Lots of Meat and Zombie like servers (Float Restaurant Review)

When it comes to restaurants, in terms of size, there probably are very few that are as big as Floata around town. Located in Chinatown ( and a few minutes from the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain Station), Floata is very accessible.
A group of friends and I were invited to a banquet that was part of an election campaign. I haven't been to a banquet in a really long time, so I happily agreed to attend the banquet.
 Because Floata is located on the third floor of the Chinatown Mall, one had to climb up a few flights of stairs (or take the elevator). I decided to walk up the stairs as the elevator seemed a bit on the sketchy side (and I got stuck in an elevator around Chinatown for half an hour before... So decided to not risk it). Upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by staff.
In terms of the decor and restrooms, the doors were slightly falling apart. The facility was a bit on the poorly maintained side. The staff were all dressed up banquet clothes, but I guess they must've been tired as they had a zombie look across their eyes. After navigating through a jungle of tables and election campaign papers, I found my table and friends.
On the table, besides having tons of campaign papers, were two one litre bottles of Pepsi and Sprite. Also, there was a bucket of ice and some tea. There was also sheet of paper describing the dishes that was going to be served. My first impression was the ordering of the dishes seemed to be off. The rice and noodles were put at the end just before the dessert while the things most full of protein and a heart attack (if it was deep fried) was at the front. It seemed to make more sense to have the rice and noodles first, but I was willing to give the way they ordered things a try.
The banquet started by the politicians making a speech and some lion dancing. At that time, I was pretty hungry as I have been running 10km in preparation for a half-marathon. The first dish came and it was the BBQ Cold Cut combo. There was at least 4 types of meat. This included pork, duck, chicken and something jello like (I think it's jelly fish). There was nothing too special about this dish. The meat tasted pretty average and slightly on the mass produced side. I felt bad for my vegetarian friends at the table (and my intestines as it was crying "constipation..!")
 The next dish that came with the Pan Fried Broccoli with Chicken. I was happy because there were some greens. The taste wasn't anything too special. There seemed to be MSG in this, but I wasn't too sure. I felt bad for my vegetarian friends, so I picked out the broccoli for them.
The next dish that came out was the Pan Fried Prawn with Special Sauce. You may wonder what the special sauce was and to be honest, I wonder the same thing. One thing I can tell you was that the prawn tasted as if it just went swimming on a very hot day in a pool next to a butter factory that just had an accidental butter spill. The butter was all over the prawn. It tasted good, but I won't lie, I'm not very used to eating something so greasy. I only had one or two to give it a taste.
At this point, it seemed like the dishes are all arriving simultaneously. The next dish that came was the soup. When the soup came, it came in a huge bowl and the waitress laid out the smaller bowls. The waitress had a look on her face as if she hasn't slept for a while. After filling our bowls, she quickly rushed to the next tables. The soup was a bit on the thick side, but it was okay.
The next dish was the Abalone Mushroom with vegetables. I liked this dish because it gave me some more greens. The only downside was that it was a bit on the greasy side.
The Braised Duck with Taro came next. This dish was very big. I had a hard time figuring out what was the taro and what was the duck. Eventually I figured out the softer pieces was the taro while the duck was the harder ones. The duck meat was a bit on the hard side to find as it was hidden in the midst of the duck and taro.
 After the duck, everyone was already getting full. I definitely was on the full side. One reason was probably because the food was slightly more greasier than what I'm used to eating and it was all meat and vegetables which literally translates to protein and fibre. The protein and fibre both makes you feel full than the carbs from rice and bread, which we have yet to see.
 The next dish that came out was the fish fillets and chicken. The fish fillets tasted a bit old (unfresh) and the chicken was not too bad. I didn't eat too much as I was already full at that point in time. The fish fillets also was snow white in appearance, which makes me suspect that the fish fillets have gotten some colouring to them.
 Finally, the carbs arrived, and that was the sticky rice and noodles. At this point, no one had the appetite to eat the rice or the noodles. The rice was very tempting though, it was mixed with some soy sauce, and it smelled very nice.
The only thing that was left to come were the desserts. Like the soup that was served earlier, the waitress brought the big bowl of Taro and Tapioca and a plate of some pastries. The pastries were good and it was all nice and crispy. The Taro and Tapioca was really good too. It was one of my favourite dishes too!
There were a lot of food left over, so the waitresses brought around containers for the guests to put their food in to take home. I felt really stuffed at this point as I haven't eaten this much food or meat in a very long time. Even when I go to all you can eat places, I rarely eat all that I can eat.
Overall, the quality of food was slightly on the lacking end. The food also tasted a bit like it was massively produced. The portions were big, but it was also made to feed 10 people per table. That said, the variety of meats that I got to try was impressive. Apparently, the banquet costed about $60 per person. Personally, I wouldn't pay this much for food for myself, so I probably wouldn't come back. That said, I am not sure about their regular menu... Now time to get more greens in the system.