claws..paws...and ice thawed

Friday
 
Went out for dinner with Joyce and her mum. It is a tradition from our days together where if one of us got a bonus, promotion or strike it rich through 4-D or Toto we would all go for dinner together.Since I had only just got my bonus at my last pay day, I told Joyce that I wanted to give them a treat. Joyce had initially suggested we go to Johor but that would have required us to take a full days leave.Instead we opted to go to No Signboard at Geylang.
 
I picked the ladies up from home and we drove to Yishun as Joyce had wanted to purchase a handsfree set for her X70. As I had been looking for one as well , I accompanied her. The shop we went to did not have stock.We then drove to Geylang for our crab.
 
I think the chili crab at No Signboard is the best although it is also among the most expensive.
 
They provide a valet parking service there.The concept of valet parking is kinda alien to me. I had not idea how it worked as in how to hand over the car,whether to tip or not and how to retrieve my car. But I just took it one step at a time...
 
We ordered chilli crabs, cereal prawns,sambal fried rice and a green dish supposedly a vege dish. The crab was a little disappointing. Maybe it was due to the weekend crowd. But it was still better than most places. I guess they set the bar so high that one comes to expect the same high standards whenever we patronise them everytime. Joyce loved the cereal of the prawns. She ate it by the spoon fulls!
 
I was amazed by the efficiency and the teamwork displayed by the staff of No Signboard. They take your orders promptly,they send the right dishes to the right table, clear dirty utensils with clockwork precision etc. It is run almost like a military operation. I remember how at a shout when parking attendants came to summons vehicles parked along the main road, staff appeared out of nowhere to drive off all the cars whilst one guy pleaded with the officers to give them a chance and delayed the officers from issuing any summonses. It was hilarious. Never seen something like that done before my very eyes before. After about 5 minutes the very same cars returned back to the very same road. Really was like a cat-and-mouse game.
 
After dinner (which came up to about $100 for three pax), we drove off to Yishun once more as Joyce and I were still looking for our earpieces for our phones, which incidentally are the same model and brand for the first time! Joyce is a Nokia loyalist and I am an anti-Nokia extremist. So most of Joyce's phones have been Nokia's and I have never come close to ever owning one of them. We went about Yishun Central and Chong Pang looking for the earpieces but could not find any. We agreed to go to church on Sunday TOGETHER and then after that go look for the stuff after that TOGETHER.
 
Joyce mum did mention that in 2 weeks she was gonna give a treat at Kim Keat and I am invited!! Yippie!!
 
Err...sent Joyce and mum home..yadda...yadda...yadda....
 
Was nice to see Joyce again and to be back again on talking terms especially after all the bad blood between us lately. She looks great as usual and even her mum has this funky new hair do which makes her look younger. It is nice to actually pig out at dinner again. It gets kinda old when you go out on a date and your date eats a quarter of what you consume. It is almost like pouring cold water on a person to me. It gets worse when the other party starts a diatribe about the pros of being vegetarian and the ills of eating meat. That is one of the reasons why Joyce and Lyn have such a special place in my heart. We can just eat anything and everything with a clear conscience. I love to eat.