Eve

I have a drastically poor memory, so hence I was busy wishing all my closest friends with Christmas greetings however there was a catch - I shortened the greeting into an acronym. So instead everyone saw MCAAHNY on their Facebook wall.

The endless "???" was priceless and worth remembering. Who says you can't have some decent fun on Christmas?

My unit organized a Chirstmas Eve breakfast at White Rose Cafe which was in York Hotel this morning. As usual, my poor sense of direction misguided me and I alighted somewhere off course. I had to walk in the drizzle, looped around Paragon before I realized where York Hotel was situated. That's what happens when one does not drop by Orchard too much, I'm ashamed to even say I'm a local.

I never had an International Breakfast buffet style before, so this was definitely an eye-opener to me. The choices were literally endless and I was so glad I only drank a cup of Milo before coming here. Other than the basic rolls, bacon, ham, fruits and yogurt, there were also odd fare you would never see on an Asian breakfast list - mashed potatoes.

I was asked (or rather bugged) persistently to try the omelette. The omelette station was real interesting, there will be a chef waiting there to cook it on the spot along with choices of other ingredients and then serve to you on a plate. The chef looks Japanese, he probably couldn't speak English well because he was gesturing to me which ingredient I wanted. I selected mushrooms and it only took about a minute or two before he served it too me. Even though he was silent, but his expressions speak volumes about his service.

And for the first time in my life - I actually got to experience Blue Cheese. The whiff of it was extremely overpowering, and I thought Cheddar was strong enough. It's actually too sour to eat it alone, but it goes surprisingly well with almost a bit of everything. Following Remy the Rat (from Ratatouille), I sampled the cheese with basically fruit slices, bread and an assortment of choices. That's when the sweet factor started to kick in, it was like magic; a blend of sweet, sour and salty taste mingling with one another.

As I got bolder, I even tried to cheekily whip myself a cocktail of Grapefruit, Orange and Apple juice. Even though it wasn't alcohol, but it gave a high in the heavens sensation.

I thank my superiors for organizing this, and afterwards it was homebound for me. Orchard Road was surprisingly serene in the morning, plus the drizzle provided an excellent atmosphere for that Christmas Eve touch. I would have likened the weather to snow, since snow is pretty much a packed and frozen version of rain. I sat a bus home and enjoyed the sights and sounds (of my iPod), satiating the final "course" of the meal.

Christmas may not be traditional in Singapore, but it was definitely a moment to remember for life.