I was invited to dinner the other day (Friday night) at the Blue Splendour Restaurant here in Sibu. I like that place very much as the food is more often than not, remarkably good and a lot better than what you can get at the Chinese restaurants in the big hotels or elsewhere.
Our families have known one another for years. The eldest brother was my classmate and a good friend, the second brother and I had some “good” times together during our younger days and now, the youngest of the boys had graciously asked me to join in their mother’s 80th birthday celebration…
The dinner started off with the Foochow mee sua (thread noodles) in chicken soup – a must at every birthday celebration to ensure longevity…
…followed by the Four Seasons, except that there were more than four, as you can see in the photo…
…after which came the not-to-be-named soup (As usual, no photo!) and this steamed white pomfret (ikan bawal putih)…
The roast duck with mantao (steamed buns) came next and despite being different from the Peking Duck that most people are more familiar with, it was very nice and I had a second helping…
There was an extra bun as my missus doesn’t eat duck! (But that also means that we do not have any duck dishes at home! Sob!) I think there was a vegetable dish that followed but those at my table were a bit too fast and I did not manage to get that one before it was all gone! LOL!!! I managed to snap the sea cucumber dish…
…and what was left of the deliciously delightful prawns…
But I failed to take one of the plate of Longevity peaches too, so I had to resort to taking the one I had on its own in my plate…
and the fruit platter came last. No photo of that, of course! I’m sure you’ve seen fruits before! Hahahahaha!!!
There was a lot of singing that night, and some dancing too…
…but other than the food, what I enjoyed most was the opportunity I had to meet old friends and acquaintances yet once again after all these years. Actually I came down with flu (Again!) that afternoon but I took some medication and went for the dinner (as I had promised I would be there, not because I’m so greedy…or maybe that too! ROTFLMAO!!!) and no regrets whatsoever! I’m glad I went…
When we got home around 10 something that night, lo and behold! A wonderful sight awaited us…
My missus told me that the plant would flower at midnight and the blooms would close by morning. Thus, it would be quite difficult to catch the flowers in all their glory and according to her, they symbolise good fortune. Great! If that is the case, I guess I certainly can look forward to showers of good fortune upon me and my family and the birthday celebrant and hers in this coming year.
And to you, my friend, thanks so much for the invitation!
P.S.:
Kindly note that my friend has requested for anonymity in this post, so those in the know, please refrain from stating specific names in your comments. Thanks.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 