Perfect score!

It has been a hectic week for CH. He's working on an important project and his days are swamped with endless meetings and business lunches. When he told me about the fine dining experience at Les Amis and other fancy restaurants, I said, "You keep telling me, why don't you bring me there?"

Yesterday he sprung a wonderful birthday surprise. He made dinner reservations at Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar, which is incidentally, the winner of the 2009 World Gourmet Summit Awards Of Excellence Indoguna Restaurant of the Year.

Garibaldi is often referred to as the best Italian restaurant in Singapore, and is known to bring in fresh ingredients directly from Italy. Yesterday, I was so excited porcini mushroom is in season. The aroma and texture of lightly grilled porcini still lingers in my mind. The white asparagus and sweet Italian tomatoes are also to die for, and these were just the garnishings that arrived with the main dishes.

For appetizers, the Hokkaido Scallop with US Green Asparagus and Truffle Emulsion was really delicious while the Garlic Snails with Sauté Baby Spinach and Chick Peas Purée were the best I had ever eaten!

For the main meal, I had Homemade Spinach Noodles with Braised Chalon Duck while CH went for the highly recommended grilled lamb served with mashed potato and Porcini Mushrooms. I'm never a big fan of lamb but the ones at Garibaldi were tender, succulent and not at all gamey. Simply excellent.

We were so stuffed, I almost wanted to forgo dessert but CH insisted that we should enjoy our drinks and relax for a bit. I picked molten lava chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato.

Moments later, a waiter brought out a piece of tiramisu, elegantly garnished with fresh mixed berries and a candle. CH had it all planned out days ago, I was touched beyond words.

He has really outdone himself this time. Besides the expensive dinner, he also bought me a lovely necklace (to go with all my black dresses) and flowers.

He's so cute, he got me a pot of gloxinia instead of a bouquet of flowers. He knows that it will keep giving me flowers for years. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Note: Sorry for the lack of photos. The dining room is so posh, it's simply impolite to whip out my camera and start clicking away. I was thoroughly impressed with the attentive and professional service. In fact, most of the staff wished me Happy Birthday on my way out. We had one of the best dining experience.