for the excellent weather in the Maldives.
It had been unusually rainy the few days before I left for the Maldives (on Tuesday night) and I had feared that the rain would put a damper on the visit. However, God's intervention ensured not the weather was not only clear, but also not too humid or too sunny. Excellent weather for outdoor activities. =)
Been in the mood to complete evaluation forms recently. Sparked off by poor service and lousy food at Swensons, followed by poor service at Sketches and TCC and today, poor service and lousy food at Old Beijing in Plaza Singapura.
Had a craving for soup and a light dinner so we opted for Chinese food. We ordered xiao long bao, noodles, an appetiser and a plate of stir-fried seasonal greens. If I recall correctly, the menu said "Quick Seasonal Greens", which was spinach tonight. But it was anything but quick.
The noodles and the appetiser came in good time, mebbe around 10 minutes after we ordered, but the xiao long bao and veggies didn't. After finished the food in front of us, we decided that we had waited patiently enough so we asked the waitress to check what happened. She didn't get back to us. About 10 min later (half hr after we ordered), we asked the waitress again to check. She came back to say that the chef was making the xiao long bao on the spot as they had sold out. When we asked again about the veggies, she said that the spinach had also sold out. We decided to cancel the veggies and just have xiao long bao.
DD decided that it was time to fill an evaluation form. At the same time, the xiao long bao came. It was terrible. While xiao long baos are known to be soupy (you're suppose to bite the top and suck up all the soup inside before eating the bao), these were dry, with mebbe less than 3 ml of soup inside. And the meat was very salty.
We pondered if the dryness was cos the food was Beijing-styled, but that didn't make sense cos it was called "xiao long tang (soup) bao" in the menu. Ended up filling it in Chinese. =P Complained about the poor quality of the xiao long bao. The restaurant threw in two bowls of free dessert (longans with aloe vera) for making us wait so long. But even the dessert was mediocre.
We gave them the evaluation form and drank lots of tea to wash the saltiness away. When we called for the bill, they told us that they wouldn't charge for the xiao long bao since we had commented on its poor quality. They informed us that it was the chef's first day at work today so the quality was below par.
Even so, was very disappointed with the restaurant, especially since it belongs to the Tung Lok group.
If we had known that they wouldn't charge us for the xiao long bao, DD and I wouldn't have bothered to finish that salty thing which resembled unfried guotie more than xiao long bao. =P
... was saved by an angel.
Was very tempted to complain about work. Was really upset and angry. Suddenly, I remember something my colleague told me today.
My colleague Alicia is the best DSO in Singapore (and according to her, Batam too). Even though I pile last minute work on her, she always manages to do it with a smile. DD's gonna be sitting at my directorate's table for D&D in Jan. Today, Alicia came by to collect money for the D&D. As she stood at the entrance to my tsunami-stricken cubicle, I pointed out that DD didn't have any dietary restrictions. She asked why and I explained.
She was happy for me. That DD was prepared to face his family's objections to be with me. She laughed when I told her that I haven't really told Mum about DD's background but was happy that at least I won't have to convert. She encouraged me to try to guide him along God's ways. While I tried to tell her that DD was unlikely to want to convert, she advised that no harm trying and pointed out that one of her fellow church-goer was married to a non-Christian. And shared her own experiences with people in mixed marriages.
Didn't expect Alicia to share this perspective but I'm really glad she did. Cos if there's one thing that really made my day, it was her words of encouragement.
Thank God for placing people like Alicia in my life. =)
