Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I Got Wined & Dined.

Sorry for the sudden disappearance but work deadlines and just about everything else has been distracting me for the past few days. And as for my brain, it's doing much better - thank you. I've self-diagnosed myself and have come to the conclusion that it was just a migraine.

But let's rewind back to last Friday where i had my pre-Valentine's dinner date with J.

The reservation was made at 6PM and J was informed we couldn't be late because apparently at 8:30PM another party of two had booked that particular table. J refused to tell me where we were going and kept saying it was a surprise but mentioned i should dress nice because the place was fancy.

I'm not very good at the guessing game but when we passed Pizza Hut, i figured that was off the list.


We eventually get to an underground car park and J leads me to a glass door entrance. Security is tight and we're meant to press the buzzer to be let inside. We're then told to get into the lift and it will automatically bring us to the ground floor.

At which point, i still had no idea where we were going.

Ooo so secret.


The door opens and arrive at what looks like the ground floor. We tell the woman we have a reservation and she then tells us to follow a waiter into another elevator and it takes us to the 30th floor.

And let me just add, for the interest of those readers who are not living in Germany, although there is no official law that restricts the height of structures, there is however a law aimed to protect historic skylines. Hence, the reason why many buildings that line the streets are no higher than six levels.


So anyway, we finally arrive at a restaurant called Osman 30 and we're told the couple that had made the reservation at 8:30PM has cancelled, so that meant we didn't have to rush through our meal. We're then led to our table beside the window but unfortunately it's raining so we can't properly enjoy the view.

But before we even get to order, we're asked if we would like to start with a drink and we both order a glass of bubbly wine. And just because we also order a delicious bottle of 2008 Sancerre white wine.

Even though i was able to understand 99% of the menu in German, i was still having troubles reading it.

It didn't help that the lights were dimmed low and the candle on our table was flickering. I often have trouble staying awake during candle lit dinners. I know it's meant to be romantic but damn those "sleepy lights".

Lucky for me hunger got the better of me. I had practically starved myself all day in anticipation for my surprise dinner date.


But when J asked the waiter if i could get the menu in English and the waiter returned, i had a weird feeling as i swapped the menus.

Maybe i'm just being paranoid but i felt like the waiter had that Why-am-i-not-surprised look on his face.


I apologise for the yellow and green tinge to the photos but i didn't want to use the flash because i didn't want to attract anymore unnecessary attention. I reckon some people must have thought i was a tourist because of the number of photos i was taking. Or perhaps thought we were on our first date because of the amount of giggling we were doing - i blame the alcohol and the fake breasted woman sitting at the table beside us.


Moving on...

The first course was a choice of three hors d'oeuvres. All of which were available from the huge trolley the waitress pushed towards us. As the woman explained each dish in English, i couldn't help but wish they were much bigger.


As for our mains, J had the salmon and requested for fried potatoes instead of what was on the menu.


I ended up having pike perch fish on a bed of mushrooms, almonds and a grapefruit infused hummus based sauce.


And for dessert, J chose the selection of cheese. One could choose five out of the selection that was presented.


I ended up going for something sweet which included a small dollop of white chocolate ice cream.


When the clouds cleared momentarily, we could see the Cologne Cathedral in the distance. The rain highlighted the silhouette.


After dinner we stepped out onto the deck to see if we could get a better view of the skyline but it was still raining and we couldn't really see anything.


Here's an artists' impression of the Kölnturm a.k.a Cologne Tower boasting 43 floors. "The Cologne Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in North Rhine-Westphalia [after the Post Tower in Bonn] and the twelfth tallest in Germany".


Back into the lift and satisfied.


On our way back to the car i realised i forgot to take a photo of what i wore, so i asked J to take a photo of me wearing heels [a rare occasion but it happens]. And only when i got home did i realise i was standing beside a handicap sign. Which i thought was perfect, since it basically summarised how i feel each time i walk in stilettos.

It may not be very often that i get wined and dined or that we spend as much as nearly a months' grocery bills in one sitting. But overall, i had a wonderful pre-Valentine's dinner. And next year, i'm totally suggesting Pizza Hut or something of that price range.

I wonder if there's a Domino's Pizza here?

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