Dine and wine the proper way
By Nedra Wickremesinghe
Q: My job takes me overseas very often. My colleagues always invite me to dine at their private club. I reciprocate by inviting them to join me for meals at the coffee shop of the hotel I sometimes stay in. How do I go about finding a good restaurant?
Try arriving a little earlier so that you can shop around. Check out the popular magazines and guides for travellers which should give you a wide choice. Usually the hotel concierge would always be willing to help guests with directions and tips on popular shopping malls, places of entertainment and restaurants. Better still, ask your well-travelled colleagues or even your travel agent. Once you arrive you can check out the places yourself.
Q: I am a young medical student studying in London. When I come down to Colombo for the holidays, I love to hang out with my old buddies from school and we patronize the hotspots for a bit of dancing. Once I found that I was short of money, and a female friend of mine settled the bill. I was found fault with by my relatives for letting a girl pay the bill. What is the correct form here?
Rule No 1. Always check your wallet before you go out (hopefully it is bulging with cash that your papa has given you). See that you have sufficient money to stand at least one round of drinks and enough money to pay the cover charge...it is free entrance for the girls.
Rule No. 2. If you have no money- stay at home!
Rule No. 3. Since you are yet a medical student and assuming your companions for the night are also students on holiday - going "dutch" is a good idea. Better still if each person in the group takes a turn to pick up the bill.
Q: I am a single professional career woman attached to a blue-chip company. I get many invitations to lunch and dinner from male business associates or acquaintances. I hardly ever accept, but sometimes I am tempted to discuss business over lunch so that I get to know the person better.
Even though the invitation comes from a male associate, I like to go on my own terms and definitely pay the bill so that there is no obligation. How do I go about it?
Good for you...I wish many women would think in those terms.
There is no need to make prior ground rules for a luncheon meeting but to make it very clear, be in control when you sit for lunch.
Simply start by calling the waiter and asking what your associate would like to drink.
Since both of you have professional commitments and can only spare about 1 1/2 hours for lunch, it's best to place your order soon after the drinks have been ordered.
Again you can direct the waiter to take the order from your associate once you both have made up your mind after reading the menu.
When the bill arrives, you can gently announce that this time you are going to pay, and if there is a next time he could.
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