If you think I have a lot of friends, Rajo Laurel has 10 times more than I.
If you read my blog or know me, you know that I am not done celebrating my birthday and it is already three weeks past it.
For Rajo, a birthday dinner was given to him by the beautiful and graceful Ms. Lorna Laurel, 2 months after his real birthdate.
Luckily, I was on THIS party's guest list. Only ten seats. Only ten extremely LUCKY people.
Tita Lorna has an amazing home. Ito ang tunay na mayaman. I am not exxagerating when I say that Tita Lorna lives in a Filipino version of Downton Abbey.
The decoration, the paintings, the little cups and saucers. The house staff!!! OMG, the house staff. I want all my house help to learn lessons from hers. They are efficient, polite, quiet and so well mannered. Mana sa amo!!! Very well trained.
We were first entertained with some crackers, salmon dip, pate and champagne. I kid you not, Tita Lorna was outdrinking me like I was a 3 year old. She kept on cheering everyone and I had no choice but to drink up so that I could keep up with the Laurel's.
Ten minutes after I arrived, I was tipsy. Nix can attest to that. I was starting to talk like a gangster!! Hindi bagay sa Downton Abbey ni Tita Lorna!
Before I got too wild, dinner was served. We moved to the dining area.
Just check out the table setting.
First course was duck consume.
Between and during each course, there's a lot of chitchatting. I MEAN A LOT!!!! It was nonstop chatting, laughing, giggling, munching and drinking. The champagne was replaced by red and white wine. I stuck to the champagne.
Second course, don't hate me....LOBSTERS with potato salad. I had two servings. I could have had more but the smell of roasted duck was in the air. I had to save space.
Noticed the cuteness of the salt and pepper holder.
And true enough, our duck came out. Tender, juicy and very flavorful. I wanted to eat it Max Fried Chicken style but I needed to show some class. With 5 glasses of champagne so far, I was acting more klazzy than classy.
This is the real stuff. If I had a party at home, I would just order cakes and bring it in. In this part of town, the cook makes them fresh. The cup was piping hot.
Put a little (or a lot) of cream.
And DEVOUR.
We called for the chef to come out. We were told that he's 80 years old but there was a lot of confusion as to what his real age is. No one really knows. We will stick to 80. It's more dramatic.
After that hefty dinner, we were asked to go back to the sala or the library for some cookies, tea, coffee or more champagne. I was doomed.
Before I made my way to the sofa, I had to take photos of the beautiful trinkets of Madame Lorna.
The stories continued. Same with the pouring of champagne. I was done. I conceded and admitted to Tita Lorna that she is the champion.
In all honesty, she really is something else. I am only too happy, proud, grateful and humbled to be amongst one of her friends. That's what she is and that's exactly what she made me feel. Even with the age gap, she treated everyone like her good friend.
Because of her and Rajo and everyone I had the pleasure of dining with, I am even more grateful for the life God has given me.
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