We had gone to Tanuki Raw at JEWEL sometime during the middle of the year to celebrate a birthday.
And because we'd found the salmon sashimi there to be super fresh, ice-cold chilled, and deliciously thick, I found myself (secretly) wishing for the same when my birthday came around in the latter part of the year.
That being said, I'm not the kind to ask for things unless I'm asked first, so to no one, I said nothing, hinted nothing nor suggested nothing.
Imagine my quiet delight, therefore, when my friend told me one afternoon that dinner that evening had been planned at the Tanuki Raw opposite Hong Lim Complex somewhere near Cross Street and the CAPRI property, and would I please turn up at Chinatown MRT station thirty minutes past five?
Of course I did.
Now, you might be wondering what the deal is about birthdays at Tanuki Raw that made me want to go there.
Let's just say that the restaurant's got a fantastic birthday offer, and it's very hard for me to say no to a lovely, huge plate of ice-cold sashimi that comes free(!) upon the purchase of a bottle of wine.
The last time we were at Tanuki Raw we'd taken champagne.
This time we opted for a red.
Not simply because I prefer wine to champagne, but also because (in case we couldn't finish), red's easier to bring home.
It didn't take long for the bottle to appear at our table.
It also didn't take long for the dish of 40-plus salmon sashimi slices to appear.
I was especially delighted by the candle and the *HAPPY BIRTHDAY* stick on top of all the sashimi.
It wasn't so much that the restaurant was wishing me a happy birthday (as some restaurants do- with hand clappers, dance, and handbells even), but that this very-adult meal of wine and raw fish suddenly became somewhat more fun, somewhat more youthful, and the sight of that rainbow-colored wish stick, along with the pretty purple candle, made me smile.