J's Birthday Celebrations

Happy to meet J and L for dinner at Viio Gastropub because this was J's overdue birthday celebration. The restaurant also had to put their reservation on hold. From our initial party of eight people, we went down to this table of four, as stipulated by the country's regulations during this period to not gather in more than groups of five. Fine by me. None of us are comfortable meeting too many people nowadays.

This was our first sit-down/dine-in meal at a restaurant since the lockdown ‘Circuit Breaker’ on 7 April. We moved into Phase 1 on 4 May, and it’s currently Phase 2, in which restrictions on social gatherings were eased on 19 June. But we weren’t in the mood to zoom out to where the crowds rushed to, and we aren’t in any hurry now either. We're taking it easy, meeting only a tight circle of friends each week. 

Chef Ronald Li’s take on regional foods and ingredients have this uniquely Singaporean twist that I really enjoy. The dinner menu tonight was dependably tasty. Dear L chose well! Along with the chef, she specially picked out the foods for tonight, not just to complement the wine, but for overall enjoyable. The man totally enjoyed the starter of baked bone marrow, gambas and camembert. The mesh of flavors was superb. My favorite dish of the night had to be the pasta — bucatini simply tossed in tomato sauce and topped with a parmesan wafer round. It wasn't just because I'm partial to carbs. Well, I am, heh, and that makes me pickier. The pasta sauce was uncomplicated, unconfusing and hit every spot. 

We took a slight break before having the steak. I wasn't in the mood for cured or brined steaks. Those hold too many flavors that I need to be in an appetite for. Tonight, a straight-up salt and pepper with sauces at the side was what the stomach wanted. I had kept the beef + meat quota for tonight. The 1.4 kg grain-fed tomahawk was quite the star of the night. Beautifully grilled, it was served with pomme purée, roasted potatoes and rocket salad. 

I like Viio Gastropub for its casual vibes and convenient location. We've always sat outdoors each time we come by. This was the first time we sat indoors. With this much food, sitting in air-conditioning was much more comfortable. The hosts brought wine, but it wasn't meant to be a crazy night of drinking, so we went easy on the bottles. I hadn’t been drinking that much alcohol for a bit, so I went easy on the wines. They brought a conservative two bottles, a lovely champagne and a magnum of red. 😮  

Ahhh... we've missed the friends’ company. Sure we talk, but nothing beats sitting down to food and IRL conversation. We see J and L often, so they go into the same tight group of people whom we've earmarked to meet week by week. The man and I are consciously keeping face-to-face socializing to a minimum. This isn’t a time to circumvent rules by doing ‘meet 5 pax X 5 times a day’. It doesn’t work that way because it’s irresponsible behavior. (Of course if you’re back at work in a venue, that’s a different ball game.) I'm not keen to meet different people every other day because I do have old folks to look out for, and along with my various activities, I don't want to put friends at risk. I really don't want to be the inadvertent asshole to start a cluster.