Surround Yourself with Love

I grew up celebrating my birthdays with my mom, siblings, uncle and his family. My siblings and I were allowed to decorate the family room with as many balloons and streamers and confetti as we wanted for each other; we even used wrapping paper to spell out our names on the walls. There was always a small corner reserved for gifts in which my mom would spoil us with toys and clothes and eventually nail polishes and accessories. It was a tradition that one week before our birthdays to go to the grocery store with our mom to pick out our cake! My mom did everything in her power to make this day just about us, to make us feel special and loved in everyday, surrounded by the people who love us. I will always be grateful for these moments and memories (even though my mom might have overdone it a bit). But, in retrospect, I wouldn't do anything different for my children.

These days, my mom works her tail off at work and isn't able to throw these family dinners as frequently. But I understand that she has the same motives to her actions. I appreciate all she does for me and how selflessly she behaves. So even though she is exhausted after work, she offered to cook me what I wished on my birthday!

For the last couple of years, I have requested the same thing: Shrimp Souvlakia on pita with tzatziki and homemade french fries. We fast from meat for 40 days before Christmas, so that explains the shrimp part. The combination is just delicious and my moms seasons and broils the shrimp perfectly (as she does everything else she cooks!) The tzatziki mixed with ketchup (traditional fast food staple in Greece) is always the perfect condiment! And of course, homemade french fries are tough to beat!

As my "cake" I picked up a variety of big cupcakes from Fresh Market down the street. Their cupcakes are always fresh and yummy! It's always hard to pick just one flavor so I got one of each :)

cupCAKE! from The Fresh Market

Although the food was amazing and the gifts more than plenty, my favorite part of the evening was, once again, being surrounded by those who love me. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthday evening :) Happy 24th to me!

My Siblings and (scruffy) Boyfriend!

HARBOR EAST : ROY'S HAWAIIAN FUSION RESTAURANT

From the beginning, my experience with the service at Roy's was exceptional! I was planning a wonderful 21st Birthday dinner to begin the festivities of lengendary night :)

So, since my party was larger than 6 people, I had to contact their sales managers. Thankfully, they didn't require the typical deposit when booking larger parties and said they would gladly take our party. In addition, they asked me how the payments would be made and if I wanted individual prix fix me menus on each setting. A nice touch, I thought.

Day of, we all arrived all pretty and handsome and were seated right away! In the middle of the table was a nicely printed birthday note from the restaurant for me :) Very welcoming. The decor is extremely pretty and the atmosphere is very upscale yet inviting at the same time.

From the beginning, our server was very friendly. I order my first legal drink - the Roy's Island Mai Tai. This ended up being my drink throughout the night. I believe I had three total during dinner? Not bad at all! For my meal, I chose from the Prix Fix menu. Now, I should mention as a side note that their menu changes every season (I randomly go on my favorite restaurant sites and look at their menus... I know... I have issues). Therefore, I will attempt to remember the composition of my dishes as best I can! For appetizer, I believe I chose pan-seared scallops on a lemony salad? Obviously, I don't remember it very well but I don't remember being displeased. For main entree, I had shrimp that were served on a edamame risotto. Very very very good. I was surprised that I liked the crunchiness of the edamame with the creaminess of the risotto. And for dessert, the restaurant presented me a chocolate souffle and vanilla ice cream garnished with a Hawaiian Birthday Wish! It was very sweet of them and the souffle was amazing!

All my guests were very pleased and enjoyed their dinners! The food was out with perfect timing, and we felt no need to rush through our conversations and food! In the end, Roy's took a picture for us with dessert and put it in a memorable frame for me! This is still sitting on my bookcase in my room!

I will definitely go back! The experience was truly memorable!

Aftermath : I feel the need to mention this in warning and for a laugh as well. Afterwards, my friends and I ventured over to Fin's in Canton for some drinks and music DJed by our friend Lou Koko. Thanks to my brother for providing my 5 different shots within 10 minutes... I unfortunately 'left' most of my lovely dinner in the bathroom of our final destination, Byzantio in Greektown. Shot out to my sister and friends who helped clean up... lol. Happy 21st Birthday Experience! Hope you weren't eating while you read this!

http://www.roysrestaurant.com/

Good eats!
Your Tasty Bud