What is in a Number?

Everyone who is anyone wants be Number 1.  Numero Uno!  Especially in business.  Especially in a business where you want to attract customers.  So, why in the world, would any restaurant name themselves “Number 8 Chinese Restaurant”??   But, there is such a Chinese restaurant.  It’s in the Bronx.  It doesn’t EVEN have an “8” in the address or their phone number!  What were they thinking about??  They’re located at 694C Thwaites Place in the Bronx.  As if you’d really want to go.  When I go out… when we Quest… we want the Best.  We want Number ONE!

Do a Google search on “Number One Chinese Restaurant”.  Do it!  Surprised?  There are pages and pages of Chinese restaurants with that name.  Are they all Number one?  Well, of course, they can’t all be the best, but they can be called Number One!  It’s OUR job, to find you THE best Chinese restaurants on Long Island and New York City!

So why “Number 8 Chinese Restaurant”?  Let’s try to figure this out.  Let’s examine the number eight…

Lucky Number Eight

The Chinese are very superstitious about numbers.  Each number has a different number.  Some are lucky, such as the number eight.  Some are unlucky.

8 (八):  The word for “eight” sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth”.  There is also a visual resemblance between two digits, “88”, and 囍, the “shuāng xĭ” (“double joy” or happiness), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜.

So that could be it!  It’s a play on words.  But, they should have been Number 88 Chinese Restaurant.  Double Joy!   Number 8 is just “joy”.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  But, if you’re going to go for it, you might as well double your pleasure, and double your joy!

Number One

It is interesting to note that the number “1” is neither lucky nor unlucky to the Chinese.  But, number 1 does represent the best.  The cream of the crop.  A Number One.  THAT is why we Quest!

Either way, it’s food for thought!

What are you hungry for?  The Number EIGHT Chinese restaurant? Or, the Number ONE Chinese restaurant?  Please share your thoughts below.

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)