Houston waitress receives $1000 tip days before Christmas

KATY, Texas - In the spirit of the holidays, a local patron was feeling generous and left his server a $1000 tip. Little did he know, that waitress is saving up to pay for college and some unexpected medical bills. 

It was a regular Monday night for Amanda Wong as she waited tables at Phat Eatery, a Malaysian restaurant located in Katy Asian Town. 

What was supposed to be a $90 tab ended up being more than 10 times that amount when one of her customers, generously tipped her a $1000. 

"I didn't know that nice people like this were out in the world still," Wong said. 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MORNING NEWSLETTER THE FOX 26 MORNING CHECK-IN

"I didn't get to say much to him because I was literally in shock. I don't think I actually got to say the words, 'Thank you so much, so I want to say thank you and I wish I could have given him a hug or something," Wong continued. 

Phat Eatery’s owner Alex Au-Yeung says someone ended up recognizing the generous customer as Pablo of Pablo’s Restaurant and Club, a fellow small business owner in Katy. 

"It made her day. She almost cried. It means a lot even to other servers and other team members to know that other people do care," Wong said. 

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS

According to Au-Yeng, Pablo said he was feeling generous that day. Little did he know, Wong is a high school senior at Cypress Park. The 18-year-old works part-time as a server at Phat Eatery to help pay for school and unexpected bills. 

"It's been like a month and a half and I still have the headache constantly. It does not go away, so we wanted to get that checked out. I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and it wasn't like the best news. I might have some kind of tumor in my head," Wong said. 

The pandemic’s been especially tough on those working in the restaurant industry. But Wong says this small moment of kindness has made it all worth it. 

"I would say there's some bad moments with some customers, but this makes up for it yeah," Wong said. 

Wong said she hopes to attend UH in the fall to study psychology.