Last night, a couple of girlfriends and I went to Saveur on Purvis St for a fabulous dinner. It was to celebrate a good friend turning four decades old. I almost thought we had to wait another 40 years to get in the door. I arrived at 6.30pm assuming that we had reservations only to find out that they don't take reservations. Oh boy... not a good start. Secondly, I was told that we had to wait for one and a half hours to get a table since we were such a big group.
Looking around, I saw that the crowd of people milling about outside the restaurant consisted mainly of small groups of 2 to 4 people and based on the layout of tables in the establishment it was highly likely that they would be seated before us. So I sucked back the sigh that was dying to escape my throat and quickly put my name on the waiting list. "Lorrin, 7 pax" the lovely but stressed out staff put down on her list next to my contact number. She looked so frazzled by the dinner crowd that I didn't have the heart to correct the spelling of my name.
It was so tempting to whatsapp my girlfriends, who weren't there yet, to suggest an alternative location but I thought better of it. We had already made the decision to eat there and come what may, we would. Apparently the food was good there. Awesome in fact, some people say. And from the looks of the eager faces around me, I suspected that it was true. Just then... I kid you not, a group of passersby talked about the place in loud voices as they went pass me, as though planted there by the chefs to promote the menu. From my expert skills in eavesdropping, I found out that the Foie Gras and apple infused with port wine was to die for, and so was the angel hair pasta served with tiger prawns and lumpfish caviar, as well as the duck confit. My stomach growled in anticipation.
A couple of aging newspaper cuttings pasted on the glass walls next to the entrance gives an indication to the beginnings of what is now considered as the epitome of affordable French fine dining experience in Singapore.
It started out with two young local chefs who were trained in a number of fine dining establishments including Guy Savoy and Tetsuya's in Sydney. I was told by my friends that these guys used to operate their business from a corner coffee shop opposite 112 Katong on East Coast Road before moving into their current premises. The same place where I used to buy stuffed tau kwa when I was growing up in that area. I guess they just wanted more people to cultivate an appetite for and enjoy French cuisine without the super high prices you'd expect to pay at fine dining establishments.
Having to wait for one and a half hours for our table and anticipating another 45 minutes for the food to arrive, we decided unanimously to order every single item on the menu so that we could try them all, except the bread rolls. After all, we did have a pregnant woman in our midst, and you never keep a pregnant woman waiting for food... well... except in this case. I was expecting raised eyebrows from our waiter but he seemed non-plussed by our greed.
The offerings were distinctly French in size... if you know what I mean, such as their starter of Duck Rillette which was served in a small jar with a side of teensy bits of toast and a few leaves of romaine lettuce on a huge plate. We were so on the mark to order more than 1 portion of the starters and soup of the day. Phew...
That all being said, it was well worth the wait I must say. The food was... to... die... for...
From starter to dessert, every dish came beautifully presented and tasted impeccable. I'm not a foie gras nor duck person but by the end of the evening, I was a convert. And the damage to my credit card wasn't too bad either. Mind you, we did order the ENTIRE MENU!! We each coughed up about $36 for the meal. Very reasonable. The only minus point of the whole experience was the service. Sad...
So we ate, reminisced and ate some more, well into the early hours of the morning. I updated my friends about my new business venture in Kids Invent! and spoke to them about the camps that will be coming up in November and December so that they could co-ordinate their vacation dates in order to send their kids to these camps. At one point, the conversation got a tad bit serious. We got to talking about each of us turning 40 and how we knew of a certain so and so who recently passed away or got diagnosed with some life threatening disease. Whether it's because of our diet or because of our sedentary lifestyles, we all agreed that we needed to take better care of ourselves now that we are at this turning point in our lives.
Someone mentioned that she recently got into Zumba to add variety into her exercise routine, and even got her husband to attend class with her as well. I told her that I've been wanting to get into the Zumba scene for a very long time, ever since I read about it and saw a couple of videos online. I even bought a Groupon for 6 Zumba sessions but never did get down to doing it. So she asked me to join her for her Saturday class. I have to admit, by that time it was close to 2am in the morning and I was so tired. The thought of having to wake up in a few hours time to go exercise was not exactly thrilling to me. But with some encouragement from her, I decided that I'd do it.
So later this morning, I woke up groggily from lack of sleep. Put on my exercise gear and got myself to Zumba class. What made me feel better was the fact that my hubby came along too!
Considering that I've not been exercising regularly, I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to follow the class quite well. Thought that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace. It was tough for me though, no doubt about that. I was panting and perspiring buckets by the time the session ended. I liked this class. Held at a sports hall, it was attended by overweight aunties, moms with kids (who studied at the back of the room while their moms danced their fats away) and out of shape people like me. It was a comfortable scene and something that I could come back to without fear of being scrutinised. So like all good Singaporeans who know how to get a good deal, we signed up for a package to get our discounts.
It's about time I got serious about losing weight and getting into shape. If I'm to keep pace with the kids attending my programme, I'll need the stamina to get my energy levels up for longer.
This weekend was supposed to be all about spending time with my kid, supporting her as she revises for her PSLE exams, meaning another quiet and sedentary weekend at home. I'm glad that I was nudged to get to that Zumba class. I spoke with my daughter about it, telling her how proud I was that I managed to shimmy and shake my way through the class, and how I was even more proud of her dad who wasn't fazed by being one of the only two men there. She's coming with us next Saturday and I'm so sure that she'll love it too.
In the meantime, I'm anticipating the aches and pains to kick in soon from all that Zumba-ing, reminding me that I'm not a spring chicken anymore.
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