Feeling Classy (Pan Pacific Hotel/ Cafe Pacifica Food Review)

Last year around the same time, I was attending an engineering networking event. This year I got invited back again. Last year I went, I remember feeling like I just lost a war after the event was finished. Not only was I not properly dressed, I was all sweaty and feeling overwhelmed. So this year I wanted to make a change.

This year, I got on a layer of deodorant on and I went shopping beforehand to make sure that I am properly dressed. I think the biggest thing that was different this year that helped with the anxiety was that I told myself I was there for the food, and if I met anyone it's an added bonus.
  With that mindset I headed towards the Pan Pacific Hotel. I must say this is a very classy place to host a social networking event. When I arrived, the hotel had a coat check and everything, and once inside the venue, there were servers everywhere with some appetizers. Some of the appetizers include quiche, mini flat bread sandwiches and also tomato and cheese on a skewer.

Banquet Hall

   I must say, when it comes to service, these banquet servers are one of the best. Not only are they extremely well dressed, but they are also very polite and knowledgeable about what they are serving. Also, I really admire their abs, alot of the plates that they carry are very heavy and I am not sure how they are able to carry so many!

Basket of Bread that Came

  With regards to the taste of the food, besides the fact that it's served hot and it's freshly made, the appetizers tastes somewhat average. We were outside the main dining area when suddenly the lights went out and we were signalled to go  into the dining room to begin our 3 course meal.

Soup

  The dining room itself was very well lighted, and all the utensils were all placed ready for us. Once we were seated, a basket of bread and baked goods were sent to each table to share and pass around. I must say there isn't really anything too special with the breads, other than the fact that they appear to be freshly baked.
  After the bread was distributed, the soup was next. To be honest, I am not sure what the soup was. It tasted abit like squash but abit like french onion. It was thicker than miso soup but less thick than something like french onion. The soup itself tasted pretty good though.
   Once we were finished with the soup, the banquet servers came around and picked up the bowls and some utensils. Not to sound stupid, but I get confused about what utensils to use in these occasions. There are literally 10 utensils in front of me, and ideally for functional purposes I would like to just drink the soup out of the bowl... but to keep it "classy", apparently the bowl should never leave the table.
   The next thing that came around was the main dish, and it was chicken breast with some corn and carrots. The carrot was abit on the hard/bland side, but the chicken was amazing. The quality was very good and very tender.

  While we were having the main dish, the servers came around and asked us if we would like some wine. They had two bottles of wine that were high quality. One was the white wine while the other was some sort of red wine. I had the red wine.
   I am not sure if it's a custom to not pour the wine in all the way to the top of the glass, but the server poured me only half a cup. I guess I understood why when I took the first sip. The thing was so strong it reminded me of Listerine mouthwash, except the wine had a slightly sweet side to it.
   When everyone was done with the main dish, the dessert came next. At this time, a bunch of the utensils were all collected, so now there were only the spoon for the dessert left. Finally I figured out which out of the dozens of spoons which one is the right one for the dessert. The cake itself was very good, the chocolate was very wholesome tasting. Rather than tasting the flour in the cake in a traditional cake, this one tasted more like chocolate than cake.
  Overall, I would say this social networking event went pretty well, I did meet a few new friends and also had some good food. Overall, I would recommend coming to Pan Pacific Hotel if you are planning to host an event. The price per person was around $30 but there were around 200 people there. In addition, it was subsidized by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) who was the sponsor. The food and quality was good as well.