The more refined rendition of the Sabatini "crest" in pale blue and yellow on the plate (and on the cups and saucers). You might figure from the "crest" that Sabatini is quite "old school" and you'd be right. The dining room is an attempt at transporting you to an idealised Italy. Glossy orange-brown tiled floors, shelves of fine wines behind black wire screens, exposed dark ceiling beams, creamy yellow walls, stained glass windows, hen's egg-brown tablecloths and napkins, aged silverware, and a slightly formal, yet relaxed ristorante feel. Lighting could be much brighter, especially for lunch time, but suspect the dimmer lighting, dark wood, relatively low ceiling, and warm colours are much more appropriate for dinner and promoting a cosier feeling for a semi-formal establishment with its calibre of service. Excellent service from the mostly Cantonese staff who converse in Cantonese and English with voices pitched at the right volume and easy-going, yet attentive manners. One does not need to ask for a refill of one's water glass. The Italian owner/manager (looking precisely like his archetype with snow-white hair and neatly pressed gray suit) supervises the dining room like a majordomo, greeting regulars with a kiss (for the ladies) and a hug (for the men), but also refilling the prosciutto and melon plates. The maitre'd is also similarly attired, but with less white and more gray in his curly long hair -- also v. Italian -- fixed in a club knot. The chef (who we suspect is the Italian owner/manager's son) is of large proportions with white leather kitchen clogs and chef's whites also emerges from time to time to chat with regulars and check on the dining room. The latter's tendencies to survey the dining room from time to time may explain the slightly long wait times for one's soup (if not partaking of the antipasti buffet) and one's entree. However, a gentle suggestion to the staff about the entrees yet to arrive does make them appear with due speed.

Made for my brother Mark's 27th Birthday yesterday. This is just a quick pic before I took it over there with his pressies...hmm it doesn't really match the purple tablecloth does it, well I was a little rushed for time :) Mark doesn't really like lots of fondant, but he loves comic book heroes, so I made him a buttercream victoria style cake with a thin fondant retro batman logo. The fondant is hand dyed, and to get a deeper black I added a little blue, which when it dried gave a better colour. The logo is hand cut using a print out as a guide as I wanted to make sure that the wings looked right.