as a thank you for doing the review, bill and i were invited to a special dinner at ben pao restaurant downtown. since we can't even remember the last time we got a baby sitter and went on a date, we were excited for the opportunity. this was my first time leaving lilianna with a non-family member so i was a little nervous but apparently everything went swimmingly.
we got dressed up in our best duds and made our way downtown. we found the place easily enough and even managed to find affordable parking.
we had no idea what to expect when we walked in. i wasn't sure if we would be sitting at a large table with a whole group of people, or if we would have to sit and listen to some type of presentation. in other words, i wasn't sure how much of a "date" this date would be.
what a thrill to notice that the whole restaurant was reserved for our party. our thrills continued as we were taken to a table for two. we had a great conversation as we enjoyed an incredible meal. we started with a delicious hot and sour soup, followed by an amazing assortment of appetizers and then we got to choose from a variety of entrees.
we looked over our choices carefully: orange chicken, szechuan style chicken, kung pao chicken, beef and broccoli, sweet & spicy shrimp, sweet and sour chicken, spicy garlic chicken and shrimp lo mein. we tried to eyeball what the people around us were getting so we could make the absolutely best choice.
bill ended up with the orange chicken and i got the beef and broccoli. we oohed and aahed over our amazing meal, so thankful for time away from the kids and an opportunity to reconnect with such fabulous food.
dinner was quickly followed by a delicious lemon-ginger cheese cake and chocolate spring roll (i was glad this wasn't a "first date" since i ended up with a big glob of chocolate completely covering one tooth. i was so into our conversation, i didn't even notice right away--but bill did!).
as we finished up, we were each given a fortune cookie. neither of us could believe what we read on our fortunes: "surprise! the entree you sampled this evening was a frozen dinner from wachai ferry."
i felt like we had just been a part of one of those coffee commercials where you see people in a fancy restaurant and hear the guy whispering, "that person doesn't know she has just been served instant coffee!" we had no idea we had just been served a frozen dinner!
the lady at the table next to us kept apologizing to her husband for taking him out for frozen dinner, but neither bill nor i felt gypped. we had a fabulous time together and we never would have known we just ate a frozen meal if they hadn't told us!
if you are looking for a little stay-at-home date night meal, you might just want to try a wanchai ferry frozen meal. it cooks up fast and easy and, apparently, brings the romance! you can find a coupon for $1.50 here.
bill and i received a free meal courtesy of wanchai ferry and ben pao, as well as a $50 gift card to cover the costs of our date night. we also received some coupons for free wanchai ferry frozen dinners and $10 off our next visit to ben pao. i wrote this review as a "thank you." the opinions expressed here are purely my own.
Hi, my husband and I were at the dinner also and didn't feel at all gipped by the night out, alone, like you it had been a LONG time. It was also a night we will NOT forget. As much as I DID like the one on one time with my husband I sort of wished we would have had the chance to mingle more with everyone as I was really looking forward to meeting some other "local" bloggers and networking. I'd love to have you stop by my blog http://www.ohboyohboyohboy.com and maybe I am missing it (it didn't load) but I don't see anywhere to follow you, subscribe or 'like" you on fb so I don't forget to come back and keep up??
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