HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

As a belated anniversary gift to our good friends Paul and Wai Chin, we made reservations for four at a  restaurant in Scarborough for Chinese New Year this past Wednesday.

We had tried several other restaurants without success for that day and were surprised this establishment,Tastyland Asian Gourmet, was so accommodating. In fact, when we called to change our reservation from 4 to 5 pm, they said it wouldn't be a problem.    

Although we arrived a bit early to meet our guests, we were soon thrown into a complete muddle. We just couldn't find the restaurant. As we walked the indoor mall, I googled the restaurant and was happy to read we were only 40 metres away from our destination, then 30, then 20....but no restaurant. I hastily dialed the restaurant number and was told that the establishment was right next to a social services office.

The office was in sight but not the restaurant. We asked for help at a take-out Chinese counter at the perimeter of a food court. The lady there seemed as confused as we were. 

"There's no restaurant by that name here," she said. "Let me look at their website on your phone."

After a moment, she looked up in disbelief and said, "That's my phone number you've been calling."

How very bizarre!

It turned out that her take-out spot was new, calling itself So's Fast Kitchen. Now it was becoming clearer. That website was an old one and So's had simply taken Tastyland's phone number.

No wonder it had been so easy to get reservations there! Sure, come any time. The food court has lots of room...lol!

Quickly, we retraced our steps to a large Chinese buffet we had noticed at the south end of the mall. We could only hope that Paul and Wai Chin had gone there without the need of our faulty directions. Sure enough, they were waiting for us when we finally arrived, blissfully unaware of our panic.

Thankfully, everything turned out well in the end, a pleasant evening for everyone. 

I'm not one to believe in legends but just maybe there is something to the folklore that this Year of the Snake will be a very difficult one. It certainly began that way for us.