This would be fucking lovely in Chinese restaraunts in the Philippines because holy shit do I have to inquire about every item I order (I have a shellfish allergy and most of the Chinese culinary heritage in this country is fujianese fare that's shrimp shrimp and more shrimp)
The bit about overworked/overtired workers is so on-point, too. I've had reactions multiple times because I was told I could safely eat a particular menu item... when I could not. Luckily for me my allergies are not life-threatening, but this should just be a standard that every establishment needs to label and train workers on. I don't understand how labeling is still such a patchwork affair.
This is doubly true with recent changes to US allergen laws which has resulted in sesame flour (a major allergen) being added to bread products with little fanfare. It used to be that you could easily tell if bread was unsafe (are there visible seeds on it?) but now I need to be sure that someone actually goes and reads the label, and if they don't have it available... I guess I'm finding somewhere else to eat today.
It's gotten to the point where it's much easier and safer to go to large national chains, which tend to be better about publishing comprehensive allergen charts. Which is frustrating, because I'd much rather go to a local place most of the time, but in my experience they're much less consistent about having proper labeling/training on this sort of thing.
