Happy Easter (indulgence!)
For a couple of years when we lived in Shenzhen, we enjoyed Easter brunch at the German-run Kempinski Hotel with friends. It was a bit pricey, but we got to enjoy some rare Western luxuries, like unlimited bread and cheese, and for Myles, endless plates of meat. The deserts, too, were something to behold.
After a few years here in Beijing, we still have not managed to go to the Kempinski here, or any of the Western hotels, for Easter brunch. This year we were able to get a reservation at the Kempinski, our first choice. I dressed the kids in their Easter-ish clothes and took a picture in front of our building while they were still clean and unrumpled. Since there's no landscaping around our apartment, I just tried to find a spot with no visible garbage or dog poo. Yeah, I miss living in Shenzhen sometimes.
I contrast this with this photo from a few hours later, after brunch, in the hotel lobby on our way out to the car. No piles of poo to avoid there!
In between those two pictures we had a brilliant time. The food was incredible, though Myles did say that the lamb he sampled at church Thursday night was better than the hotel's.
It seems so foreign to me anymore to go to a restaurant or activity where the staff's job is not just to serve the food and be (somewhat) pleasant, but to assure that every single customer is having a fantastic experience. And I do mean every single customer.
Even though the food was buffet, there were waitresses whose job it was to make sure these two glasses never were empty. I drank the coffee faster, by the way.
There was a balloon clown!
Easter bunnies!
And a room for kids' activities. Brigid and Myles made Easter baskets.
I tweeted about three hours in that if they kept refilling my cups and entertaining my kids, it would take a crowbar to get me out of there. We did eventually pry ourselves away, having spent nearly as much time there as we had at Easter Vigil the night before (talk about contrasts!).
After a few years here in Beijing, we still have not managed to go to the Kempinski here, or any of the Western hotels, for Easter brunch. This year we were able to get a reservation at the Kempinski, our first choice. I dressed the kids in their Easter-ish clothes and took a picture in front of our building while they were still clean and unrumpled. Since there's no landscaping around our apartment, I just tried to find a spot with no visible garbage or dog poo. Yeah, I miss living in Shenzhen sometimes.
I contrast this with this photo from a few hours later, after brunch, in the hotel lobby on our way out to the car. No piles of poo to avoid there!
In between those two pictures we had a brilliant time. The food was incredible, though Myles did say that the lamb he sampled at church Thursday night was better than the hotel's.
It seems so foreign to me anymore to go to a restaurant or activity where the staff's job is not just to serve the food and be (somewhat) pleasant, but to assure that every single customer is having a fantastic experience. And I do mean every single customer.
Even though the food was buffet, there were waitresses whose job it was to make sure these two glasses never were empty. I drank the coffee faster, by the way.
There was a balloon clown!
Easter bunnies!
And a room for kids' activities. Brigid and Myles made Easter baskets.
I tweeted about three hours in that if they kept refilling my cups and entertaining my kids, it would take a crowbar to get me out of there. We did eventually pry ourselves away, having spent nearly as much time there as we had at Easter Vigil the night before (talk about contrasts!).
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