Annual Work Dinner

Two Friday evenings ago was my company's annual dinner at Pak Loh Chiu Chow Seafood Restaurant in North Point. It was an awkward night of eating, game playing and generally not understanding most things (as most of the time people spoke Cantonese, not English for the two gweilos in the room).

The dinner was served like most other Chinese events I have been to: with a lazy Susan in the middle of the table and a series of dishes for everyone to share. Unfortunately, because the evening was not just about eating, the food came even more spaced out than usual, which made it hard to feel very full.

However, most everything was pretty tasty, even if it took a long time in arriving. There were several seafood dishes, including a whole steamed fish and cooked oysters that tasted rather like dirt. We also had these prawns, the jumbo-est of shrimp I have ever seen! 

Another seafood dish served was abalone, which I had never tried before. Since I have lived here, I have heard abalone praised highly, but I honestly wasn't too impressed. The flavor was okay, not too fishy, but it was difficult to extract from the shell and awfully chewy and rubber-like to eat.

Other courses in the dinner included a whole roasted chicken, complete with the head; Chinese New Year cake made of glutinous rice; and absolutely delicious fried rice with scallops. I am sorry to say that I didn't win any prizes at the dinner, but at least the food was free!