So much food!

If I see another slice of salmon sashimi, whether on a bed of artfully arranged lettuce or not, I'm going to hurl.

It was a no-holds-barred contest as Weng, Cheryl, and I attacked the Japanese buffet at the Hilton. The lunch time crowd was truly vicious and it was all grabbing of serving tongs, diving for the last plate of sushi or tempura, and much elbowing and edging in the queue for the teppanyaki service. Okay, so it wasn't that dramatic, but the survival instinct was definitely there as people took the 'first come, first served' adage very seriously, and several dirty looks were exchanged up and down the buffet line.

The clamour for salmon sashimi eventually got the better of the chef, and he was slicing and serving up portions as fast as they were being grabbed off the counter. Soon he gave up on arranging the slices of raw fish attractively on romaine lettuce - no one cared for artistry, their greed was all-encompassing. There was one particularly initiative tai-tai who waltzed away with a dinner plate loaded with salmon slices; she had obviously put her feminine wiles to good use there.

Chocolate ice-cream ran out and then the ice for the cendol maker, and the posh little pastry cups of chocolate mousse and custard were disappearing quickly too - the kitchen helpers couldn't refresh food stocks fast enough. I doubt anyone touched the friend noodles or soba, because everyone had their game plan, and just like their ultra-kiasu counterparts across the causeway, it was apparently to eat as much of the expensive stuff as possible (to get real value for moneylah).

It was quite a slack afternoon though, with plenty of sitting still, trying to ease the digestion a little. I think I sat around too much though, because I suffered a severe back cramp later on in the evening which was the source of much hilarity. It really hurt to laugh (Joel and Jonathan!) but they wouldn't stop and neither could I.

Oh well, tomorrow it's back to school for the ickle kiddies, and back to driving them around. Here comes Monday.