Chinese Restaurants

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. My father's birthday is also on the day before Chinese New Year. The chinese community usually celebrates the end of the New Year by having the reunion dinner the day before Chinese New Year. Usually the mothers, grandma and everyone will help to cook a big feast for the family for the reunion dinner.

My mom used to cook quite a big feast too... alone. She can handle all the cooking for our family herself. We just help to set up the table and stuffs when we were kids. Usually she'll be so tired after all the cooking and would just eat a bit while we all feast on her delicious dishes. I am sure she was very satisfied to just see us eating happily and tell her this and that is nice.

Sis and i did try to cook for the reunion dinner last year. We just had steamboat in her home. Steamboat is easy as everything is raw.... we just have to dip it into a soup in a hotpot to cook it. Its a favourite reunion dinner for us as it is easy and not too much cooking. Well.. we decided against cooking this year as it is my father's big birthday. We decided to all share and give him a treat at a fancy chinese restaurant.

Chinese New Year reunion dinners at chinese restaurants are very pricey. Sometimes the dishes are not quite up to their usual standard as there's too many people... and the cooks just get too tired. If you are cooking for 100 tables... for 5 sessions a day... can you imagine how tired they would be?

And so.. i went to the fancy chinese restaurant to make a booking today. When i walked into to the restaurant and told them i wanted to make a booking, she sat me down at a table by the door and poured me a nice hot cup of tea. Nice.

Next the captain of the restaurant walked over to me... and me in my usual garb and slippers are not a very trustful sight. *LOL*

The captain said.. you want to book ah?? You want to book what day ah? You must pay deposit you know. Pay deposit today only can book you know. That's how she spoke.

That's when i decided to play along. I gave her a very blurr look and said.. Deposit ka? really? How much deposit you want?

Then the lady replied.. 100 dollars deposit you know.

With my very "good appearance" i might not look like i have 100 bucks on me. *LOL*

Then i just nodded my head.

She walked back to the counter and brought back a list of set dinners. The all have different pricing for each set. But all i could manage to understand is the price of the set dinner packages. The rest of the words were in Mandarin. I am a banana (yellow on the outside and white on the inside). I am english educated and i sure don't know a word of mandarin. *LOL* I kept looking at the different pricing and 538 looked back at me. I was going.. eh.. that looks like the end of my mobile number. Great!

Lady came back and sat down beside me. You want to make booking now izit? Must pay deposit today ah. I nodded again. So which set you want??

I told her.. i don't understand any of the words on that list except the price *LOL*

Then the nice lady (ok... she turned nice suddenly) and explain what are the dishes from the chinese characters... *LOL*

Then she asked me.. what is your name.. booking under who's name. Your father's name or your name. I told her my name.. then she said.. write it down in chinese. Damn! Its been a long time since i wrote my name in chinese characters. I don't quite remember all the strokes. *LOL*

I was looking dumb and blurr again and went.. urmmm... urmm.. must book in chinese name izit? She gave me this very serious look and told me... yes.. must write in chinese so that its easier to find the booking on that day. I was scratching my chin and my nose and i went.. urmmm.. i forgot how to write my chinese name. *LOL*

I think the lady almost fell off her chair... from her stunned looks. *LOL* Then she said.. ok ok.. tell it to me.. then i'll write it down. You see if its correct or not. Then i told her my name in chinese and she wrote it down. Walla.. she got it right the first time. Such a smart woman!

Next she asked me.. what's your tel no... i was mumbling.. urmm.. 012.. bla bla bla 538. She wrote me a receipt and i was about to go when it struck me that my mobile does not end with 538. It end with 658. *LOL*..

i was going.. urmm urmm.. auntie... auntie.. i think i gave you the wrong number. I forgot my mobile number. (i told her i just changed my mobile number.. hahhahahaha.. just to save myself from embarassment) Then i wrote it as 638. I don't know whats with me today. I still wrote the wrong mobile number for her. Its because of the pricing on the dinner 538 that kept me thinking of 538 as the end of my mobile number.

When i was driving home... it just hit me that my mobile ends with 658. I sure such am a doofus. Well.. anyone into Magnum, Toto or trying for lottery... should probably try to buy these numbers.. hahahahaa.. mebbe you can strike big time with 538 and pay for my reunion dinner too ;)