Lucky Cat Street Eatery

I wanted to give 4 stars, as the food (Tonkotsu Ramen and Chicken Pad Thai) was decent for Fort Lauderdale standards as I expect and the waitress/front cashier girl was nice. (I’m from Toronto, Asian food here is not comparable). However, at check out, I was charged extra for the chashu in the ramen. Then I noticed sneakiness in the menu pricing, normally, tonkotsu ramen includes a chashu (pork belly), you don’t charge customers for basic protein. For them, it was an extra 3$ to add chashu, written in a way such that, in the image of the ramen, it looked like the chashu was included by default, but at the final bill, they charge you $3 extra if you order chashu. I was not happy about this, as a result I did not give tip, (and in general, I am extremely opposed on a philosophical level of North America’s ‘obligatory’ tipping culture, so I rarely tip for philosophical reasons.) Then when I went to pay, the cashier/waitress girl reminded me that the bill does not include automatic tip and that suggested tip was on the bottom, to which I calmly replied “I know, I won’t be tipping this time. And in general, we don’t have a culture of tipping”. She went on to say that “well you know, if you eat in a restaurant, you are expected to tip”. Yes, I’m well aware of the “cultural expectation”. She went on and told me, unhappily that if I don’t plan to tip I should order take out next time. I smiled and said sure. Now, whether you like it or not, tipping is optional, and I am an AH. And no, when your minimum wage + tip < state minimum wage, Florida state law require the employer to make up the difference so you make at least minimum wage and not make $3 an hour.