Mom's 50th burfdae...

Yesterday after work, i had driven down to PJ Uptown to meet my family for dinner. It was mom's b-day and we were celebrating for her 50th joyeux anniversaire...She told me they will b there by 6.30, arriving there (@The Ship), after being seated on a table for four, non smoking area, i received a call from mom, telling me they can only be there after 7, oh bother...

So instead of wasting my time waiting for 'em, i thought maybe i shd get myself some appetizer in prior, they can have theirs later...filpping through the menu, i have few choices in mind...there was this Shrimp cocktail in which i adore very much, and there was the oyster, both baked and on-the-rock, the mussles, caviar....but i figured i will have all those tonight at buffet dinner, so i opted for Escargot instead, my all-time favourite...along with two pieces of garlic bread, the 1st bite was like heaven, with the creamy garlic sauce, and a lil' bitterness, im jz luvin' it...the escargot was perfect, succulent and tender...Ive always tried escargot when i ventured into new restaurant, and so far, the ship served the best ive ever eaten...a close rival would be San Francisco Steak House and Victoria Station...others were so-so, some others were terrible (flams, Eden, Cable-car...).

Upon finishing my entree, i thought i shd get some salad, but then my parents and my bro arrived, so we all ordered our main course and soups together...I had Thai Seafood Tomyam and grilled fish fillet...after that garlicky starter, washing down with sour cum spicy tomyam was splendid...As usual, apart from my own main course, there will be other contributors who would conveniently pile up my dish with their food...Im pretty amused sometimes why i can still keep my body figure (haha, not to say im exactly muscular or anything, but i thought im rather toned...). Dad has given me a huge slice of his T-bone steak (health-conscious apparently), and i felt relieved when mom didnt order any mains (she was still stuffed from her earlier celebration in the office)...The T-bone steak was excellent, scrumptious and juicy, perfectly marinated, i had only wished dad hadnt requested for a Well-done, coz IMO, 70% cooked, a.k.a medium is the most ideal for Steaks (rib-eye and sirloin alike)...

Well in the end, i cudnt finish my own fish...sadness...I dunno, somehow i can no longer consume the amount of food i once can...since young mom has always STUFFING me with food of all kind, and that really made me the glutton i am now...To be honest, i was once a plump kid, and ppl used to call me Fei-Zai (fat boi, literally), thanks to mom...As years gone by, i found that im easily full, sometimes even after my appetizer, and it was suppose to boost our appetite for the main dish...Seeing i cudnt finish my main, i was slightly bewildered (im expecting it actually) when mom asked: Do u want any dessert? She insisted that the Apple a-la-mode is nice, which i know it is, but i have to firmly said NO, not tonight....

This time around, mom's burfday seemed significant, her boss and colleagues have showered her with gifts and flowers (though they did it every year), but after admiring my mom's new pendant which resembles a leaf (of gold and platinum material) given by her boss, i was like: 'okay, fifty really means something..' Also, from the amount of goodies which include chocs and Haagen Daaz, im delighted as well... Apart from that, my uncle will be coming back from the States to celebrate mom's big FIVE 'O', im impressed, since he hardly comes back to Malaysia at all, not after my late grandparents were gone, that is...He's gonna give us a good treat, that's his exact words anyway, but i gathered it should mean nothing to him, since he's a biologist in Seattle and the conversion rate is four to one...Dad says a mere 500 USD would b more than enough to bring us on a fabulous dinner...Im gonna take this opportunity to bombard him with endless questions : which Uni is good, where is the best place to stay, which state is the nicest et cetera...I'll be graduating in May, and i really need to figure out where i'll be and what i'll b doing next...

Later tonight, we'll be heading down to Mandarin Oriental for celebration pt. 2, as a matter of fact, mom has forgotten to make reservation, and she didnt ask me to do it, so im hoping we'll get a place to seat, since ramadan is over now...or we can easily change our venue to Renaissance or Shang, no harm done...Shall review the food later for you guys...