It was a Thursday afternoon in November, fast approaching the time of twilight, and the long trek down Anderson to the junction of Grange was made longer by the bumper to bumper traffic, which sent a cavalcade of cascading panic and marital irritation between husband, wife and two toddlers in tow. Overhead, the orange hues of encroaching dusk, filtered through the leaf canopy of Singapore’s verdant green proved little salve for the rising tensions even if the journey towards a wedding anniversary event proved to be shorter than expected but longer than anticipated.
Life as a married couple, especially one with young children, makes a night out for romance one fraught with tactical and strategic challenges – doubly so when the babysitter isn’t available. In that perspective, what you’re about to read is how great service (maybe the best) proves to be nigh miraculous power that can alter the perspective of an evening bristling filled ill-conceived demands from mercurial offspring. Even as the minutes but in reality seconds passed, the iPhone mounted upon the car’s dashboard never sounded with the clangour of an impatient maître d’hôtel, calling to make enquiry as to one’s whereabouts.
Make no mistake, Shangri-La Hotel Singapore’s The Line dinner spread is considered the gold standard to which all other buffet offerings are compared. To borrow a phrase, “on buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.” In short, if you hadn’t called ahead, reservations at the country’s foremost dining saloon is almost always overbooked. Yet, still no calls were forthcoming.
Even as passengers disembarked, the hotel doorman, a smiling, Tibetan warrior-type with a burlesque moustache greeted us at the large twin doors. The red carpet leading to the entrance was for everyone but his warmth certainly conveyed that it felt like it was laid out especially for us.
Should a romantic evening not be built upon the back of a dimly lit, plush cushioned corner dining cubicle? I think not. Between strangers and even for second dates, a darkened niche is a recipe for unusual clumsiness and poor eye-contact whilst both individuals are already self-aware and self-conscious. Ignore first date game theory for a minute and consider my second proposal – what if you’re both foodies? Why limit your dinner to appetiser, main and a dessert? I digress.
The most important criteria in any amorous affair has to be developed upon the foundation of one’s thoughtfulness – either yours or preferably, the service staff. One simply cannot be expected to envision all needs but a seasoned maître d’hôtel can anticipate a wide gamut based on his interactions with hundreds if not thousands of other couples; and proactive customer service at Shangri-La is something as wondrous as the dinner line-up.
The venue and spread
It’s a 400-seater restaurant designed by acclaimed decorator Adam D. Tihany, which for all intents should be an antithesis for mood and ambience but set up as we were by the maître d’hôtel: baby seats in place, children’s cutlery and dinnerware properly positioned, we arrived flustered but took our seats to growing calm, luxuriating in attention of wait staff who pandered to our every request. Maslow described it best: when immediate needs are cared, it is human nature to start yearning for more and with our tykes properly managed and content, the wife and I were able to have a great conversation without having to worry about the nitty-gritties of parenthood.
Serving cuisine as widely travelled as its repute, one can find food from all major cultures – the Crustacean counter and its neighbouring Japanese vestibule for fresh seafood of both grilled and sashimi variety, exotic Indian cuisine including “off the hot plate” prata and spice-laden Teochew dishes and Cantonese dim sum beyond reckoning. Even fare like Singaporean Mee Pok, Laksa, roasted pork and Malay Satay were present in the offerings making dining at The Line at tad locally authentic but it was well balanced with dessert shelves of mostly French or Euro pastry topped with a dark chocolate fountain, which was a hit with the eldest of my progeny. It wasn’t fine dining but it was a gastronomic experience of a decidedly international nature.
Reactive service
It cannot be emphasised enough that the reactive and anticipatory service at Shangri-La’s The Line restaurant not only made our lives as parents easier, it allowed my wife to be impressed with the level of thoughtfulness presented that the hotel staff were all too happy to allow me to claim brownie points for. The anniversary cake was a brilliant surprise, not to mention the parking validation even before my lips opened. I was well sated with libation ranging from Tattinger and their house pours but chose only to partake in a single glass of white, opting to impress the mother of my children with some self-control; in essence, enthusing her to throw her own reticence to the wind later that evening once the kids were gently tucked in bed.
Ultimately, the whole stereotype of aphotic dining venues serves Hollywood as a cheesy scene-setting excuse for couples to indulge in dirty deeds between courses but if you happen to be an adult homeowner, you’d find the real romance in the approving comfort of your dazzled paramour.
Filed under: Lifestyle Tagged: Shangri-La Hotel
