Indulgence for a Romantic Dinner

This is a long postponed entry which I am obliged to write because its always compelling to share my experiences which I assume that, given normal circumstances, others would love to read about as much as I enjoyed experiencing it myself. Or, on another perspective, might be due to me writing it in such a way that it’s more interesting reading rather than experiencing. I leave this judgment to my readers, if there are any in the first place.

Well, the topic brings me to my graduation dinner at Ipoh with Tomi’s family and extensions (me included, with Nasa’s boyfriend Davin, who happens to own the very first Mitsubishi Sedan Lancer in Asia, which I got to sit in, leather still smelling new). Reservations were made at Indulgence, apparently the nicest place Tomi could find that was suitable enough to commemorate the occasion of us both graduating and also Nasa’s belated birthday celebration. Also, Tomi wanted to go there because we never went there before, despite so many couples retelling their romantic nights doing dinners there during Valentine’s, anniversaries, courtships or even “Just because its Wednesday”s. For those who do not appreciate subtlety, it is suffice to know that certain couples enjoy expressing their love to one other on any day for no apparent reason for celebration. Whether or not it is because money isn’t an issue to them or whether they love the spontaneity without considering the cost, or for those who manage money more competently, already budgeted for in their “dating expenditures”.

I am no spoiler about the place. For those who have never been to Ipoh, just a background on the place where Indulgence is a nice restaurant serving modern fusion food that is creatively prepared by Chef Julie Song and her team. Why I say it is creative, well, as if going through the many pages of its menu was not confusing enough, a waitress(might have another name for the person which I am currently unaware of, too lazy to google to find out), brought a blackboard to our table sprawled with chalkwritings of today’s special, which had really weird sounding delicacies like geoduck (think its pronounces as gee-duck) and fish names that would even put Jaron into confusion despite him watching so many animal documentaries on television. Whoa that was a long sentence. Haha. The setting of the restaurant looks like Delicious by Ms. Read. Am not sure whether there are any relations between both restaurants.

For the food review, Tomi and Uncle Watt decided to go with the easiest course which was steak. But it was disappointing when it came, due to its size. Mine was called Mirabello, such a nice name with a nice paragraph of explanations but it turned out to be fancy fish with tempura batter that had vegetables in it, and accompanying chips and salad. I was hoping for something more interesting, given such a nice name. Asun and Aunt Kirsti’s crowne chicken had nice presentation as it was served in a small pineapple. Davin had some weird bird-nest looking pasta alfredo style which he didn’t finish coz he was either too tired from driving, or he was occupied in talking about anything and everything. But dessert was really awesome with me finishing off the very last piece of Tiramisu for the day. Asun and Aunt Kirsti ordered the same dessert of Berry Surprise, funny name given the fact that it sounds very similar to Ah Bengs trying to pronounce a similar word, “Very”, and from the fact that Ipoh is overpopulated by them, no offence.

Click here for pictures.

All in all, it was a nice dinner since it was spent with the entire family. My family was missing from the picture because they chose to spend the night at Lumut since Ipoh hotels didn’t have a swimming pool for mum and a jetty for Jaron and my dad to occupy their time with fishing. On other unrelated matters, they actually managed to catch 2-3 puffer fishes (ikan buntal) which they let back into the sea (no cruelty to animals reports here). Besides toasting to us making it thus far and entering into worklife, I couldn’t help but feel like a romantic because it was my ideal night of family and friends and being treated like the youngest in the family, since I’m always acting as the eldest in mine. For every family, there’s something special that sets it apart to be called our own. And these moments are one of them. I am also thankful for my family where dinner doesn’t have to be lavish but laughter and good food is always abundant. I am hoping to share the same joy with this family in the future.