Western Wednesday this time was the most expensive for me ever, I estimate it cost me 500 yuan. It also cost Olivier a fair bit as well.
Just as I kept the menu secret except from Joan, Ollivier kept his cake secret from everyone including me. Everyone had been told by me not to mention it was Joan’s birthday and make no comment unless she said anything, the idea being for her to think we didn’t care or had forgotten.
Attendees were of course the three barbarians along with Joan, Aurane and Anna.
My starter of salt’n’pepper squid was disappointing to say the least. With the cold weather now, I should have defrosted the squid 24 hours before. As it was, when I came to fry it there was that much water I had to empty the frying pan twice! I also overdid the five spice and have to count the dish as a disaster but then how do you learn except by your mistakes? If I attempt it again I will buy fresh squid and cut it myself.
The main course though was a prawn and mushroom balti which was a complete (and bloody expensive!) cheat. I had lined Mr and Mrs Patak’s pockets with 300y in order to buy two jars of curry sauce and a pot of hot mango pickle. With Ollivier providing the rice, I simply had to griddle the chapattis (unbelievably they are sold frozen in RT Mart) and we were all eating happily. I think I ate more last night than I had all week.
And then of course it was time for Ollivier to visit the balcony. I am certain Joan was crestfallen that I had forgotten her birthday, which was indeed the first she had ever not celebrated with her family. I can imagine her thoughts. Ollivier took an age to light the candles behind a closed door but eventually the prearranged signal of “OK” drifted through his bedroom door. At that I hit the light switch and he entered into the dark room with a candlelit cake. Immediately Kevin and I burst into a rendition of “Happy Birthday To You” and Joan’s face was a delight. She confessed to being very moved because she had indeed thought nobody knew it was her 20th birthday. Even as I sit here now I get a warm glow and am so glad we made it special for her.
I have to raise my hat to Ollivier though. He slaved over making the cake and by his own account he took nearly twelve hours to bake and decorate it. Remember, he is not trained and only started making cakes two years ago when he came here. It was four kilos in weight and six of us could only eat half of it. The other half was stolen away by Joan to take to her dormitory for her room mates and according to Ollivier’s blog today it took them until midnight to polish it off. That’s six Chinese students.
Aside from the squid the meal was in my eyes a great success but all the more because we made someone’s birthday.
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