FAREWELL MANDARIN
Last Saturday we enjoyed what would be our final family celebration at the Mandarin Golf & Country Club. After a more then 20 year run, the Mandarin officially closed its doors.
For as long as I can remember, the Mandarin has played host to our family gatherings. From weddings, to funerals, baby celebrations to casual Sunday dim-sum, the Mandarin has been the one constant in our gastronomical life. The food was always very good, in fact many times it was brilliant. The crab done 3-ways was the stuff of legend; spring onion, garlic and curry. The trifecta of crustacean bliss.
It was my father-in-law's club, actually his former club. After many years as a member, the annual fees no longer made sense in this post Tiger Woods era where there are more golf clubs then golfers. The for members only restriction never seemed to apply to the Zee family. Thank God.
With its best before date long past due, the Mandarin was still charming. I was quite sure over the last couple of years that the leaky urinals in the men's bathroom would one day explode and sink the entire club house. They survived intact. The high tech, sensor controlled automatic paper towel dispenser however worked perfectly right to the very last day. Each time dispensing the perfect amount of paper into your wet hands. It almost felt like it was done out of a sense of pride for the glory days when everything was shiny and perfect and new.
The images below were taken a couple of weeks back. Our last dim-sum at the Mandarin. It was a lovely autumn day. The food was delicious. We knew the clock was ticking for our final dinner, a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for my in-laws, but the menu needed to be settled, the amount agreed to. Three tables of twelve. Somehow we would squeeze everyone in. They would make it work, as they always did.
SHOT WITH FUJI X100T
