday and met an Australian Chinese who didn’t know the meaning of “sakura”! Apparently that word is unknown to some people, especially non-Asian countries I suppose.

“Not the flowers. But people. Another meaning of “sakura” is referring to people who plot with shop owners to pretend as customers lining up in a queue or buying things in a shop in order to attract other customers. Some kind of psychological game going on here.”

“Oh I see!”

http://eow.alc.co.jp/...


• 桜
 Japanese cherry《植物》
 capper（競り売りの）〈俗〉
 come-on（客の購入意欲を掻き立てるための）〈俗〉
 plant（客のふりをする人）〈俗〉

Wow, interesting way of putting it. At first I tot sakura means putting some attractive people to attract customers. Hehe, the usual sex appeal tactic. Interesting to hear this turn out to be a plot, nice lesson.

Hi!

遅いけど心から感謝します。励みになった言葉！

Warmest regards.

Jeryl Lu