A new western restaurant in town .....

Just before I headed back to Australia for the summer, a new five star hotel opened up in Wuxi, about a five minute walk from my apartment. Naturally, us expats were keen sample their western ‘luxury’ foods on offer. A group of us headed to the Millennium on Sunday for a Fathers Day brunch (despite the fact that all the Dads left their kids at home with the ayis!). At a pricey 260 rmb plus 15% surcharge (about $70 all up), we were looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of feasting. The selection of food was great, beautiful looking western treats on offer but the hot food was all slightly cold which was disappointing. But the dessert looked amazing. As most people know, I have just a slight sweet tooth, so was very keen to sample the delicious looking cakes. Again, I was disappointed – most cakes tasted a little stale and were Chinese style, not something you want at a western buffet. The two best things about the lunch were the free flowing bubbles (12 to 5pm – not bad!) and the sexy European chef who provided an afternoon of eye candy. To entertain us during the afternoon, we looked out the huge glass windows and watched a team of Chinese staff members attempt to clean the dirty looking fountain. This was amusing for several reasons. Firstly, it took about 6 people over 5 hours (they were there when we arrived and still there when we left). Secondly, they had some sort of industrial vacuum cleaner IN the fountain, trailing the power cord through the water. And finally, a guy in a suit (obviously a manager of some kind) wearing gumboots decided to come out and have a go at the cleaning. Yes, I did take a photo but as you can see, I am still unable to load the pictures. To top off a lazy Sunday of too much (disappointing) food and (not so disappointing) bubbles, I headed to one of my favourite places in Wuxi – Fushiwu – where I enjoyed a 90 minute foot massage followed by a 90 minute body massage. This relaxing day bought some lessons to be learnt. One – When in China, eat Chinese food, you won’t be disappointed (unless, of course it is Uberfood!). Two – It is possible to drag a power cord through water and not electrocute yourself. Three – Life is good when there is champagne and massage involved.