5 out of 9 courses

It was my birthday and I was to be wined and dined at the exclusive Rasoi Vineet Bhatia restaurant in London.
Our 2 month old son had just been properly dined (no wine here) and we were confident that he would be safe in the hands of my wife’s cousin.
A short drive to the restaurant and finding a parking spot right outside it gave hints of a very successful evening out; oh what a luxury.
The restaurant is renowned for it’s Indian cuisine prepared by a Michelin star chef.
Knowing that this was a once in a lifetime experience I went straight for the 9 courses Gourmand menu. The staff assured me that the sizes of the dishes were small enough to be manageable.
An explosion of flavours and colours was just a few moments away.
The restaurant offers a menu of 4 or 6 glasses of (fine) wine to go with the food and this seemed to be a worthy match.
A state of comfortable and comforting tipsiness was just a few moments away.
My wife wasn’t as brave (or hungry) as me and went for a measly starter/main/desert combo.
Just as the starters had arrived the phone rang and alarm bells went of. False alarm however, it was just a friend wishing happy birthday.
Two mouthfuls later and the phone was ringing again.
This time it was our impromptu baby sitter informing us that the baby was crying uncontrollably and he was not able to calm him down.
Cue my wife sprinting out of the restaurant and leaving me behind explaining to the staff that everything was fine and asking if possibly we could delay the dishes for a while.
I, or was it my tummy, had made the decision that once the storm was over my wife would be able to return, her appetite preserved, and continue were we left of. Little did I know that mothers with newborn babies do not work nor think like that.
One hour later she was back. Her hair just little bit out of control and no puke on her shoulder either so I assumed things were fine.
I managed to get to course 5 out of 9 when the phone rang again.
Our impromptu baby sitter was informing us that waiting in the car outside the restaurant has made the baby unsettled yet again and that he was forced to drive in circles around the block to calm him down.
This was the final straw on my wife’s back and the bill was asked for.
On the way out the person at the door mentioned jokingly that he had seen our car passing by a few times.