first fine dining experience

because of my bespren's rep as the brave one in trying out new dishes, and since she almost always end up with a good choice, i chose the GAMBERONI ALLA GRIGLIA she suggested for dinner last night.

rewind to the beginning...

we were running late for the 6pm dinner, dahil both me and hubby je were not feeling well. stomach problems, probably from the coconutmilk-based chicken curry we had for dinner the night before. so eto kami, all dressed up nicely, running yellow traffic lights para makapunta sa drug store at bumili ng fast-acting imodium. hahaha! nung nakainom na kami, we flew our way to the bridge, going to the other side of Tampa Bay.

the resto was at the penthouse of the Hyatt hotel. when we got there, grabe, valet parking! ang haba ng pila sa valet! buti na lang nakita ni hubby je na may "parking area" na malapit. so di kami nagpa-valet, kami na mismo nagpark. then we headed to the hotel.

it was intimidating inside! people were really dressed up nicely. it's like you will be kicked out if you're wearing a t-shirt or jeans. we followed signs to the resto, and we ended up on an elevator exclusively for the resto's diners. astig! no need to push buttons, directly dun na sa floor ng resto ang hinto!

when we got out, we informed the hostess we're with "Big Boss"' party. tinuro lang sa amin yung daan, hindi kami sinamahan. i was just surprised, kasi ang alam ko pag ganon, sinasamahan talaga sa table. oh well. probably because we look young, and we look like Asians? kebs ko!

while walking to the table, grabe, i feel so jaded! straight-body talaga ako, chin-up, and talagang rampa! hahaha! class A talaga yung resto, puro naka-itim halos yung mga tao, naka-suit or dress yung iba. i was wearing slacks and my girly black-and-pink, string-haltered top na halos halfway backless na. skirt sana, pero ang lamig eh. =P si mister naman, naka-long-sleeved, cream-colored Polo polo shirt at dark green slacks. pogi ni mister, makalaglag-p**ty! *lol*

nung nasa table na kami, shempre, pakilala ng mga spouses... tapos chika ng onti. may appetizers na, at may white wine. nung una, ayaw ko sana ng wine, but yung misis ng teammate ko, inalok ako. i said something lame, and i thought the only way to redeem myself, is to actually have some wine na nga lang. so ayun, i ordered wine. by bottle pala! so shempre, refill na rin yung mga glasses nila. hehehe!

orderan na, kunwari tingin-tingin pa kami ni je. pero on our way there, binasa ko na yung ni-print kong menu while je was driving. hehehe! at shempre, nakapili na kami. =P for table ethics, i had hubby je order for me. naks! ;-)

while waiting for our food, may announcement si TeamLead. he handed out a "h a t s o f f" award to me and another teammate. at this point, si BigBoss naman, he handed an award din for TeamLead. turns out, only your direct superior can give that award, so parang cascading. the award is to recognize our "excellent work and dedication" daw dun sa project. huwaw!!! wala pa kong 1 year sa company, may award na agad ako! hehehe! and the best part is, it comes with a $100 gift certificate! i can use the GC on stores listed dun sa GC. andaming stores, it seems like it's good as cash na rin. nakakatuwa lang, at nakakataba ng puso.

pagdating ng food, grabe, it's so pretty! it's so pretty you wouldn't wanna eat it. i thought sana dinala ko camera ko! but that would be tacky. hehe!

served on square, white porcelain, and heavy plates... yung shrimps ko, mukhang lobster na sa laki! there were just 4 HUUUUGE pieces. sauce on the plate, then a raviolli bathing on it. tapos layer ng fresh baby spinach. tapos nakapatong yung 4 shrimps ko dun sa spinach in a nice layout. then a couple of raviolli, topped with tomato cubes and something green that looks like grounded spinach leaves. really nice! at ang sarap ha! the raviolli were especially delicious. flavorful talaga. i was so full, i gave up on half a shrimp, and a bite of the raviolli. hehehe!

after nun, dessert naman. sobrang busog na ko, so hindi na ko umorder. after ng dessert, may free truffles pa! yun na lang dessert namin ni je. sarap! may natirang isa, pero supposedly, one for each person lang eh, so even if i still wanted another one, pinigilan ko sarili ko. hehehe!

andami rin naming napagchikahan before, during and after the meal, ang sarap din pala kausap ng mga yon pag tungkol sa married life. kami lang ang newlyweds, relatively, kaya andami nilang funny anecdotes about each other. kami lang din ata pinakabata. =P

nung palabas na kami, i found out na halos lahat pala kami, except for TeamLead, ay hindi nagpa-valet. i felt so much better. hehehe!

all in all, it was a great experience. sobrang thankful ako kay BigBoss, kasi ang kuwela nya. kaya kahit nasa classy resto kami, cowboy pa rin sya. naging mas laidback yung atmosphere because of him. =) *pinches his cheeks*