Lifesaver

My complacency got me into a mini crisis when I found myself not able to get a table anywhere for our annual celebration meal - got no one to blame but myself for thinking no one's going out for dinner on a Friday night. Thank God my friend E came to rescue with a confirmed dinner booking at one of her restaurants at the last minute - it sure was a lifesaver, or at the very least, kept me out of the doghouse for the day. 

Whimsical Celebration

We were at Chef Uwe Opocensky’s namesake restaurant a few weeks ago for our annual celebration. The restaurant, called Uwe and opened slightly over a year ago, is the chef’s next big project since his days at Mandarin Oriental – and in between, a hugely successful casual dining chain Beef and Liberty in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Celebrate at Tate Dining Room

We wanted to check out Tate Dining Room for some time already, but haven't been able to nail it down on our diary until last week. We have heard great things about Chef Vicky Lau's cooking at this Michelin-starred restaurant in Soho, so we thought it would be the perfect place for our wedding anniversary celebration in early December.

Tin Anniversary, or we call it an annual gourmet celebration

Just when I was plotting where we go to celebrate our wedding anniversary in early December, I remembered Chef Fabrice of Caprice mentioned the upcoming chef's table behind the kitchen when I visited the restaurant a few months ago.

Double Celebration at Spring Moon

For cheapskate like me, a freebie coupon sometimes works wonders. I have been offered free champagne and cake for dining at The Peninsula as part of the "birthday presents" offered by one of the credit cards I carry, so we went back to Spring Moon for dinner at the end of November, conveniently forgetting the horrible experience we had last year at another restaurant of theirs. At first it seemed a bit silly to celebrate a birthday more than a month late - after all, I did celebrate with not one, not two, but three gorgeous meals already - and then I realized the date we set for the dinner was actually closer instead to both my parents' and our wedding anniversaries (both in early December), so I figure we may as well use that as an excuse for a double early celebration instead of a belated, meaningless one.

Above any other - Robuchon au Dôme Macau

Nothing excites us more than trying new restaurants - but this time it's purely coincidental. We have planned this short getaway for a while (courtesy of a complimentary hotel night coupon we got for Banyan Tree Macau) and made dinner reservation at Robuchon Macau as part of our anniversary celebration. The surprise came when a few days before the trip, we realized that the restaurant - as it's known as Robuchon a Galera then - has closed and.... indeed moved to the new location on the rooftop dome of the Grand Lisboa hotel next door. Even the name has changed - now it's called Robuchon au Dôme. That means we got this opportunity to try it in its first weekend of business - even before its official opening gala dinner. Wow aren't we lucky.