Suitably wowed

I went to a (new) friend’s place for dinner tonight. Sort of a CNY thing. He mentioned that there would be champagne and food. So I thought - no self respecting guest would turn up empty handed so I bought a bottle of rose, tied a pretty ribbon, et voila. It turns out, he’s somewhat of a wine connoisseur, fun, very nice, and a gracious host. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to that bottle of wine that I bought - does anyone know if rose can be used for cooking?

The dinner party was, in my opinion, flawless. They say presentation is everything and they’re right. We sat around the coffee table because the dining table was too small for our party of 9 but we had linen table napkins with a pair of chopsticks wrapped up and a pretty napkin ring. Gorgeous zen-looking dinnerware - weighty and very nice.

Instead of a proper starter, we had crab salad on a lettuce leaf boat, asparagus with salmon roe dip, scallop sashimi with soy and sesame dressing, and [Chinese] roast duck. Following our starter tapas, we had rice with a lamb curry, braised chicken, stir fried edamame and prawns. And to finish it off, we had individual portions of cakes and puddings.

Not all the food was home made but everything was presented with such care and attention to detail that it felt incredibly special. And I was simply floored by the grace and charm of my hosts, who did an amazing job of making us feel comfortable, and for seamlessly integrating champagne cocktail hour with dinner and dessert and Blackjack.

In the tube on the way home, as I continued reading my book, I felt so happy that I would be leaving this flat in less than two months. I want to move to a place with a bigger kitchen and proper dining table, a place where I can entertain and hopefully become a gracious host known for amazing dinner parties one day.