My first Singapore Dinner Dance!

First of all, thank you so much for all the kind and caring words from my last post.  Each comment was just another reminder of the great support and love I have from so many back home.  While I wish I could give you all hugs for your kind encouragement for now a shout out via the blog will have to do.  So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Backing up to Saturday morning (not long after I posted my homesick post) I decided to go for a little walk around my neighborhood.  I realized I hadn’t done this given my close proximity to the subway and other amenities I don’t really have a need to walk around the blocks.  It’s funny how an area you might pass each day in a car (or taxi to work in my case) suddenly has a different feeling when you walk around.  As I made my way around a couple different streets, I spent time taking in the scenery and suddenly I felt much better.  Taking a moment to think about what makes this place special and different from my home helped me to find that relaxed and adventurous Laura I had lost for a moment. 

Ok onto some good stuff!

Saturday night was my work dinner dance!  Now when I think dinner dance I think eating and dancing…well to my surprise there wasn't any dancing.  The night started with a cocktail hour in which they had a guy doing caricature drawings, drinks, and lots of photographers.  Everyone was so excited to take pictures and I got roped into a couple too.  The fun part was that they printed the pictures right away for everyone to take a copy with them.  It was fun seeing everyone dressed up, some ladies were more done up than others but all in all everyone looked great.  The theme of the evening was Flying Colours – Fostering Unity, Embracing Diversity.  Our table made up of finance people decided to each wear different colored outfits to support the theme (unfortunately we weren't dubbed the best dressed table of the evening). 

Here are some pictures of me with my coworkers:

 

After everyone arrived, we headed into the ballroom.  First of all, thank goodness I wore a scarf (courtesy of Meg from her wedding) because it was freezing in there!  But the MC for the evening took the stage and the show began.  They started with a few quick speeches from our General Manager of the plant and the Employee Engagement team who put the whole thing together. 

Next they announced the winner of the EZ-Link card design competition and lucky us, we each got an EZ-Link pass with $5 on it to take home!  An EZ-Link card is just a pass to use on the MRT (subway).  You load money onto it and can use it until the money runs out instead of having to purchase single trip tickets each time.  I already have a pass so I will be saving this one for my next visitor, Emily, when she comes to Singapore!

By this time my tummy was grumbling and I was looking forward to some good food…well I was until I looked at the menu:

Do you recognize these items?  Because I sure didn't know what I was getting myself into!

The lights dimmed and the wonderful Disney song “Be Our Guest” started playing over the speakers.  Then the waiters came out each holding a large platter of the appetizers.  They lined up in rows and did a little spin before dropping off the first course at each of our tables.  Thankfully the shrimp and the egg rolls were my safety go-to’s in this round.

Appetisers: Egg rolls, shrimp, jelly fish, century egg, top shell

Then came the fish maw soup…my coworker informed me that this is a soup that is commonly substituted for the formerly popular shark fin soup.  Did Laura have any clue was fish maw soup was?  Of course not but she politely tried a bite of the mucus-textured brown stuff anyway.  It tasted about the level Laura expected and she quickly texted Ethan to let him know she tried it.  Ethan then sent a text back explaining what fish maw was and Laura’s appetite quickly dropped (as well as her spoon). 

Mmmm fish maw!

Fish maw – (as per Wikipedia) is also known as the swim bladder of the fish, “is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, thus to stay at the current water depth without having to waste energy in swimming”.  And I ate it.  Maybe it’ll help me to be a better swimmer?

Moving on, we then were given a plate of roasted chicken with prawn crackers – nothing out of the Singapore ordinary.  I of course ate it with chili sauce YUM!  Then we had fried prawn which I didn't manage to snap a picture of because it was actually something I also enjoyed eating so I grabbed 2 as quickly as I could.  Then came weird slimy mushrooms…I passed on those. 

The final two main courses were Hong Kong style sea bass which was good (and yes I am emotionless when it comes to having a fish mouth open at me while I’m eating it).  And finally noodles!!!  Thankfully I had learned from my first traditional Chinese banquet back in the US for my great friends Katie and Benjy’s rehearsal dinner that the starches (rice/noodles) come at the end of the meal.  I had hope that if I waited it out I’d be happy, and I was!

Hi Fishy!

And for dessert we had chilled honeydew sago soup…and I enjoyed it…and I’m realizing more and more how Singaporean I’m becoming liking all these types of dishes!  Though cold dessert soup cannot trump my mom’s homemade pie!

Dessert cold soup

While all this feasting was going on, there were lots of entertainment acts happening to keep my face scrunched in confusion.  There was a random alien thing that came in and walked around.  Then there we all got a piece of piping and had to connect it to get marbles to go across the ballroom.  And another weird act that included the song “I’m too sexy”, men in ladies underwear (over their pants thank goodness), and weird poses. 

Of course the BEST part of the night was at the end when they announced the winners of the lucky draw.  AND I WON A PRIZE!!  Throughout my whole life there have been only a few times I have been lucky enough to win raffles/draws.  My first memory of winning something was at a D.A.R.E event when I was in kindergarten and I won a t-shirt.  My next memory was when I won a free whale watch (while on a whale watch, hence why I didn't go on another whale watch).  And now I can add winning a tablet at a Singapore dinner dance to the list!  Oh I was so shocked that they called my number about 5 times before I looked at my card and realized it was me!

After the lucky draw was announced, everyone slowly started to make their exit.  Yet for some reason I suddenly became a celebrity and lots of people (most of whom I do not know) started asking to take their picture with me.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I’m a minority in the group.  But I put on a happy face and pretended they were fans of my hit singles “skimminerinkeedinkeedink” and “I am a ballerina”.  (That’s a story for another day). 

It was a wonderful evening and though it was quite silly at times, I enjoyed myself and getting to hang out with my co-workers outside of the office.