我一直對店家將餐廳如何命名背後的原因感到興趣，因為通常都會代表著他們對開店的抱負及使命，為達到某目標而定位及建立經營策略。這次我們四人重臨深水埗咖啡街，第一間要回訪的店家就選了位於深水埗大南街195-201號興基大廈地下3號舖的Flow。店名吸引度我一直認為是名列前茅，直譯成中文是「潮流」或「水流」，意思亦可以是供應咖啡長做長有，老闆亦有可能受到英文成語”Go with the flow”的啟發，引入「隨波逐流」、甚至「帶領潮流」的心態？回想幾年前文青咖啡店進駐深水埗這幾條街，同類型的咖啡店變得大行其道，但其中一先驅者明顯地就是Flow，設計、裝修、燈飾、氣昏、餐飲產品、服務模式等都別樹一格。有了Flow的樣版後，陸續看到其他文青咖啡店的出現，多姿多彩，各有不同的特色。要說Flow在這小區帶領潮流，簡直是有過之而無不及！I have always been interested in the reasons behind how owners name their restaurants, because it usually represents their ambition and mission for opening a restaurant, positioning and establishing business strategies to achieve a certain goal. This time the four of us visited Sham Shui Po Coffee Street again, and the first shop we wanted to visit was located on Shop 3, Ground Floor, Hing Ga Building, 195-201 Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po. I have always considered its name to be one of the most attractive. The literal translation into Chinese is “trend” or “flow”. It can also mean that the coffee is served uninterruptedly. The boss may also be inspired by the English idiom.”Go with the flow”, possibly suggesting the idea of ”going with the flow” or even “leading the trend”! Looking back on the arrival of “Artistic & Intellectual”Style Coffee Shops in the streets of Sham Shui Po a few years ago, coffee shops of the same type have become very popular, but one of the pioneers is obviously Flow. Its design, decoration, lighting, atmosphere, catering product range, service model, etc. are all unique. It is easy to take note of the emergence of other cafes learning from the Flow prototype, though each with its own characteristics. So it is fair to recognize Flow as a trendsetter in this neighborhood, nothing short of a success!
過去兩年多在Flow喝咖啡及品嚐甜點已好幾次，每次都坐下一小時以上，主要是到訪也不忘享受令人放鬆的環境，配上柔和悅耳的日語流行歌曲及沖咖啡時散發著的咖啡豆香味，懶洋洋的等待配調師仲出達標口味的咖啡送到你面前，等待過程中服務員不斷過來與你交談，令等待時間過得很快，當然亦可參看陳列櫃中的精選西餅配咖啡！In the past two years or so, I have had coffee and desserts at Flow several times, and each time I sat down for more than an hour. I spent the time there mainly to enjoy the relaxing environment, accompanied by soft and sweet Japanese pop songs and the aroma of coffee beans when making coffee. You wouldn’t mind sitting there lazily to wait for the barista to bring out the coffee that meets the standard taste and deliver it to you. During the waiting process, the attendant keeps coming over to chat with you, making the waiting time pass quickly. Of course, you can also check out the selected cakes in the display cabinet.
今次我們的經歷也不例外，服務員Keith態度專業有禮，知道我們是iCHEF點餐系統同事來回訪，就很有效率地安排我們安坐在窗邊一行四個座位，非常舒適，然後連同令一位同事推介咖啡給我們，最後Rocky同我都選了各一杯Flat White，他選的咖啡豆是來自 El Salvador （中美洲薩爾瓦多）Finca La Joya Washed，而我的是來自Colombia （南美洲哥倫比亞） Aromanativo Aji，味道各有千秋，我們兩人都很滿意。芯同King就點了開心果蛋糕。Our experience this time was no exception. The attendant, Keith was professional and courteous. After learning the we are colleagues of iCHEF POS system food ordering system coming back to visit, he efficiently arranged for us to sit in a row of four seats by the window. It was very comfortable. Then he asked a colleague to recommend coffee to us. Finally, Rocky and I both chose Flat White. Rocky took the coffee beans from El Salvador (El Salvador, (Central America) Finca La Joya Washed, and mine was from Colombia (South America) Aromanativo Aji. They were supposed to have different tastes and both of us were very satisfied. Sum and King both ordered the pistachio cake and offered it to everyone for sampling.
跟著Keith就坐下與我們傾談，介紹自己只是其中一位員工，已在這cafe工作超過兩年，對這咖啡街小區算幾熟識，老闆很少來現場，他們幾位同事就代表老闆合力管理及營運業務，弄得井井有條，我們讚賞他的能力達店長水準，他仍是謙虛地說自己只是員工！我們說什麼崗位都無所謂，只想他知道我們對這店的印象相當好，經營狀況優越，每次都令我們感到很舒服，很有久留的意欲。Keith then sat down to talk to us and introduced himself as just one of the employees who had been working here for more than two years, knowing this coffee street community quite well. The boss rarely comes to the site. Several of his colleagues work together to manage and operate the business on behalf of the boss, making it very orderly. We appreciate his ability to reach the level of a store manager, but he still humbly identify himself as just an employee! We told him it doesn’t matter what position he is in We just want him to know that we have a very good impression of this cafe, its operating conditions are excellent, and it makes us feel very comfortable every time and we have the intention to stay for a long time.
我們亦開門見山地告訴Keith我們在深水埗咖啡街的發展計劃，目前已有好幾家店是使用iCHEF系統的，功能對cafe的運作很合適，好想推介系統給區內其他店鋪，如Keith在這小區知道有行家有興趣考慮採用的話，麻煩通知我們一聲，成功推介會有獎賞。We also told him straight to the point about our development plan for Sham Shui Po Coffee Street communiy. We are already serving several several shops. Our software is very suitable for cafes and we really want to recommend the system to other stores in the area. If he knows of any other cafe in this community who may be interested in adopting it, please let us know and we will be reward him for successful referrals.
喝完超高水準的咖啡及分享了美味可口的開心果蛋糕後，我們就結束了回訪Flow之旅，繼續前往探望同區的iCHEF客戶。After drinking the super high-quality coffee and sharing the delicious pistachio cake, we ended our visit and continued to look up other clients in the neighborhood.
