Fri nite out

A Friday night out actually requires some effort on my part. I'm one of those people who get energized by peace & quiet rather than going out and painting the town red. Still, once I'm out I enjoy myself. Even if I do get sleepy at a really early hour (let's just say some of my friends' toddlers sleep later than I do).

Tonight I had dinner with my folks and a family friend, auntie esther. Oh, and as the saying goes, it never rains but pours... a couple of days ago, my colleague bought these pricey & exotic mooncakes. Turned out my dad had a liking for them, so I got him a box yesterday. Kinda nice to be extravagant with your nearest and dearest. Then tonight, guess what auntie esther happened to get us...??? So now we have TWO boxes in the fridge. My dad is a happy man indeed.

Tonight's adventure consisted of dining at Shatec's Rosette restaurant just off Killiney Road, about 5 minutes from Somerset MRT. Rosette, housed in an old colonial building together with a Shatec-run 3-star hotel, is a place for Shatac students to train on the job. It was cute to see them so earnest and in deep concentration - "Hello sir, how was the starter?""Could you give us your feedback about the main course?" I don't think I've had so much attention in a restaurant before, nor so many people smiling at me over the course of dinner. The place reminded me of a similar set-up in Hanoi for disadvantaged kids to learn a trade. I think this place is a great idea.

For $28 nett, we had a salad and scallop appetiser, soup, a little sorbet, stewed duck & duck confit, strawberry mousse for dessert and coffee. To keep things simple for the students, everyone gets the same menu with two choices for the main course. The food was decent and thoughtfully presented. Surprisingly, the place was almost full. Not your usual fine dining crowd, there were whole families there to support their kin, bunches of student types there to see their friends in action, squealing at the sight of them in chefs' attire or other uniforms. So it was a pretty laid-back atmosphere, though not for the students who were kept on their toes!