Nidhi, my wife and I went to our favorite Thai restaurant in the area, well not in the area, we drove 15 miles to get there. The place is called “Thai Spice”, located in The Forum Shopping Center on I-35.

Anyway, coming to point, we were greeted with the usual smile, we often get from hostesses in all our frequently visited eateries. We occupied a booth, customarily glazed over the menu, knowing very well what we’re going to order.

The place has been worked upon over the years, and is quite nice by now. It’s almost full at lunch times all year round. Most people who have been working there for years, have gone through so many official wardrobes, from traditional thai dresses to plain old T-Shirts, and now back to their traditional attire. Some kids, probably owners, who used to roam around in the restaurant are now grown-ups and working alongside their seniors.

We ordered our favorites, Chicken Satay with peanut sauce for appetizer, and Gang Panang (Red Curry preparation) with Chicken and two “Lemonades”, which are quire a delight at this place. A few minutes later, our hostess appeared with two tall glasses, filled with ice to brim, with fresh lemonade, filling in the voids, liquid so clear that you could read newspaper through it. It tasted the same, but the actual volume of it was not even half of what it used to be. We barely had our entree’s halfway, when Nidhi asked for a refill for her lemonade, the lady wanted to know if we’re making another order, Nidhi quite innocently said “No, just a refill”, as we did on countless occasions in the past. The owner with a plastic smile pasted on her face replied with her heavy thai accent that she cannot, “we don’t do that anymore!” We both looked at each other, and thought “What?”

Nidhi tired to put across the point that if only a single serving was included in the price of lunch, then the hostess shouldn’t have filled the glass with so much ice…and gave us some more lemonade in it!! to which the reaction was a blank glaze!

We know for the fact that, it wasnt like this before and that to with customers who’ve been coming there for so long. Then it dawned on me…it’s the “R” word, that’s been in the news…Recession!

It finally showed up it’s face in one of the most familiar places we visited so often. So far the effects were visible in the supermarkets, with smaller packagings for the same price. Irrespective of all of it, when I come to think of it, the serving size of our entree was consistent, so was the service, in fact there was no issue with the food, but somehow our favorite “Lemonade” was the only thing that had to bear the burden of the sinking economy…I wonder whether it was the price of lemons, or sugar, maybe water or worse the person who used to make the lemonade is charging more on a hourly basis….but then why not the food? Come to think of it, the price of pretty much everything on the menu had gone up by a dollar or more, but not lemonade!! Yet, it’s not to be refilled.

The issue of shrinking lemonade is mundane. My problem is understanding people, who resort to such inconsequential methods of cost-cutting, and fend of customers who’ve been coming there to enjoy the very same things!

Oh well, maybe next time we’ll savor it more, knowing very well it’s actual value, not it’s price.