A Date Night to Remember: Chinese Cuisine & Heartfelt Conversations

Before I forget and lose interest in writing about it, last week I was able to have a dinner date with @creativepearl. The year was almost over, and we haven't gone out together through the year, but once, which was during the first quarter of the year, so I had to plan a place where we could eat and talk about our plans for the coming year.

Pearl has finished with school and probably might not be around as often as before, but for me, who is still in school for my finals, I would still have to stay around for the next 8 months before the end of the semester. So we would not be seeing each other for a while and may not really have the opportunity for another date if not for this. Hence the importance of the dinner date we had last week.

As someone who doesn't go out often and is used to staying indoors, I didn't really know where to go out on a date and also didn't want to go to the cinema like we previously did. I really wanted something different, something a little romantic, you know 😉. So I began to search for places in Abeokuta that I could take my bae on for a dinner date.

I found quite a few places, but I was concerned about whether Pearl had been there or not. To not worry much, I told her about it to be sure, and yes, one of the places I considered going, she had been there with her friends, so my final choice was made at a place neither of us had been. We agreed on a Chinese restaurant in Abeokuta called Royal Mandarin.

It is now. I am just noticing we didn't really take full pictures together, but anyway, I will share the pictures we took.

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So on the day we were to hang out, it was last Wednesday, and Pearl had been at my place earlier before we left together in the evening. I had been planning on ordering a ride that would take us there and back, but the price for the service was too high and something I could not afford. At that moment, I was wishing I had a car that I could easily drive to our location. It was at this moment that I knew the value of having your personal ride, and hopefully I would be able to afford one someday.

We decided to use public transportation to the place, which was far cheaper compared to the ride that I wanted to opt in for.

So when we finally got to the place, we were amazed that we had such a place in Abeokuta and that it was not so far off. The only issue I had that moment was the fact that I had cartarrh, and knew that it would really affect how I taste and enjoy the food.

So here is the picture of the walkway to the restaurant.

Here is the menu for drinks. I totally forgot to take pictures of the menu for the food.

Before we made a selection for the food we would like to eat, we first had to get a drink, and we both went for milk shakes. I went for the vanilla milkshake, while Pearl went for the chocolate milkshake. The milkshake tasted nice, although I didn't get the rich taste of it because of my cartarrh, but Pearl said her milkshake tasted like Viju milk chocolate.

For the food, we ordered a large portion of Chinese rice and a diced chicken sauce, as you can see in the pictures above. While eating the food, I could only wish I didn't have cartarrh as I would have been able to enjoy the food so much. I was just eating the meal and not getting full satisfaction or the rich taste of it. This really hurt me a lot, but I was glad about one thing, which was that Pearl was enjoying herself.

We first discussed how nice the place was, especially how nice our waiter was. Even till now, I cannot believe I still remember his name, as he was so nice to us, attending to our every need and making sure we were comfortable. If I were to go back there, which obviously I would, I would ask for his service once again, that is only if he hasn't left the place.

I really enjoyed the fact that I and Pearl had some bonding time. We were able to talk at length about our feelings for each other, ask random questions, talk about the future and what's next for us since she would not be around as often as before.

One thing I am glad about is that I will be done next year, and there is a possibility that she will be around on my birthday next year, which means we could also go out on a date again. I would really love to try this restaurant again, but this time without having cartarrh so that I could properly enjoy their meals.

After the day before we left, I ordered a pizza so we could take it home to have Netflix and Chill. So we checked the menu and decided to try Italian pizza. It was not costly and was only 4000 naira. The pizza was packed in nylon and given to us. Because of how nice the waiter was, I left him a little tip of 500 naira.

After the pizza was packed, I asked for the whole bill, which was given to us, and I was glad that the bill was not way over budget, so there was no plate washing. 😂

Although I needed some extra money to pay the bill, this was when I tried using Binance to pull out some cash, and the buyer ended up disappointing me by delaying my transaction for a good 3 days. A friend of mine was able to help out, which saved the day.

After we got home, we opened up our pizza and had it for the night. I also could not have a good taste of the pizza, and you obviously know the reason why.

This day, December 13th, was great. I had a really great time with Pearl, and hopefully 2024 will bring more enjoyable experiences.