The Sheraton has always been one of the better restaurants in town, along with a few others…and I was invited to dinner there last Tuesday night – the annual dinner hosted by the owners of the tuition centre that I am presently attached to. My daughter was back for the Raya break, so when the boss’ wife said that some of the teachers were unable to attend, I jumped on the opportunity and asked if I could bring her along. She, of course, said yes…and as a matter of fact, there were a few more empty places that night.
So there we were at the restaurant, my daughter and I…
I noticed an improvement at the restaurant that night – they had cloth napkins instead of the usual paper serviettes…
…and that certainly gave it a little bit class. Perhaps they should use goblets instead of those glasses…and replace the melamine crockery with fine china next. LOL!!!
They had the usual plate of peanuts on the table…
…which I can no longer eat now that I’m toothless. Hahahahaha!!!!
Somehow or other, I could not get a good photograph of the first dish – the hot mixed platter, which was actually something more than the four seasons as there were a lot more choices, so I had to use the flash and this was what came out in the end…
Then, as in all Chinese dinners, this followed…
There is certainly no cause for alarm as there was hardly anything in the soup – just some bits of crab and egg but it tasted fine. Then came the steamed fish…
We had fish head curry last year and I was hoping we would be having that again this year but unfortunately, things did not turn out the way I had hoped. Ah well, the fish was very delicious, so it did not matter that much. Then there was this fusion dish with potato salad on one side and some Thai-style prawns on the other…
After that came the duck stuffed with glutinous nice. The waiter had started dissecting it and stopped when everyone at the table exclaimed in horror that I had not taken the photograph yet! LOL!!! That explains the incision in the bird…
Then came the abalone…and the deep-fried egg white patties with minced meat and oyster filling…
…and I discovered something else that I can no longer eat – abalone! Sigh! Finally came the dessert of or nee (yam paste) and sio bee/siew mai (meat dumplings)…
…and fruits…
I noticed a lot of leftover sio bee at one table and my thoughts strayed to Stella and how, as a kid, she used to wait longingly for her mum to come back home from wedding dinners with the sio bee wrapped in pink paper serviettes (and more often than not, stained because of the colour of the paper). Those were the days…
Well, on the whole, I thought the dinner last year was better. I did not ask for the cost per table but my guess is it was more or less the same or perhaps just a bit more expensive. With the current economic situation, I would not be surprised that they have been forced to compromise on the quality of the food so as to maintain the prices.
Still, it was a good dinner and my daughter enjoyed herself thoroughly. To me, that’s what matters most…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 