Crazy lunch....

They say confession is good for the soul, right? So, here I am confessing to the craziest thing that had happened. Today, I ended up having lunch with my colleague in the newly renovated Renaissance Coffee House. Not only it is a posh place, it is also beautifully decorated and the ambience was truly amazing. I kept thinking to myself if my colleague had gone bonkers or are we going to wash plates & pans after our meals! Honestly, I couldn't and wouldn't afford to go to such a place for a meal. It is also way out of my league! I mean, I would rather have a meal somewhere else but my colleague was insistence that we would be okay. He doubly-assured me that he would be picking up the tab and that I am to enjoy myself with a good meal. For the record, I am not stingy or any of that sort but I really can't afford to eat at places like this. I'll pick cut, chopped and slashed pork any time over the fine dining setting meals. Anyway, my colleague coaxed me for some time before I finally agree. Afterall, it is not that we dine at such a place everyday, right? So, here we are - two country looking bumpkins in our working clothes arriving at the nice coffee house and we were ushered to our seats. We didn't even asked if the buffet lunch was on. We plonked our butts to the seats, have a taste of the lemon-laced warm water and we are up in a giffy for our buffet lunch spread. I had to pinch myself twice to just to ensure that I was not dreaming and I wasn't. So, we moved from one spread to another while I kept telling myself " Oh! Boy, there's the rest room. There's the kitchen door. There's the service door." If you are wondering what was I thinking, well, these are the escape routes just in case my colleague says to the waiter, " We have no money and what are you going to do about it?"
Anyway, might as well enjoy the food before I fold up the sleeves for some washing of plates activity, right? So, there were nice spread of cold cuts, main dishes , soups, noddles, Malaysian dishes, fruits and even desserts. I started out with a slice of grilled lamb, some breaded chicken, a slice of grilled beef and lots of cauliflower and vegetables. We sat down, chatted and laughed over a lot of matters especially on the prospect of washing plates, washing toilets, cleaning the kitchen area and having some jumbled up numbers and taking our photographs at the police station! We laughed even harder when we thought of the prospect that another colleague would have to bail us out from the police station soon! My God! We were so paranoid in that sense, yunno. I guess, when you come from a background where a bowl of plain porridge and soya sauce/salt is the best meal of the day, this was a luxury itself. We then spoke on a range of subjects and it was fun basking in the right mood and ambience of the restaurant. We constantly reminded ourselves that escape routes would be difficult as the presence of the Captain [ big stocky fella ] standing at the main entrance can be intimidating and we would burst out laughing our heads off. As more people trickled in, we consoled ourselves that it would be easier to slip out as the crowd grows and we would burst out laughing again! It wasn't so much of the meal but merely enjoying ourselves with time of laughter and our imaginative silliness. Then we went for the ayam percik fare which was quite good while we piled our plate with large peeled prawns and baby squids which were terrific. After we had had enough, we went for dessert like blueberry cheese cake, rhubarb cake and coffee infused tiramisu cake. There was a time during taking up of the rhubarb cake, I slipped and the cake fell to the ground. I was so embarrassed. Luckily, there wasn't anyone around and we laughed our heads off as I slid the cake to one corner.

Yunno, I could never imagine what ruckus we made today but it was fun. The food was nice and the atmosphere was also nice. BTW, I wouldn't want to eat like this every day. I know that some would like that but honestly, I wouldn't like it at all even if I had wads of agongs in my back pocket. I would rather have my luncheon meat, pork dishes, vegetables or even wan tan mee any day. I guess, today was an exception. I know that I would not eat like this ever again in this year but I am happy to share a meal with my good friend at work. Afterall, it is a day we reward ourselves for being who we are and for our hardwork. When it was time for us to settle the bill, my colleague told me that he would get the bill and that it was his treat. I am thankful that I am so blessed indeed. Thanks again, my friend!