Penang Buffet At Copthorne King's

The other day, I surprised myself by suggesting lunch with the colleagues. You know how picky I am about food. I avoid eating with people I'm not familiar with or those whose preferences don't match mine simply because there won't be one restaurant to please everyone.

As anti-social as I am at work, I mean to buy a farewell lunch for the colleague who is leaving at the end of the month. I really appreciate all the help she has given me all this while. So in her honor, I asked her to grab a couple more people to make a table of 5. This lunch would be all about what they liked to eat.

I picked the long-standing famous Penang buffet at Copthorne King's Hotel because it was Chinese food- something the colleagues would enjoy. Many people I know like the food. I guess it wouldn't go too wrong. The colleagues loved the spread. They loved the homemade taste of the pig stomach soup, Hokkien mee, assam laksa, etc. To my surprise, they hadn't eaten here or even heard of this cafe. I was quite taken aback because I've been eating here since I was a little girl. It is still Chef Loh Hong Chye who helms the buffet's kitchen. It's been a good 35 years since he started this buffet in 1970 and the food has never slipped in its standards.

I'm glad they enjoyed the outing. The sweetest thing- the colleagues insisted on paying me back! Oh goodness. I said no, it was a lunch that I wanted to buy. With all the discounts I got, the bill was so little that it didn't make sense for anyone else to pay. I was embarrassed to take their money. In the end, I still got S$20 from each. Luckily the colleague whose honor this lunch was held, didn't shove money into my hands. Still. DOH! My endeavor to buy lunch has failed. Heh.

I'm terribly particular when it comes to food, so I usually tell acquaintances not to buy me meals for whatever occasion- just buy me drinks. That would make me wayyy happier and it also reduces the chances that I actually have to sit down to drinks with them. Only the friends (and blog stalkers) would know what food/current eating places I like. So, because I picked this makan venue, I'm happy that everyone ate properly and lots of it! I was kinda worried that the colleagues wouldn't take to it.