Some twenty years ago, a Chinese restaurant named China Bistro became our family favorite. It was located just off the gate of Acropolis Subdivision in C5 Libis, Quezon City.
For several years China Bistro was our go-to restaurant for after-mass dinners, special occasion lunches or dinners. The place was classy, pricey, but the service and food were consistently good. It had a grand piano in the middle of the dining area beside the grand staircase. On weekends, someone comes to play classical songs, including Phantom of the Opera. Then the restaurant started deteriorating, it shrunk in square footage, then it finally folded up. We felt sad of course.
Here in California, the restaurant that kind-of became our go-to when we want to have a little bit of formal dinner, either with no occasion, birthdays, serious dinners, etc. is the Red Lobster. We first discovered it at a shopping mall in Queens, NY when Oyen was a college freshman.
Red Lobster has branches around California so without any intention, it just became a default restaurant out of convenience. The place is a bit formal, pricey yes, but the food and service are consistently good just like the old Chinese restaurant in C5 Libis.
May 27, 2019
My sister was waiting for any plan to celebrate my birthday, maybe lunch. Two weeks prior, my son had been asking me what I wanted to do on my birthday, where I wanted to go, or if I wanted to have a party. I didn’t want any of those. The Tans would be gathering on May 26 and to have another party the next day would be a stretch for everyone.
I just wanted to relax and not entertain.
After lighting candles at the adoration chapel, we drove to the nearest Red Lobster restaurant for an early dinner.
A simple dinner to celebrate one more year of living in this great world, a privilege not granted to many.
I ordered a small portion of seafood sandwich.
Edmund ordered lobster tail with baked potato
The restaurant gave me a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a scoop of cream, topped with one single candle. They sang me a happy birthday song which hugged my heart. Red Lobster’s employees didn’t know who I was, they were only doing their jobs but still, the gesture made me blush. I blew the light on the candle and made a secret wish.
