The best thing about our trip to Hakone was that there was a very nice restaurant in the hotel, which served a set course meal for breakfast and dinner. The hardest thing about our trip to Hakone (apart from needing to take a long bus ride to get anywhere) was the fact that there was a very nice restaurant in the hotel which served a set course meal for breakfast and dinner. We knew we would enjoy the fine dining, wine and cheese, if only we could get our son to sit quietly for long enough in the restaurant.
Keeping a two year old quiet in a fancy
restaurant is like taking a small bull into a china shop while you admire the
shop’s goods. It’s all dainty and nice,
but it could go horribly wrong at any moment.
Here are some tips for eating with a small child in a fancy restaurant which
we picked up on our trip:
1 – Sit in the corner
We went for four meals in the same
restaurant. We, and they, very quickly
realised that the best table for us was the one farthest away from everyone
else.
2 – Eat and drink quickly
We had a lovely meal on the first night and
almost made it to the end without my son breaking down into screams and forcing
us to leave. But he did start screaming
before my wife had time to drink her after-dinner coffee.
“That’s why I ordered an espresso,” I told
her as I gulped it down just in time.
3 – Order the things you really want to eat
first
My wife and I both enjoy wine and
cheese. We were really looking forward
to trying some different strong cheeses after our course meal. But we had to leave before we had time to try
any the first night. So on the second
night we ordered the cheese at the start of the meal, and nibbled at it in
between courses.
If the thing you really want to eat is the
tiramisu or the ice-cream, then just ask the waiter to bring it first. They will be happy so long as they can get
you out of the restaurant more quickly.
4 – Teach your child to say “Cheers!”
It makes you look like a family of
alcoholics, but hey! – If you are a family of alcoholics then why worry about
it?
Sometimes the action of clinking glasses
together (gently!) can be a good distraction for the child, and delay the point
when they get bored and frustrated.
5 – If it is at all possible, get a doggy
bag
We tried to have the plate of cheese sent
to our room as room service, but the hotel wouldn’t allow it. We did, though, manage to bring the unfinished
bottle of wine to our room when we left.
Leaving a cup of coffee unfinished is frustrating enough, but there was
no way I was leaving half of an expensive bottle of wine.
Check with the restaurant in advance and
see if they will allow you to take any unfinished courses away with you. When you are looking after a little bull, he
might see red and force you to abandon part of your meal. So be prepared.
Vocabulary:
to scatter something – to throw something
in various random directions
a tantrum – a childish fit of anger
china – a kind of fine, white ceramic
dainty – pretty and delicate
to break down – of a person, to lose
emotional control; to collapse
to gulp something down – to drink something
very quickly
Cheers! – something said to a companion
when drinking (usually alcohol) together
to clink glasses – to touch glasses
together as a form of salutation when drinking with someone
a doggy bag – when eating at a restaurant,
a bag to put the leftovers of the meal in
to see red – to get suddenly angry or out
of control
No comments:
Post a Comment