The worst waiter in history (2014)

I think you mean Wong Kei! It's great, but similar in set up (multi-story, tasty yet cheap, and legendary rudeness).

Was hugely disappointed to take a friend there a few years back and find they'd dialled down the rudeness completely: no "Next floor" yelled at you when their floor was full and you had to trudge up more steps.

The article makes it very clear that the place was an attraction because of his antics. The only people involved I feel bad for were unsuspecting dates taken there for the entertainment that their reaction would give.

> was it a popular place despite his antics or because of them?

Because of them.

The groping obviously isn’t okay. But just because he’s being insulting doesn’t mean everyone must feel insulted. Think of it as dinner theatre.

The phenomenon going on here reminds me a little of what happens in BDSM communities. While I personally don't understand the appeal of that kind of sexual escapade, I also understand the logic of it -

In normal, daily life, people must be polite and respectful to each other. For some people (there's a strong trend for this in CEOs/powerful executives who are in a position of power), this creates a strange imbalance and a need to, for once in their life, be the ones being dominated. So these people may walk in the door of a room of a dominatrix, and once they sign a contract, they're beaten, abused... but this abuse is exactly what they signed up for and, perversely, they enjoy it.

I imagine the doorway of this restaurant is a little like that contract - a respite from the obligatory courtesies of daily life.

If you take such things as being serious and true statements, you're obviously not getting the joke (because there was no joke, only a serious and true statement). There's a certain level of detachment required to appreciate an insult as an art form, even moreso when you're the one being insulted. Some people can do it, and some understandably don't necessarily want to be that detached!