N's 40th

Nobody minded a dim sum lunch at the old-school Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant to celebrate N turning 40. The only thing- N and and her husband S are in the middle of switching to a vegetarian diet and still insisted on this Chinese restaurant. Chinese restaurants are the worst for vegetarian diets. UGH.

N thought she would inconvenience the table if she had picked a vegetarian restaurant. We rolled eyes. We could have gone somewhere else! We should have! None of us minded a vegetarian meal. It's way easier to have friends support them on this endeavor at gatherings than do this at their family dinners.

The man and I have so many friends who are vegetarians that it isn't any trouble at all to choose restaurants to have a meal with them. There are many good ones around. Just don't do the vegetarian Japanese restaurants please. Those 'salmon sashimi' seriously sucks. We love Indian vegetarian food because of how the spices lend so much depth and flavor to the food; dhal is such a staple at home. We can easily cook the friends a meal that doesn't involve mock meats, non-plant lecithin, fried crap and such. Even cooking non-dairy and gluten-free dishes is almost a breeze for us now.

Found somewhat vegetarian items for N and S at lunch. But the oyster sauce in the dishes would be a no-no. We requested for those to be swopped out to soy or simply use garlic. The rest of the table was easy with the usual dim sum and congee items. Threw in a bit of roast duck and steamed BBQ char siew buns, and lunch was a happy affair for the stomachs because it didn't end in a food coma. We definitely had space left for the 500-gram birthday cake — a light and refreshing mango and yuzu mousse sponge combination from The Patissier.

Happy 40th, N! Never stop chasing your dreams. Go feel alive. We admire your grit and determination. However, FFS, put a good sports doctor on a retainer. Eat clean, and paddle hard, live and love well.