What A Great Night!

(front row, L-R) Leanne (Steve's fiancee), Sian and I.

(back row, L-R) Steve, Phill, and Adam (Sian's husband).

Sian, Steve, and I, who reside in the "inner sanctum" of the office decided ages ago to have a Christmas dinner together with our spouses this evening. And we chose Willowlake, which is at Macs Cove, and about 20 minutes drive from Mansfield. The restaurant recently came under new management - a young chef and his fiancee. He has extensive experience abroad and in Australia working with famous chefs (including with Gordon Ramsay) and in reputable restaurants in Melbourne.

For dinner, I had T-bone steak, Phill and Steve had turkey, Leanne (Steve's fiancee) had risotto, and Sian and her husband, Adam, had duck. Sian gave me some of her duck and I reckon hers was the best dish! Duck is usually a tricky dish cos I've tasted duck meat which has been cooked pretty badly it tasted rubbery.

Phill and I had pineapple and banana fritters for dessert. You should have seen our faces when we tasted banana - it's like we were eating an imperial banquet - YUM! We have not had a banana for ages...yup, we're deprived. Because of Cyclone Larry in Queensland early this year, the prices for banana skyrocketed to about $20/kg so we haven't bought bananas since.

I thoroughly enjoyed the night. We were laughing alot of the time. We spoke about our life and our grievances at work and it was nice that our other and better halves were there. Phill looked like he had a great time too. Sian's husband, Adam, was really funny too. But his humour was delivered with a straight face which made me laugh even more. I enjoyed the company very much and am looking forward to our next dinner!