So we finally did it. Kind of. When Sankala and I got married in 2020 during what we thought was the height of the Covid pandemic, social distancing restrictions meant that our party consisted of the two of us, plus one witness on each side, and the civil celebrant who made it official. We had told ourselves and everyone else that when travel opened up again, we would host a 'real' wedding banquet in Taipei and invite our friends to join us there. It's been almost 2 years since that fateful day, and travel still hasn't opened up for Hong Kong and Taiwan. Quarantine is still required at both destinations, and non-nationals would have a pretty tough time even getting into Taiwan. So we have kinda given up on the idea of doing a big bash, and allowed the Parental Units to organize a small dinner with a close circle of family and the Parental Units' friends. I had been seeing posts about Silks House (晶華軒) at the Regent Taipei, and one particular dish tickled my fancy, so I informed the old fogeys of my intention to host the dinner there. As it turns out, on the night of our actual wedding, the Parental Units hosted a dinner at this very restaurant to celebrate dad's 80th birthday. It was from here that they spoke to us via a video call after our wedding ceremony. So the Parental Units contacted the restaurant to make sure the same private dining room was reserved as it is able to seat more than 20 people around one large table. Meanwhile, I got in touch with the restaurant to set the menu. I had zero interest in taking their standard set menus as they inevitably include shark's fin - which is a definitely no-no in my book - and other high-end ingredients I don't have much interest in. I insisted on picking out the dishes that I wanted to try, and I am grateful for the Parental Units' willingness to indulge me. We arranged a short ceremony before dinner so that Sankala and I could serve tea to the Parental Units as well as the elders in my family, and this was being done in a suite in the hotel upstairs. Due to a miscommunication between dad, the hotel, and me, we almost couldn't get it done in time. Fortunately we were able to clear things up and check-in properly for Sankala and mom to have their make-up done. The ceremonial tea service was relatively straightforward, and we had a number of people joining us for a photo op. We adjourned to the restaurant for dinner, and dad happily made brief introductions regarding all of tonight's guests. Sankala remarked that she's always known dad to be the quiet one, so she was amazed at how much talking he actually did today... The meal started with 2 appetizers. I had disregarded the recommendations of the restaurant and dispensed with their usual selection of 6 starters. When the appetizers were served, I quickly realized how foolish I looked... as there were too few portions to go around for a table of 22. Definitely did not start off on the right foot...
