My office has not had a formal Christmas party since 2015. For the past couple of years, employees…read morehave had to supply the entertainment for our informal Christmas gatherings. I suppose that the talent pool has run out and the company cannot afford to get everyone into psychological recovery sessions after performing in these gatherings. This year, it was time to enjoy everyone's company at a banquet and shell out. We had our Christmas party was Pearl Banquet Hall.
Pearl Banquet Hall is a convenient five-minute drive from the office. Last Tuesday, I was taking a 7 am conference call from home that lasted for four hours. I took the final hour of my call in my car, opting to pick up a new employee and one of my students to the venue.
Pearl is on a street with a bunch of industrial factories. It's an odd location, but I am getting used to this setup around this area. We got there before 11 am, as our team was a part of the gingerbread-decorating competition. There was plenty of parking in the lot. However, there must have been 300 of us. Those coming in later, such as my manager, had to park on the street.
The banquet hall is pretty big. We had round tables set up where each one accommodated ten guests. The place settings were nicely done with a Christmas-themed centrepiece and a number on each table.
We went on stage to participate in our gingerbread-decorating competition. I was so proud of how our team did despite not getting the grand prize. There were two long tables for all teams to work on our gingerbread houses for an hour.
The food was primarily East Indian, with some western items tossed in for variety. There were hors d'oeuvres after we were done with our gingerbread houses. One area had coffee tea, milk, and cookies available. The hot foods area had fried fish, chilli chicken, and chana. I loved the fried fish the best. It was flavourful, crispy, and delicious. I liked the chilli chicken and chana, too. The flavours were perfect.
Lunch was served just after noon. It was buffet-style and folks from specific table numbers were invited to help themselves. It was like lining up to board a plane. Our team was seated closest to the buffet area. However, we were pretty close to the end of the number-calling process.
When our table number was finally called, it was like the gate was opened and the hound dogs were released on the track to run wild. We headed over to the food area to line up.
I loaded up on naan, chicken tikka masala, salad, noodles, rice, and chicken in mushroom sauce. I loved the chicken in mushroom sauce. It was a nice change. The chicken breast was perfectly done and the mushroom sauce was scrumptious. It was a first for me to dip my warm, soft naan into the sauce in my life.
I overdosed on carbs. For the next two hours, I sat at the table with my colleagues in a carb coma. Note to myself: Don't get four pieces of naan with noodles and rice, and expect fo function normally.
Don't ask me how I managed to levitate from my seat and head over to the dessert area. I couldn't even tell you. I did manage to get a small piece of chocolate cake with mousse and a brownie. I loved the former. It was so good. The brownie was dense, but good. I went back into my food coma for a bit after eating them.
Staff clearing our plates and bringing water to our tables were prompt and professional. They were hard-working and great.
Our social committee planned a number of games, including a marshmallow mouth-catching one. It got messy with missed marshmallows everywhere on what was the dance floor. Staff at Pearl were great at bringing brooms to clear the marshmallows away so we could continue with our games. Nice job!
Washroom signs were clearly marked in the banquet hall. The women's washroom was clean and bright, with plenty of stalls. I liked that the mirrors had built-in power buttons. You press the button, and the mirror provides more lighting to apply your makeup or get a closer look at your pulsating zit.
The bar was steps behind our table. It wasn't open bar for our party, but those paying $5 a drink were pretty pleased with their booze.
I had a wonderful time. I hope that we have another Christmas party next year at this venue.
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