Chinese in the dark

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner with a few of his work colleagues to celebrate our marriage. It was a really nice chance to meet a few of the people that he works with and their wives. Both wives were really beautiful ladies and they were very sweet as well.

Because my Mauritian is a lawyer, it follows that out of 7 people at the table, 5 were also lawyers. That makes for some funny stories, and better yet, they all speak English fluently. My first dinner party where I could actually communicate. It was so wonderfully refreshing...

At any rate, we met in Trianon to eat at the Imperial China Restaurant. First, I must say that this is a nice place. It's not over the top fancy shmancy, but it's got a nice atmosphere, it's comfortable and professional ,and the tables aren't all bunched together. We sat down and enjoyed our meal together... We had some chicken and cream corn soup, some calamari and some fried fish, some cashew chicken (real cashew chicken, not Springfield MO cashew chicken), steamed fish and a venison dish that was absolutely fabulous. I've never had venison that tasted that good. Toward the end of our meal we all heard a "crack" and the lights were out. The electricity in the building had gone. The waiters and waitresses frantically rushed around until everyone had a candle at their table. It was an unplanned candlelight dinner. Amusingly enough, everyone also pulled out their cell phones to use as flashlights.

The bad part about this experience is that when the electricity goes, so does the air conditioning and on the second floor of a building, in a restaurant, it heats up quick... Our waitress kept asking us to be patient... Poor girl. We waited for what I would guess to be about 30 minutes. Each of us carefully picking through our food in the dark.

When it came time to pay the bill, the electricity was still not on. This meant that the waitress had to try to add up our ticket the old fashioned way. Now, let's not forget that I was at a table with lawyers, and so during this excercise the negotiating began. In the end, they negoitated us a 10% discount and a free coffee. Not too shabby I'd say.

Before we left, the electricity did come back on and we were able to have our coffee in a lighted room. I had a fun time and there was no harm done (except for the customer who ate a fish bone in the dark and tried to ask for a 50% discount... Good luck Mr.).

The reason for this blackout was unknown although losing electricity in Mauritius isn't a completely unheard of phenomenon, especially during cyclone season. I suppose it's a good reminder to pick up some candles next time I am at the store and also a good memory to keep in my head. :-)