Ingredients for a great Christmas

First of all, I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas day the way they wanted to be.
Next, I'd like to apologize for my moodiness in my last blog. I think after yesterday, I finally get the important ingredients for a great Christmas: good food, good alcohol and good company. Whether it's family, friends or total strangers, anybody could be good company at Christmas day. For starters, you need to be good company first.

So yesterday, we went for Christmas brunch at Courtyard by Marriott. It started a bit off since they wanted to put us on a table for two next to the buffet table, so we could literally feel everyone passing us by in the queue for the buffet table. After some complaints and suggestions, we were finally put on another table.

The restaurant was full, there were two ladies singing Christmas carols and the decoration was not too much. The ambiance was great! However the ladies are great singers, but it was a bit too loud for such an occasion I believe. Brunches are for friends and families to catch up, so a lot of talking and preferably not yelling.

Most people love brunches since it's all you can eat in a time frame. At the same time, there are people who would like to avoid it since every time they come from a brunch, they feel so full as if they're going to explode. For those who never been to a brunch, you might get a bit overexcited! But this is what I mostly do:

- hardly any starch: so no rice, no potatoes, no pasta. They swell up in  your belly.
- what I've learned is that mostly the goodies are at the end of the buffet line
- you can go more than once, so don't pile your plate. Take a little from everything that seems delicious and after the first run, you'll know what else you'd like to have more of
- have several courses: there is the buffet line, the salad bar and the dessert corner. Give yourself time to wander around the tables, even if it's only to get a chocolate-dipped marshmallow.
- and very importantly: wear something comfortable. Eventually you might get a bite too much and if you were wearing a tight skirt or dress, it might feel extra horrible to be that full.
- sin for a day: if you're on a diet, don't go to brunches. 

What I liked about the brunch at Marriott:
- the attentive waitress. I didn't pay attention to her name, but she's the skinny, Javanese lady. It seemed that she's always looking our way whenever we needed something.
- the beef in creamy sauce. The texture was so soft and delicious. I can go for some more now....
- the set up: different sections creates space to walk in and time for the food to digest (even if it's a little bit) 
- and ....last but not least, the marshmallows! I think somewhere deep down, the little kid in me never had enough marshmallows.

However they were doing a great job, but there are some improvement points:
- the carving guys need some more training in carving the turkey and ham. The ham was still ok, but guys, the turkey is already dead, you don't need to kill it once more. I know it's not easy, so for those who can use some pointers, here is a step by step instruction with photos of how to carve turkey:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/how-to-carve-a-turkey-thanksgiving-steps-photos_n_784258.html

- the employee standing near the buffet tables. I believe he's the banquet captain or something. I'm not sure if he's lacking to see that some chafing dishes needed to be refilled or that the food was just not ready yet. It looked kinda empty at some point.

All in all, I had a great experience at Courtyard by Marriott. It seems a bit pricey, since it's $35,- per person, but it's really worth it. No fuss, no headache about what to cook, just relax and enjoy the food, the drinks and company.