tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76741573134756465072024-03-13T14:45:54.539-07:00foodbibbersimple thoughts on local grub.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-56018111901072454112012-10-24T10:07:00.000-07:002012-10-24T10:07:00.427-07:00Sushi Wave<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You know, I was all set to say Sushi Wave was average. I had been there fore a lackluster lunch service, and had some C<span class="s1">hicken Jalapeño, some Teriyaki S</span><span class="s1">almon, S</span><span class="s1">picy Scallop sushi roll, and a B</span><span class="s1">lue Georgia roll. In a word, everything was pretty average.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1">Because Sushi Wave is the favorite place of a few close friends, I gave it another shot. That time, I ordered a Cool Spring roll and Lollipop roll. </span><span class="s1">Here are the pics:</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_HrT90cUKI/UHul0DPy1QI/AAAAAAAABJ8/1oDpYgXIeSo/s1600/IMG_2057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_HrT90cUKI/UHul0DPy1QI/AAAAAAAABJ8/1oDpYgXIeSo/s320/IMG_2057.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a96mWqyyGNo/UHul5fV8VzI/AAAAAAAABKE/Tetpm9EM1RA/s1600/IMG_2060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a96mWqyyGNo/UHul5fV8VzI/AAAAAAAABKE/Tetpm9EM1RA/s400/IMG_2060.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">These pictures are worth a thousand words. Craftily put together, delicious balance of flavors, imaginative. I loved them. The first wasn’t –that– imaginative, but it was a little, and the second roll was. I also happen to be a sucker for sweet shrimp. And that was sweet shrimp interspersed with avocado.</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ys4OOqS_cUo/UHumKQVCZUI/AAAAAAAABKM/1UIh7Hri9Gc/s1600/IMG_2058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ys4OOqS_cUo/UHumKQVCZUI/AAAAAAAABKM/1UIh7Hri9Gc/s320/IMG_2058.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">Freaking fried heads. I love it. The Cool Spring roll was a much more interesting, and delicious, take on the "classic" "American" Spider roll. So, here is my verdict. 3 for the first trip, 4 for the second. 3.5 in total, and above average. I would recommend giving them a try, in particular given the dearth of good downtown Seattle sushi lunch joints. I’m excited to drop by for a dinner service and see if it’s better so maybe they can earn and out and out four.</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">Sushi Wave</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">2904 1st Avenue Seattle, WA 98121</span></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">(206) 441-4348</nobr></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><table class="ts" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; padding-right: 10px; text-align: start;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><nobr>Mon-Fri </nobr></td><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top">11am–2:30pm, 5–9:30pm</td></tr>
<tr style="border-top-color: rgb(248, 248, 248); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px;"><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><nobr>Sat </nobr></td><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top">5–9:30pm</td></tr>
<tr style="border-top-color: rgb(248, 248, 248); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px;"><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><nobr>Sun </nobr></td><td style="padding: 0px;" valign="top">Closed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</nobr></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>3.5 of 5</b></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-7155396653083412812012-10-23T09:59:00.000-07:002012-10-23T09:59:00.330-07:00Kebapçi Enver Usta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMCgER9aOk8/T9g9Oeg_akI/AAAAAAAAA10/tUCrBhrzFrI/s1600/IMG_1192-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qMCgER9aOk8/T9g9Oeg_akI/AAAAAAAAA10/tUCrBhrzFrI/s320/IMG_1192-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222;">Thanks to a tip from <a href="http://istanbuleats.com/2010/07/kebapci-enver-usta-underground-favorite/">Istanbul Eats</a> and the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/sep/14/10-best-meat-restaurants-istanbul">Guardian's top ten Kebab Restaurants in Istanbul</a> (actually brought to you by the Istanbul Eats crew), I decided to drop by </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222;">Kebapçi Enver Usta and give their kebabs a shot. Why? I know many travelers won't eat where the locals do for fear of getting sick, getting inferior meatstuffs, etc. Well, if that's you, that's ok, but there is a reason to eat on the local economy. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222;">13 lira! That's what my meal, to include a bottle of water, cost. I ordered the Adana Kebab and Ezme Salatasi. Compare that to the 29 euro bill for breakfast at my hotel and you can see that venturing out is well worth it. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N2ONpH6wfKQ/T9g9M5w-6qI/AAAAAAAAA1k/lC98R9E5908/s1600/IMG_1190-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N2ONpH6wfKQ/T9g9M5w-6qI/AAAAAAAAA1k/lC98R9E5908/s200/IMG_1190-1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb6-O6H7tQ0/T9g9NkeXepI/AAAAAAAAA1s/WZpjs7Vyg7Y/s1600/IMG_1191-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb6-O6H7tQ0/T9g9NkeXepI/AAAAAAAAA1s/WZpjs7Vyg7Y/s200/IMG_1191-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">More importantly, the food was delicious! What made it delicious? The fresh bread, spread of condiments, fresh meat grilled to perfection (and this particular variety had a nice mix of spices on the inside of it), and cool basement atmosphere.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nljGwcvcmyA/T9g9PeniZtI/AAAAAAAAA18/pS33JldR92g/s1600/IMG_1194-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nljGwcvcmyA/T9g9PeniZtI/AAAAAAAAA18/pS33JldR92g/s320/IMG_1194-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And they have variety. But be warned, the place is not easy to find. When you get close (off the pub trans in the area and start walking up the faint hill), start asking around (or use<a href="https://foursquare.com/v/kebap%C3%A7%C4%B1-enver-usta/4b7a743df964a5205d2d2fe3"> FourSquare</a>).</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KzYpcUzY79M/T9g9QNQBjZI/AAAAAAAAA2E/wD25jQI2O5o/s1600/IMG_1196-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KzYpcUzY79M/T9g9QNQBjZI/AAAAAAAAA2E/wD25jQI2O5o/s320/IMG_1196-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222;">Kebapçi Enver Usta</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="street-address" itemprop="streetAddress" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4d4d4d; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Şahkulu Mah. </span><span class="street-address" itemprop="streetAddress" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4d4d4d; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tramvay Sk. No:5, Tünel</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="locality" itemprop="addressLocality" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4d4d4d; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Beyoğlu</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 18px;">, </span><span class="region" itemprop="addressRegion" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4d4d4d; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">İstanbul</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; line-height: 18px;">, </span><span class="country" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4d4d4d; font: inherit; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Turkey</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Istanbul/Istanbul Province, Turkey41.00527 28.9769640.621829500000004 28.345246 41.3887105 29.608673999999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-67910516574109589162012-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:002012-10-18T10:15:00.941-07:00Famous Kahuku Shrimp (Truck)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09xZOHWhdc4/T6tIh4zoWXI/AAAAAAAAAqM/HSynEDmQ7-0/s1600/20120415-IMG_1772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09xZOHWhdc4/T6tIh4zoWXI/AAAAAAAAAqM/HSynEDmQ7-0/s400/20120415-IMG_1772.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On our culinary odyssey through the Hawaiian isles, my wife and I decided to try a few shrimp trucks. Our first attempt was the "<a href="http://www.hishrimp.com/">Famous Kahuku Shrimp</a> (Truck)" in Kahuku, Oahu - on the North Shore. We ordered the Hot and Spicy Shrimp, and Coconut Shrimp. Honestly, it wasn't that great. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9TgH8Nmz6I8/T6tIlNhsVmI/AAAAAAAAAqk/dL5ytFyTiFE/s1600/20120415-IMG_1775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9TgH8Nmz6I8/T6tIlNhsVmI/AAAAAAAAAqk/dL5ytFyTiFE/s320/20120415-IMG_1775.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking at those shrimp, you expect there to be an explosion of flavor. They were good, but the explosion was lacking. No explosion. The dish was one note. My Hawaiian friends over the pond will be disappointed to hear me say this, but the facts are the facts (and by that I mean this is my opinion). Plates are not cheap at $10-15 each, so it's not a steal of a deal. And then there was the macaroni salad. Salt, pepper, elbow noodles, mayo. It was bad. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lv2shbcg61A/T6tIjmV9jyI/AAAAAAAAAqU/AU3jJwXYe60/s1600/20120415-IMG_1773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lv2shbcg61A/T6tIjmV9jyI/AAAAAAAAAqU/AU3jJwXYe60/s320/20120415-IMG_1773.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ihbdm-6wAw/T6tIkYY20oI/AAAAAAAAAqc/pRi-oJE-R_8/s1600/20120415-IMG_1774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ihbdm-6wAw/T6tIkYY20oI/AAAAAAAAAqc/pRi-oJE-R_8/s320/20120415-IMG_1774.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, I would say, drop by if you are in the area and give it a whirl, but don't go out of your way to this truck like we did. Moreover, tell them to hold the mac salad, and just take an extra scoop of rice. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/famous-kahuku-shrimp-truck-kahuku">Yelp</a>, you let us down - another Aloha Bump. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But DO TRY SHRIMP TRUCKS IN HAWAII. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Famous Kahuku Shrimp (truck)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">56-580 Kamehameha Hwy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">North Shore, Oahu </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kahuku, Hawaii 96731 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hours of Operation: 10 AM - 6 PM Daily</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Email: Famouskahukushrimptruck@gmail.com</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(808) 389-1173</span><br />
<table a="a" border="0" email:="email:" famouskahukushrimptruck="famouskahukushrimptruck" gmail.com="gmail.com"></table>
<b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.921569); color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">3 of 5</b>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Kahuku, HI, USA21.6802778 -157.951111121.6655223 -157.9708521 21.6950333 -157.93137009999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-56376038914912153142012-10-17T09:41:00.000-07:002012-10-17T09:41:00.281-07:00Thomas Haas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g0_aGWQErhI/UHuTDOIEC4I/AAAAAAAABJA/RWkzqP4rXYI/s1600/IMG_1336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g0_aGWQErhI/UHuTDOIEC4I/AAAAAAAABJA/RWkzqP4rXYI/s400/IMG_1336.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the Miramar Shopping Plaza in Hong Kong’s Kawloon district, you can find a little sweet shop <a href="http://www.thomashaas.com.hk/chocolate.html">Thomas Haas</a>. Their macaroons looked tasty, and with a few Hong Kong Dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I picked up pistachio, licorice and vanilla, and coconut cream and passion fruit ones.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They were good renditions, though the inside was a bit pasty. The crust was right on the mark, which I understand is the most challenging part of making macaroons. Overall, if you are in the area and the mood, you won’t be wasting your hard earned money if you throw a few dollars down on some macaroons. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDfFKuWB1wc/UHuTGFRBZ9I/AAAAAAAABJI/mDNjSUYP4oE/s1600/IMG_1335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDfFKuWB1wc/UHuTGFRBZ9I/AAAAAAAABJI/mDNjSUYP4oE/s320/IMG_1335.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas Haas</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Shop 1001, Miramar Shopping Centre</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">132 Nathan Road</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Tsim ShaTsui, Kowloon </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">尖沙咀美麗華商場1001店</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Tel: (852) 2992 0799</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Email: enquiry@thomashaas.com.hk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hong Kong, China</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>3 of 5</b></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong22.2939806 114.171219422.2792891 114.1514784 22.308672100000003 114.1909604tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-78977018314204101782012-10-15T10:16:00.000-07:002012-10-15T10:16:00.573-07:00Crush<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MIBqJMBS7oM/UHuPtR4nGTI/AAAAAAAABHY/0ec6t0sMpNg/s1600/IMG_1142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MIBqJMBS7oM/UHuPtR4nGTI/AAAAAAAABHY/0ec6t0sMpNg/s400/IMG_1142.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">My wife and I decided to celebrate a special occasion at <a href="http://chefjasonwilson.com/">Crush</a> in Seattle, Washington. It is a French restaurant in a small converted home in the Central District/Madison Valley area, and had a strong reputation for good, innovative food. We ordered the tasting menu with the foie gras supplement. My wife called it the “sampler,” and I think the waiter took pity on us and was extra helpful. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">The amuse bouche was a little potato soup with chive and truffle oil. On the show “Chopped,” the judges always harangue participants for the use of truffle oil. It taste too strong they say. It ruins the dish. In this case, I didn’t think so at all. The potato soup was very lightly seasoned, so the truffle oil added the “seasoning” that made the dish work. It was a nice start.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;">While we are off track, I should take a moment to mention the delicious mocktails that I had. One was a cucumber sour, the other a cardamom lemon drink. They were both fantastic, and actually well worth the $5 price tag. I was very impressed by the creativity of the bar, given the no-alcohol constraints with which they were saddled.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br />The next course was barramundi. The squash bits were again the most delicious I have ever eaten. The fish itself was cooked perfectly, moist while having the crispy skin you can see below. The natural flavors were enhanced by the seasoning and I would order this dish again too..</span></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IyYU2-snqQE/UHuRMdk8UhI/AAAAAAAABI0/fCHWrkOgYXk/s1600/IMG_1148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ISFyhmyFH2I/UHuP5IhqdTI/AAAAAAAABHk/ignDnU9vR34/s1600/IMG_1131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ISFyhmyFH2I/UHuP5IhqdTI/AAAAAAAABHk/ignDnU9vR34/s320/IMG_1131.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I would like to take a moment to talk about their bread. It was fresh, and very, very good. My wife loved the little pretzel-y ones, and I devoured the cheese topped buns with a vengeance. If they sold these out of a little stand adjacent to the restaurant, or in the front, I would come by and by them by the dozen! The butter also did not disappoint. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUiqEbMI5X0/UHuQCC8Qq1I/AAAAAAAABHs/u52y-bSmvto/s1600/IMG_1132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUiqEbMI5X0/UHuQCC8Qq1I/AAAAAAAABHs/u52y-bSmvto/s320/IMG_1132.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Next came the bacon and eggs dish. The flan was delicious. I was impressed by how they imparted a smoky flavor into the dish. The salmon roe had a nice salty explosion and the sweet contrast from the maple syrup was nice. This said, this dish was one of the less successful ones to me, and would have benefit from a bit more crunch. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bY26u8wWdts/UHuQRI1ouvI/AAAAAAAABH0/d1Tb_Eys3Bk/s1600/IMG_1135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bY26u8wWdts/UHuQRI1ouvI/AAAAAAAABH0/d1Tb_Eys3Bk/s320/IMG_1135.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Hamachi. This dish had a very nice balance of flavors. For me, the heart of palm purée stole the show because it was just so delicious. It was simple,and luscious. I had no idea heart of palm can become that delicious, but now that I know I will play with it in my own kitchen.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9-77qp7qM-s/UHuQZF8XcEI/AAAAAAAABH8/Bto_Nk5VeAM/s1600/IMG_1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9-77qp7qM-s/UHuQZF8XcEI/AAAAAAAABH8/Bto_Nk5VeAM/s320/IMG_1136.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">"Spotted Prawn" Gnocchi. I tasted my wife’s lobster emulsion, and it had a much stronger flavor than mine. Mine was light, but clearly "seafoody." Hers was clearly lobster. This ding aside, I didn't care. The course was phenomenal, the best gnocchi course I've ever personally eaten. The spot prawn was so fresh and sweet, my only complaint was the dish wasn't five times its size. The gnocchi was not toasted off, but that did not negatively effect the texture or dish like you might imagine. No, this dish was brilliant.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wZkDAiP4mw8/UHuQhQPHvyI/AAAAAAAABIE/se25rjlbRJw/s1600/IMG_1137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wZkDAiP4mw8/UHuQhQPHvyI/AAAAAAAABIE/se25rjlbRJw/s400/IMG_1137.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Dating our experience, in the middle of our dinner we heard a loud "Did you just call me a prick, Chef, Jason Miller" before a customer stormed off. He then cried out “You’ll see my review shortly.” Who knows, maybe the guy posted something nasty on Yelp. I can’t imagine a real critic would have reacted in the way he did, in particular over the issue at hand (the cooking of the foie gras). The name of the chef, it should be mentioned, is Jason Wilson, so you can imagine how definitive his review was.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1zjj8DtUKZ0/UHuQtqp2ITI/AAAAAAAABIM/AeYKHpQyCYM/s1600/IMG_1140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1zjj8DtUKZ0/UHuQtqp2ITI/AAAAAAAABIM/AeYKHpQyCYM/s320/IMG_1140.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Foie Gras. This course came as an add on to the normal tasting menu. We had heard it was well worth the money, and we were not led astray. It was delicious, an intriguing "apple pie" themed dish. To me, this was totally genius and something I never would have considered. For my taste, the foie was perfectly seared with a nice temp at service. I like mine to be seared on the outside, mid-rare in the center, and warm. My wife became giddy while eating this. Though I wasn’t quite as hot on the dish as she was, it was very very good.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bTfeB0GvUk/UHuQ09ri0dI/AAAAAAAABIU/aFJdGezDrdU/s1600/IMG_1141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bTfeB0GvUk/UHuQ09ri0dI/AAAAAAAABIU/aFJdGezDrdU/s320/IMG_1141.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The Snake River wagyu beef course, following after the heels of foie gras, certainly delivered. After her giddy gobbling of the foie, my wife then quickly declared this may have been the best dish of food she had ever eaten. Her father will be crushed, because he grills steak right. However, the rich, hearty truffle flavor from the Oregon truffles they use at Crush, with the Trumpet mushrooms (which my wife ate happily in spite of herself) and butter made this dish a fatty yum explosion. Mmm. I think the mushrooms might have stole the show, but this again was a highly successful dish of food.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edsryCW7VQs/UHuQ7yXCenI/AAAAAAAABIc/KXll9bycxTs/s1600/IMG_1143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edsryCW7VQs/UHuQ7yXCenI/AAAAAAAABIc/KXll9bycxTs/s400/IMG_1143.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">After such a rich dish, the pear and pink peppercorn sorbet was a nice break. It was a nice mix of texture and flavor, and the peppercorn created a delightful zing.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bboVsSP81OQ/UHuREZiOEYI/AAAAAAAABIk/v-hIr7aYua0/s1600/IMG_1145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bboVsSP81OQ/UHuREZiOEYI/AAAAAAAABIk/v-hIr7aYua0/s320/IMG_1145.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Finally, they fed us chocolate cake and praline ice cream. Honestly, these let down the rest of the dishes because they were not memorable. The cake was moist enough, but it just wasn’t great. I also happened to be a little sad that Crush didn’t share their homemade pop rocks they were parading around to a few of the other tables. Oh well. So…. in the end, Go here for a special occasion...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IyYU2-snqQE/UHuRMdk8UhI/AAAAAAAABI0/fCHWrkOgYXk/s1600/IMG_1148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IyYU2-snqQE/UHuRMdk8UhI/AAAAAAAABI0/fCHWrkOgYXk/s200/IMG_1148.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHYOXAY94v0/UHuRK5ukz6I/AAAAAAAABIs/1YXwpM6Tgm0/s1600/IMG_1147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHYOXAY94v0/UHuRK5ukz6I/AAAAAAAABIs/1YXwpM6Tgm0/s320/IMG_1147.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Crush</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2319 East Madison Street </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Seattle, WA 98112 </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(206) 302-7874</span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span> (my wife will tell you 4.5 or 5)
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.520564 -122.4899993 47.691855 -122.1741423tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-81503138780718253582012-08-12T11:53:00.000-07:002012-08-12T11:53:00.252-07:00Adem Baba (Seafood)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2n2MZIE8H8/T9g8W4rVEHI/AAAAAAAAA1E/MgN07Q_wOrk/s1600/IMG_1211-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2n2MZIE8H8/T9g8W4rVEHI/AAAAAAAAA1E/MgN07Q_wOrk/s400/IMG_1211-1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mmmmm... <a href="http://www.adembaba.com/">Adem Baba</a>'s sole shish kebab. This place is a bit of a local institution, and on recommendations from Trip Advisor I ordered the fried calamari and some shishes. A brief tangent, I have not found TripAdvisor to be very reliable. I was able to find another review of Adem Baba from <a href="http://istanbuleats.com/2009/07/adem-baba-soleman/">Istanbul Eats</a> who I do greatly respect. I'm glad I made the trip.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nERdGzh6pks/T9g8X5HvysI/AAAAAAAAA1M/oTRIg7yR3Zc/s1600/IMG_1212-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nERdGzh6pks/T9g8X5HvysI/AAAAAAAAA1M/oTRIg7yR3Zc/s320/IMG_1212-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLV1060Ph3M/T9g8aaBZgwI/AAAAAAAAA1c/1N8C5MuBuAA/s1600/IMG_1214-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLV1060Ph3M/T9g8aaBZgwI/AAAAAAAAA1c/1N8C5MuBuAA/s200/IMG_1214-1.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The bread they give you is good. The cornbread stuff is dry. The calamari tasted delicious, and were the right non-chewy, toothy consistency. Their little sauce that comes with them was also pretty decent, they were just a bit too greasy. But, the Sole shish kebabs were so delicious I still think about them. I still crave them!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-175jo13RpjU/T9g8Ynw_DXI/AAAAAAAAA1U/f6e3d52v_rY/s1600/IMG_1213-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-175jo13RpjU/T9g8Ynw_DXI/AAAAAAAAA1U/f6e3d52v_rY/s400/IMG_1213-1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They were delicious because they were simple. Sole. Peppers. Tomato. Lemon. Simple grilled, perfectly cooked. They had the right blend of natural flavor, heat, acid, and grill. And a few leaves of sorrel. I love sorrel! I've tried to replicate them at home, and thus far have failed. It's not cheap by Turkish standards, but it's not too bad for the average traveler.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Adem Baba</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Arnavutköy Mh. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Satış Meydanı Sokak 2</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">34000 Istanbul, Turkey</span><br style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;" /><nobr style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">0212 263 2933</nobr>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>3.5 of 5 </b></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(shishes get a 5 all day long)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Istanbul/Istanbul Province, Turkey41.00527 28.9769640.621829500000004 28.345246 41.3887105 29.608673999999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-36410006553903128942012-08-09T08:27:00.000-07:002012-08-09T08:27:00.507-07:00Otoro - A Costly Obsession<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OqUcEF9mXCY/T37_YCk-tUI/AAAAAAAAAb0/fF2QVkMICJc/s1600/20111007-IMG_7179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OqUcEF9mXCY/T37_YCk-tUI/AAAAAAAAAb0/fF2QVkMICJc/s400/20111007-IMG_7179.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Iggy's - Singapore</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I met my wife, she subsisted on cereal and toast. Occasionally she went through the effort to make herself nachos. Infrequently, she was known to eat a hamburger, or chicken breast. She also liked fried things, and potatoes. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We still have different opinions of one early episode in our marriage. As the lady of the house, my wife said she would do the grocery shopping. New to living together, she asked if I had any special requests. I knew that my wife was a meat and potatoes girl, so I said, "I'd like to east some more vegetables. Why don't you get any vegetables from the grocery store you will eat." She said Ok.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.caloriecount.about.com/images/medium/rojos-salsa-fresh-cut-63071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://static.caloriecount.about.com/images/medium/rojos-salsa-fresh-cut-63071.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Vege-wha?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Proudly, that afternoon she showed me what she had bought. Potatoes (not a vegetable). Onions (not a vegetable). And pico de gallo (not a vegetable). She still swears that pico should count. I tell her she's crazy. I've since turned her onto a vegetable or two, but where I've had much more success are proteins. Men beware. Out of the oodles of things I have subjected her to, she likes duck breast, duck confit, foie gras, pork belly (are you seeing a pattern?) and her newest obession is Otoro (fatty tuna belly). </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t4IobnkQubA/T37_UwTwyNI/AAAAAAAAAb0/j4VpiO_s-GA/s1600/20111003-IMG_6971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t4IobnkQubA/T37_UwTwyNI/AAAAAAAAAb0/j4VpiO_s-GA/s400/20111003-IMG_6971.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Hanare - Kuala Lumpur</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In Japan we had the pleasure of eating at four of the best sushi restaurants in the country. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to all the ones I had hoped, but Sushi Sawada, Sushi Mizutani, Sushi Yashitake, and Kyubei - Ginza isn't a bad hit list. While stuffing ourselves full of extravagant sushi, my wife declared she loved Otoro. Here are two of her favorite bites.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQOpdnBlES0/UBAOH4ad7xI/AAAAAAAABAY/Wx7shiepYTk/s1600/IMG_2420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GQOpdnBlES0/UBAOH4ad7xI/AAAAAAAABAY/Wx7shiepYTk/s320/IMG_2420.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Sushi Yashitake - Tokyo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zT3GSJ3thp8/UBAOD6g7HLI/AAAAAAAABAQ/4kfM6K8QVew/s1600/IMG_2337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zT3GSJ3thp8/UBAOD6g7HLI/AAAAAAAABAQ/4kfM6K8QVew/s320/IMG_2337.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Kyubei - Ginza - Tokyo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are curious, her favorite was Sushi Sawada. More on this to come soon... and for now I'm keeping her away from Kobe beef - <a href="http://store.snakeriverfarms.com/american-style-wagyu-kobe-beef/">Wagyu</a>...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5dycP4mcefE/UBAQHia_o3I/AAAAAAAABAg/QLjhp8wMuLo/s1600/IMG_2465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5dycP4mcefE/UBAQHia_o3I/AAAAAAAABAg/QLjhp8wMuLo/s400/IMG_2465.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-55745077113042925912012-08-07T09:47:00.000-07:002012-08-07T09:47:00.266-07:00Buddha Ruska Thai Cuisine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My wife has very few food cravings. She craves ice cream. She craves chocolate. She craves crappy pizza. She craves potatoes, sweet corn, and hamburgers. And she craves Thai.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OgvFoBRLSxA/UBAEM2VfscI/AAAAAAAABAE/54br2Trh4ic/s1600/IMG_2077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OgvFoBRLSxA/UBAEM2VfscI/AAAAAAAABAE/54br2Trh4ic/s320/IMG_2077.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Larb</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We decided to give <a href="http://www.buddharuksa.com/">Buddha Ruska</a> in West Seattle a shot one day. It came pretty highly recommended, and it was not disappointing. It just wasn't fantastic. We ordered Chicken Larb, Lemongrass Chicken, Crispy Garlic Chicken, and Pad Thai. The Larb was good. The Pad Thai was good. We still talk about the Crispy Garlic Chicken, it is crave worthy. The Lemongrass Chicken was only ok. A quick word on their spice levels, with the Larb you can taste it - but it's mostly just adding extra red pepper (lazy spice).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVyV1c0mN0w/UBAEItcemlI/AAAAAAAAA_8/qF06y-3_HnU/s1600/IMG_2075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVyV1c0mN0w/UBAEItcemlI/AAAAAAAAA_8/qF06y-3_HnU/s200/IMG_2075.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Pad Thai</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1qyBSMrmfdQ/UBAD_K47u7I/AAAAAAAAA_o/GsI2admRbNs/s1600/IMG_2073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1qyBSMrmfdQ/UBAD_K47u7I/AAAAAAAAA_o/GsI2admRbNs/s200/IMG_2073.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Lemongrass Chicken</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PbL_-wBltjE/UBAD6bYXBhI/AAAAAAAAA_g/fgUi9imnDy4/s1600/IMG_2072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PbL_-wBltjE/UBAD6bYXBhI/AAAAAAAAA_g/fgUi9imnDy4/s400/IMG_2072.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The Winner - Crispy Garlic Chicken</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what did we think in the end. If you are in the neighborhood, it's a solid option. <span style="background-color: white;">If we do find ourselves again in West Seattle, there's a good chance we'll stop by for some of their Crispy Garlic Chicken. </span><span style="background-color: white;">I am not sure we would go out of our way to Buddha Ruska though, in particular as the service is a bit slow. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buddha Ruska </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">3520 Southwest Genesee Street </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Seattle, WA 98126</span><br style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;" /><nobr style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">(206) 937-7676</nobr>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>3.5 of 5</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2West Seattle, Seattle, WA, USA47.5667695 -122.394830847.481059 -122.55275929999999 47.65248 -122.2369023tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-51688223093134269742012-08-04T12:25:00.000-07:002012-08-04T12:25:00.631-07:00Pizza, Pizza (Toronto YYZ Airport)<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">If you are stuck in Toronto's Pearson International Airport in Terminal 1 and are looking for food - Pizza, Pizza provides serviceable sustenance. Portions are scanty, the price is artificially raised, but it's ok. Just ok though. Nearby, Upper Crust offers sandwiches which are a better bet. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Also, a word to the wise, if you are an adult and you order chicken strips, you don't get as healthy of a portion as kids. Or at least, that was my anecdotal observation based on those around and my sad portion of fries. At least you can't mess up fried food.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdDwnk8T_MM/UA__GlaG93I/AAAAAAAAA_U/Q2N1SFdX1tQ/s1600/IMG_2581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BdDwnk8T_MM/UA__GlaG93I/AAAAAAAAA_U/Q2N1SFdX1tQ/s320/IMG_2581.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Pizza, Pizza</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Terminal 1</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Toronto, Canada</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">2 of 5</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: #222222;">(only because expectations outside </span><a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2012/01/tortas-frontera-by-rick-bayless-and.html">O'Hare</a><span id="goog_885309320"></span><span id="goog_885309321"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span style="color: #222222;"> are much lower at airports)</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-5822699808587947972012-08-02T10:07:00.000-07:002012-08-02T10:07:00.545-07:00Can Can Pizza (Can't Can't)<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A week of journeying through the Baltics later, we came away with one surprising take-away - the Latvian people are not nice. If you enter their shop, they will glare or sneer at you. If you do not have correct change, they will not sell you things. If you visit their tourist destinations, they will try to talk you out of visiting. And sneer. And if you show up an hour before a restaurant closes, they will not serve you!</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sorry Latvia, but it's true.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would love to review <a href="http://www.cancan.lt/en/bottom-menu/bottom-1/">Can Can Pizza</a> in Old Town Riga, Latvia, but I cannot. We showed up at about 10:15 pm. The hostess looked a little bothered to seat us. Following being sat, she begrudgingly provided us menus. When we took a breath to order, she said, "Desserts and Drinks." We said we wanted a pizza pie, and she said "We are not serving any more pizza. You can go and come back tomorrow." We thanked her and promptly left, to never return.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why seat us? Why have a sign that says you are open until 11 pm? Why not tell us before we are sat that the kitchen is closed? Who knows. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After we left, we went to TGI Friday's. We had a bad dry cake brownie sunday, freezer burned oreo madness, but a polite waitstaff. Apparently Americans exported not only "flare" with TGI Friday's, but uncharacteristic pleasantness. Thanks TGI Friday's, and thanks America!</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Tc5fzkWFkI/UBAYg8p4NPI/AAAAAAAABAs/L2iN7dIil3I/s1600/DSCF3466+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="383" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Tc5fzkWFkI/UBAYg8p4NPI/AAAAAAAABAs/L2iN7dIil3I/s400/DSCF3466+(3).jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Please note the judge-y eyed lady, who sells things in Riga, Latvia to tourists </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Riga, Latvia56.9462031 24.104287256.807636099999996 23.7884302 57.0847701 24.420144200000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-457163733336427352012-08-01T09:43:00.000-07:002012-08-01T09:43:00.223-07:00Nobu - Dubai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AlIzQKtq6sg/T6tNwHbuyiI/AAAAAAAAArU/Zfz7aNRcL24/s1600/20120216-IMG_1097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="341" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AlIzQKtq6sg/T6tNwHbuyiI/AAAAAAAAArU/Zfz7aNRcL24/s400/20120216-IMG_1097.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: inherit;">Nobu Nobu Nobu. After hearing about Nobu for years, I finally went to <a href="http://www.noburestaurants.com/dubai/experience/introduction/">Nobu</a> in Dubai. I wanted to get the deluxe omakase because I doubted I would be back anytime soon. The waiter, however, talked me out of Omakase Deluxe for Omakase (regular), reasoning that if this was my first Nobu experience the regular Omakase meal would provide a great overview of the restaurant. I'm never opposed to saving a few dollars, and I appreciate waiters that do not recommend the most expensive thing on a menu, so I went with it. I was a little disappointed in the end, but more to come...</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJpnkiDam2o/T6tNx3K2SXI/AAAAAAAAArk/RgI6Qoog2Zo/s1600/20120216-IMG_1099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJpnkiDam2o/T6tNx3K2SXI/AAAAAAAAArk/RgI6Qoog2Zo/s320/20120216-IMG_1099.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Take a gander at that giant lobster!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I always feel like I'm in a pretentious place when I have to pay for still water. Nobu was no exception - they brought me out Fiji - at least it's a personal favorite. Water is water, after all, but Acqua Panna and Fiji are the two best bottled waters out there. I digress.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First course. Yellowtail, salsa, cucumber, fried seaweed. The fried seaweed looked cool and tasted good. Very tasty bites, but a bit unremarkable. Fresh, clean, but I will forget about that dish. (Being a little behind on blog posts, I can tell you I did actually forget about this dish... even if it does look like art.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGCYPr7Z_MQ/T6tNvaGdPxI/AAAAAAAAArM/QLNzZa56OYw/s1600/20120216-IMG_1096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGCYPr7Z_MQ/T6tNvaGdPxI/AAAAAAAAArM/QLNzZa56OYw/s400/20120216-IMG_1096.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Second course. Salmon roll, salad roll, ginger roll, and miso dressing. Note the lack of rice in the salmon roll. I love riceless sushi - like this, or wrapped with cucumber. I'm a sucker for it. The Miso "dressing" was light and sweet and delicious. Then Anchovies were a burst of flavor and nice texture contrast (see them fused together - they were like a cracker). The micro greens were flavorful, and the salmon roll was delicate and delicious too. (I did remember this dish, and I can still taste that pickled veg in my mouth today.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7_mTinFeG4Q/T6tNxPDo6nI/AAAAAAAAArc/FQnhPRbVN7c/s1600/20120216-IMG_1098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7_mTinFeG4Q/T6tNxPDo6nI/AAAAAAAAArc/FQnhPRbVN7c/s320/20120216-IMG_1098.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Third course. Wood roasted oven Sole with Jalepeno sauce. Perfect crispy skin on the sole. Yum. The sauce was good, light and fulfilling (though it didn't have much zip), and the flecks of flower on the top were a nice touch. It was the best Sole I've eaten, but not the best rendition of dishes of this type.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EiL9exMdxUg/T6tNzGQgcRI/AAAAAAAAAr0/Yok3ynOiRZY/s1600/20120216-IMG_1102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EiL9exMdxUg/T6tNzGQgcRI/AAAAAAAAAr0/Yok3ynOiRZY/s320/20120216-IMG_1102.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fourth course. Alaskan black cod, with miso marinade. This is a Nobu house specialty. The sweet miso sauce very similar to the sauce on the second plate. This dish was very good, but I've had better marinated black cod cheeks at <a href="http://www.manekirestaurant.com/">Maneki</a>, a 100 year old Japanese restaurant in Seattle. Maybe I am being a bit picky, but I was expecting real magic. (It does look good, huh?)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frV8Zl9KO4k/T6tN0Fw7z7I/AAAAAAAAAr8/WIY01DzNPEk/s1600/20120216-IMG_1103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frV8Zl9KO4k/T6tN0Fw7z7I/AAAAAAAAAr8/WIY01DzNPEk/s320/20120216-IMG_1103.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fifth course. Sizzling Beef Teppanyaki (on a personal stone plate) with mixed mushrooms. I was told this would be a Wagyu course on the Deluxe Omakase. I wish I'd ordered that now. The ju was so delicious that I could have poured it on a bowl of rice and eaten it like a porridge. A super rich, heart attack portage. Mmmm. This was the first truly remarkable dish of the evening, and it would have been all the more spectacular with Wagyu. A word to the wise, order one shade under what you want, the beef continues to cook on the plate and Middle Easterners always overcook their meats. I ordered mine rare, and it ended up being a perfect mid-rare.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vLhnvdqJQ2Y/T6tN03h5UfI/AAAAAAAAAsE/u-EWj2prrPo/s1600/20120216-IMG_1104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vLhnvdqJQ2Y/T6tN03h5UfI/AAAAAAAAAsE/u-EWj2prrPo/s400/20120216-IMG_1104.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sixth course. Sushi and miso. To say this was an incredibly sparing portion may do injustice to other sparing portions out there. Spicy tuna, salmon, seabass, and sweet shrimp were served. The Rice was perfectly cooked - not a trivial accomplishment. The spicy tuna, a scallion, Jalapeno, tuna roll was a tasty riff on the classic, but needed more spice for me. The miso soup had a hidden surprise, two pieces of clam at the bottom. While that was nice, this was by no means the <a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2012/04/hanare-at-intermark.html">best miso soup I've ever eaten</a>. Again, nice, but not memorable. (Again, I'd literally forgotten about it.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCCmxfgtmMM/T6tN1xu-TpI/AAAAAAAAAsM/yE-hDC-iNDY/s1600/20120216-IMG_1106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCCmxfgtmMM/T6tN1xu-TpI/AAAAAAAAAsM/yE-hDC-iNDY/s320/20120216-IMG_1106.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bk-h35-N2jw/T6tN2sQv45I/AAAAAAAAAsU/JDlzmbiHqAw/s1600/20120216-IMG_1107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bk-h35-N2jw/T6tN2sQv45I/AAAAAAAAAsU/JDlzmbiHqAw/s320/20120216-IMG_1107.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Seventh course. "Pre-dessert" Tiramisu mochi. Shockingly delicious (since I don't generally like tiramisu and hate the flavor of coffee). It was much more subtle than I expected with almost fruity notes. The consistency was not the best, but the ratio of mochi to ice cream was on the mark.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1quAABH5Zmc/T6tN3heSuXI/AAAAAAAAAsc/LtA33JdRbTk/s1600/20120216-IMG_1108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1quAABH5Zmc/T6tN3heSuXI/AAAAAAAAAsc/LtA33JdRbTk/s320/20120216-IMG_1108.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eighth course. The finale was a warm chocolate souffle, a la a molten chocolate cake. The sorbet, a banana one, WAS one of the best I'd had and the dessert was a very successful end to the meal. A real high note. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnqGg1vJm04/T6tN4unrnnI/AAAAAAAAAsk/rWYu5GhiAuw/s1600/20120216-IMG_1109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnqGg1vJm04/T6tN4unrnnI/AAAAAAAAAsk/rWYu5GhiAuw/s320/20120216-IMG_1109.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall. The wait staff was attentive and excellent. Without a doubt they raised the quality of my experience. Watching on during the preparation of dozens of sushi pieces and rolls was great fun while I sat at the sushi bar. The ingredients looked fresh and of excellent quality, but the portions were stingy, small, and the price tag was high. I'd recommend the restaurant for impressing someone, like a prospective client, or for a trendy, modern Japanese atmosphere and special occasion. You can get numerous hard-to-find (in Dubai) luxurious ingredients like Otoro, Wagyu, etc. This said, if you are not willing to shell out the money for specialty Japanese fare (and by specialty, I mean said hard to find items), you should probably go to somewhere more reasonably priced.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nobu - Dubai</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/restaurants/barsandrestaurants/nobu.aspx?CID=gplaces_Nobu_04042012">Atlantis</a> (Hotel)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Palm (Jumeirah)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dubai, United Arab Emirates</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">971.4.426.2626</span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;"> (only 3 in its class - aka fine dining or fancy Japanese)</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Dubai - United Arab Emirates25.2644444 55.311666724.8049429 54.6799527 25.723945899999997 55.943380700000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-48640101649730356292012-07-31T11:04:00.000-07:002012-07-31T11:04:00.375-07:00La Mar Cebicheria Peruana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8ac0xQwjgo/T6tMDWKIoUI/AAAAAAAAAq0/_7oQcMSQbDY/s1600/20120131-IMG_1085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8ac0xQwjgo/T6tMDWKIoUI/AAAAAAAAAq0/_7oQcMSQbDY/s400/20120131-IMG_1085.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.lamarcebicheria.com/web/index.php">La Mar</a>'s Cebicheria Peruvian restaurant installment in New York City was good, even very good, but just not great. It is well known for its cebiche/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceviche">ceviche</a> (maybe Cebicheria is a giveaway) - the fish, veggie, and acid combo that leaves the fish (or shrimp, octopus, squid, etc) slightly cooked by the acid but still delicate and quasi-raw. There is an enzyme reaction that you can see from lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, etc., juices mixing with the seafood that indicates it has been done well. It normally has some red onion, and then any other variety of ingredients.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">La Mar's cebiche was very good. We ordered a sampling featuring octopus, tuna, shrimp and white fish. The octopus was an absolute winner. The tuna was great, but a tad sweet (the pineapple juice I believe). The white fish was forgettable because the others were much better, and the final Del Tigre spicy shrimp ceviche was probably the best of the lot. It had a great balance of spice. Not a bargain, but when at a Cebicheria, do as the Peruvians...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For dinner I ordered the Squid Ink rice and Scallop number, and my first dinner companion ordered the Asian inspired Hamachi while the other got the Grilled Salmon. My meal was great, and the scallop was excellently cooked, but the one scallop top and one other mixed in hardly read "main course" to me. The Hamachi was a bit disappointing, and the Salmon was really solid (but basic). </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B0LR4hX_LQ4/T6tMErx_G1I/AAAAAAAAAq8/TtaOd2jZezQ/s1600/20120131-IMG_1086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B0LR4hX_LQ4/T6tMErx_G1I/AAAAAAAAAq8/TtaOd2jZezQ/s400/20120131-IMG_1086.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We got this dulche de leche, with strawberries and guava thing dessert. I think they were trying to do something deconstructed, but it just ended up being a bit of a jumble. Sort of mochi ball and crumble with a little leche. Overall, the meal was nice, great flavors, great cebiche's with few disappointments. The fact was, however, between the price and the a few misses (Hamachi, weird dessert), it's not quite at the level of 'overall fantastic.' We all had a great time, and if you are entertaining I doubt your client will be upset, but I won't be rushing back soon myself.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUKefgmYqVY/T6tMFcGrYMI/AAAAAAAAArE/73Q6XTR1moU/s1600/20120131-IMG_1087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HUKefgmYqVY/T6tMFcGrYMI/AAAAAAAAArE/73Q6XTR1moU/s320/20120131-IMG_1087.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Deconstructed dessert thing</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">La Mar Cebicheria Peruana</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">11 Madison Avenue </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;">New York, NY 10010</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">(212) 612-3388</span>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">3.5 of 5</span></b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.5217853 -74.3218301 40.9069203 -73.690116100000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-41287634160681271492012-07-29T11:39:00.000-07:002012-07-29T11:39:00.413-07:00Sushi Maki<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QX1gl8OgFOw/T6s-TNKob9I/AAAAAAAAAjU/SDcBs5IvPBo/s1600/20120218-IMG_1115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QX1gl8OgFOw/T6s-TNKob9I/AAAAAAAAAjU/SDcBs5IvPBo/s320/20120218-IMG_1115.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There was a day, a not very proud day, when my wife and I decided to spend about $60 and buy a huge plate of party sushi for just the two of us. We did this at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-maki-seattle">Sushi Maki</a>, in Seattle's Capitol Hill because it has so little space inside. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We ordered a p</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">arty platter with a:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Vegetarian roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Salmon Lover roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Spicy California roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-California roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Spicy Yellowtail roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Salmon roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-California roll with tobiko</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Shrimp Tempura roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Rainbow roll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Spicy Scallop handroll</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Tuna nigiri</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">-Salmon nigiri</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC7sy_yIzUk/T6s-T0Su7eI/AAAAAAAAAjc/EK_0zHr8IoY/s1600/20120218-IMG_1116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC7sy_yIzUk/T6s-T0Su7eI/AAAAAAAAAjc/EK_0zHr8IoY/s320/20120218-IMG_1116.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In the end, my wife commented "everything sort of tasted the same." She was right. The Salmon Lover roll was a standout, the Spicy Scallop handroll was surprisingly not too great. Most things were "california-centric" and it did make all the pieces taste the same. The nigiri was a little awkward, but ok enough. It also didn't keep well in the fridge (though little sushi does). With so many choices for sushi in Seattle, average probably isn't good enough. It could have easily been 2.5, but the price was not bad...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Sushi Maki</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">1633 Bellevue Avenue </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">Seattle, WA 98122</span><br />
<nobr style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16px;">(206) 264-0725</nobr>
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>3 of 5</b></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.520564 -122.4899993 47.691855 -122.1741423tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-57147329835412681812012-07-27T12:25:00.000-07:002012-07-27T12:25:00.397-07:00Sagano at the Renaissance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9l28_Eo-wy8/T604qfgL5hI/AAAAAAAAAyU/TBNB9Rwc_ic/s1600/IMG_6999-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9l28_Eo-wy8/T604qfgL5hI/AAAAAAAAAyU/TBNB9Rwc_ic/s320/IMG_6999-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everything that <a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2012/04/hanare-at-intermark.html">Hanare</a> and <a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2012/06/tatsu-at-intercontinental.html">Tatsu</a> were in Kuala Lumpur, Sagano at the Marriott's Renaissance (Hotel) was not. <span style="background-color: white;">Another Malaysia International Gourmet Festival participant and Japanese restaurant, Sagano was a very affordable option. It was affordable for a reason, and that reason is that it was little better than average. Apparently others enjoy it enough, see <a href="http://ohfishiee.blogspot.com/2012/07/sagano-japanese-restaurant-renaissance.html">this blog here</a> - though I stand by my do-not-recommend.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99he_DOlYD8/T604XkZP3vI/AAAAAAAAAw0/sbDoK-XBPg4/s1600/IMG_6978-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99he_DOlYD8/T604XkZP3vI/AAAAAAAAAw0/sbDoK-XBPg4/s320/IMG_6978-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">MIGF, or "restaurant week" for a month in KL, allowed the </span><span style="background-color: white;">gluttonous</span><span style="background-color: white;"> to visit some prominent hotels and restaurants to order reasonably priced tasting menus. My experience was not the best at Sagano. First, I ordered the tasting menu, and found out it wasn't actually a tasting menu. Although many menus said "or" along side courses that diners would need to select an option from, this menu made no such indication. I was then forced to pick one, and of course I opted for Wagyu. (This would not be a big deal, if it was clear.)</span></span><br />
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65u-dCLQDx0/T604aoC0FUI/AAAAAAAAAxE/vNWxGgzDV2c/s1600/IMG_6981-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-65u-dCLQDx0/T604aoC0FUI/AAAAAAAAAxE/vNWxGgzDV2c/s320/IMG_6981-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The waitstaff handled it interestingly, the waitress brought out a menu and rather unapologetically made me select one. They then brought out a magazine to entertain me while waiting on the food. The hotel felt a little past its prime in terms of decor, and there were very few patrons. The seat springs absolutely assaulted me. It was uncomfortable. I was a little insulted when the waiter brought out silverware, assuming the white man couldn't use chopsticks. He apologized when I separated the chopsticks, collected his silverware, and scurried off.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6pLSXeqsqyw/T604ZOQZIbI/AAAAAAAAAw8/wx5eZulvPR8/s1600/IMG_6979-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6pLSXeqsqyw/T604ZOQZIbI/AAAAAAAAAw8/wx5eZulvPR8/s320/IMG_6979-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With a better lens you'd see the seat is uneven, and not just the stains.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After making an effort to wave down the manager and a quick chat, I confirmed that the waitress either decided unilaterally that I wanted the light menu (although that is not why I ordered), or tried to save the kitchen food by making me chose a dish when it was in fact a tasting menu (aka, charging me full price for half the dinner). The manager first seemed to indicate that I did have to make the choice, but once I actually pulled out the MIGF literature he apologized and proceeded to update the kitchen I would be having the full tasting menu. It left me really wondering if everyone was on the same page. I was lost.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-paN30s5LfoQ/T604e2cdt6I/AAAAAAAAAxc/7W_unkbm5yI/s1600/IMG_6986-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-paN30s5LfoQ/T604e2cdt6I/AAAAAAAAAxc/7W_unkbm5yI/s320/IMG_6986-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, this was my first Japanese restaurant visit in awhile, and I had to order sushi (over the top, I know). I ordered the sushi deluxe, for about 130 Malaysian Ringgit extra (everything is just so cheap in Malaysia). The price wasn't so bad by Western standards, but is a small fortune in Malaysia. Unfortunately, it was anything but deluxe. It had regular tuna, flying fish and salmon roe, bass, and all, were - regular. A piece of salmon was very good, but no different than what I get at home. I stole the shiso leaf from my other dish to add to my sushi to create one of my best sushi bites that evening. I would never go here and order off the menu at full price if the sushi deluxe is any indication. Moving on... </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzPNiMbMuyo/T604byaSwDI/AAAAAAAAAxM/3zcj3ZpEME4/s1600/IMG_6982-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzPNiMbMuyo/T604byaSwDI/AAAAAAAAAxM/3zcj3ZpEME4/s320/IMG_6982-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Apps</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The appetizers, unagi (eel) sushi and seaweed, deep-fried soft shell crab and sticky ginger soy sauce, and egg tofu and boiled live prawn with bainiku sauce were ok in sum. The eel was quite good, the sauce with the softshell crab was bland but the crab was good, and the tofu was so-so. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0J9UlLyjfWc/T604ddSRhwI/AAAAAAAAAxU/fL6IGQuQBXk/s1600/IMG_6984-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0J9UlLyjfWc/T604ddSRhwI/AAAAAAAAAxU/fL6IGQuQBXk/s320/IMG_6984-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The best of these bites - Unagi</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The salmon "starter" was nice, and I loved the 'char,' but there was just something off-putting about it. It was a medium rare Atlantic salmon with grated yam, hot spicy sauce, and ikura (roe). It had a flavor that didn't belong, which may have been an enzyme from something with the salmon roe or just not fresh roe. Alternatively, some other element in it might have not been good. I couldn't be sure, but it was too bad that a full bite of the dish was less appealing than eating it piecemeal.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w55YxZpPAIk/T604gZhCN1I/AAAAAAAAAxk/3ywJckY7yIM/s1600/IMG_6987-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w55YxZpPAIk/T604gZhCN1I/AAAAAAAAAxk/3ywJckY7yIM/s320/IMG_6987-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The main courses were simmered seabass and wintermellon with garlic crabmeat sauce, griled cod mentai mayonnaise sauce, wagyu striploin and trio of mushrooms with wasabi-teriyaki sauce, and diced chicken rice with herbs.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxJLfxNmoU0/T604iMktFJI/AAAAAAAAAxs/YFzrCVVQHWc/s1600/IMG_6989-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lxJLfxNmoU0/T604iMktFJI/AAAAAAAAAxs/YFzrCVVQHWc/s320/IMG_6989-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A winner</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZieE9iQoozc/T604jcf9-II/AAAAAAAAAx0/2ERzwg1fIn4/s1600/IMG_6991-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZieE9iQoozc/T604jcf9-II/AAAAAAAAAx0/2ERzwg1fIn4/s320/IMG_6991-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Weird mayo and veggies</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The seabass was very nice, filled with pleasant subtle flavor. The melon was a little lost in the dish, but the concept was sound. The cod had a crisp and delicious piece of lotus root and good flavors, but I would have traded the mayo and egg (flying fish roe or something akin to it) for crispy skin! The wagyu was criminally, CRIMINALLY, overcooked. It was about three shades above my order, but wagyu is just so juicy and soft that you needn't be too fussy about it. The final main dish, the chicken dice, was a bit of a mess. It was average, and lacking clarity, but I am a sucker for shiso and enjoyed the herbs.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-khVvKEX8X_g/T604lC7N_uI/AAAAAAAAAx8/85L1VdLM3N8/s1600/IMG_6994-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-khVvKEX8X_g/T604lC7N_uI/AAAAAAAAAx8/85L1VdLM3N8/s320/IMG_6994-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wagyu, overdone and bathed in sauce but still good</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuHB0xmOcdg/T604my25bhI/AAAAAAAAAyE/--hvHE4vQQ0/s1600/IMG_6995-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuHB0xmOcdg/T604my25bhI/AAAAAAAAAyE/--hvHE4vQQ0/s320/IMG_6995-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bleh rice dish</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The deserts were ok, but really not great. Kuzukiri in sugar syrup and red bean soup sounded good, but the red bean was too watery and the flavor was not developed. The noodles were a little unusual, and not bad.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8EtKNaBCdeM/T604o18XrHI/AAAAAAAAAyM/BRn-b2269NU/s1600/IMG_6996-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8EtKNaBCdeM/T604o18XrHI/AAAAAAAAAyM/BRn-b2269NU/s320/IMG_6996-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, the meal and service were average - but not worth the price. Especially at full price. The flavor combinations, and development, were not expertly crafted. At the conclusion of the meal, Chef (at the time) Mohd Zamri Abdul Rahman came out to speak with me and my neighbor for a few minutes. He asked for our opinion, and I tested the water by saying the red bean soup could use a little improvement. He informed us that it was "just like from Japan" and that they have weird things that wouldn't appeal to everyone's palate (not in those exact words). I decided to simply thank him and call it good. Unfortunately, it seems a few years at Hotel Nikko as a sous chef does not turn a Malaysian into a Japanese expert. I can't say that I am either, but I know I haven't eaten something so bland and unskillfully combined in Japan as the red bean dessert soup.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sagano</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Level 1, West Wing</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">03-2162-2233</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">rhi.kulrn.fb@renaissancehotels.com</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">2 of 5</span></b> (on the back of wagyu that you cannot mess up)</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3.139003 101.6868553.0121645000000004 101.5289265 3.2658415 101.84478349999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-53583656776074965412012-07-26T10:47:00.000-07:002012-07-26T10:47:00.161-07:00Hatam - DBX<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are starving at Dubai International Airport in Terminal 2, avoid Hatam. It's pretty horrendous - even for airport food.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PpmGfDRaoD8/T9g97s4Iz3I/AAAAAAAAA2Q/L5Vf7Y388LA/s1600/IMG_1186-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PpmGfDRaoD8/T9g97s4Iz3I/AAAAAAAAA2Q/L5Vf7Y388LA/s320/IMG_1186-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got a mix grill because I was in a kebab mood. You can see the scanty offering, and like most things in Dubai, you pay way too much money for it. I wanted rice, but they wanted 10 extra AED to sub it. Too bad I didn't (you caught the 10 fries I got)! This, by far, was the biggest disappointment in Dubai. The salad was an absolute joke (see below). The four meats - lamb, chicken, lamb and chicken koftas - looked good enough, but were so dry they were almost not edible. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WgW20V-jBTU/T9g98Sm8w-I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/eEoBXd2s6Ck/s1600/IMG_1188-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WgW20V-jBTU/T9g98Sm8w-I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/eEoBXd2s6Ck/s320/IMG_1188-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Should have went to McDonald's.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hatam</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dubai International Airport (DBX)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Terminal 2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">1 of 5</span></b> (on the back of not giving me food poisoning)</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Dubai - United Arab Emirates25.2644444 55.311666724.8049429 54.6799527 25.723945899999997 55.943380700000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-2692962246811078792012-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:002012-07-25T09:38:00.132-07:00Leonard's Bakery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DC5tLCXmMpo/T9hJjIW4WYI/AAAAAAAAA-w/K2IlRphvgpk/s1600/IMG_1786-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DC5tLCXmMpo/T9hJjIW4WYI/AAAAAAAAA-w/K2IlRphvgpk/s320/IMG_1786-1.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I435-LOYvis/T9hJj1uBICI/AAAAAAAAA-4/Z8DM0bHkQmA/s1600/IMG_1787-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I435-LOYvis/T9hJj1uBICI/AAAAAAAAA-4/Z8DM0bHkQmA/s320/IMG_1787-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.leonardshawaii.com/">Leonard Jr.'s Bakery</a> on Oahu was not a disappointment. You needn't fear the Aloha Bump. Their pride and joy are the traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malasada">Malasadas</a> - a sugar and cinnamon topped fried donut of sorts. Leondard's fills them with a variety of delicious puddings, and we chose custard, coconut, and macadamia nut. Having a long drive ahead of us, we also picked up a sausage roll, and blueberry square. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyuqypPQ9KQ/T9hJiQY0BoI/AAAAAAAAA-o/oK04NjEvF-8/s1600/IMG_1785-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JyuqypPQ9KQ/T9hJiQY0BoI/AAAAAAAAA-o/oK04NjEvF-8/s320/IMG_1785-1.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The other baked treats were ok. Only ok. The shop itself (it was Hawaii - granted) had lots of insects running around, and flies in the microwave. I decided my sausage roll really didn't need heating up. But, those Malasadas! Take a peek. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TU0t4Zym0G8/T9hJkvdYcCI/AAAAAAAAA_A/gNceuQeJ13w/s1600/IMG_1788-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TU0t4Zym0G8/T9hJkvdYcCI/AAAAAAAAA_A/gNceuQeJ13w/s320/IMG_1788-1.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #222222;">Soft. </span><span style="color: #222222;">Scrumptious</span><span style="color: #222222;">. Bursting with gooey, yummy pudding. The coconut and macadamia nut both also had an occasional little piece to add some crunchy yum. Best fresh (and they pump them out by the dozens). So, let me just tell you, if you are in Honolulu, stop and grab a box of these things! I wouldn't bother with their other offerings though :(.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Leonard's Bakery</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">933 Kapahulu Avenue</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Honolulu, HI 96818</span><br style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><nobr style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(808) 737-5591</nobr></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">4 of 5 </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(5 for Malasadas)</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Honolulu, HI, USA21.3069444 -157.858333321.1885989 -158.0162618 21.4252899 -157.7004048tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-37734604400084326362012-06-17T12:50:00.000-07:002012-06-17T12:50:00.393-07:00BaFang YunJi (Dumplings)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-auva5yhDFfM/T9hEdK384oI/AAAAAAAAA6k/Gn7GgmTnGcE/s1600/IMG_1356-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-auva5yhDFfM/T9hEdK384oI/AAAAAAAAA6k/Gn7GgmTnGcE/s320/IMG_1356-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Located near Causeway Bay Metro in Hong Kong, on Hong Kong Island (and elsewhere around) is the dumpling chain restaurant BaFang YunJi. I ate at one between Perceval and Patterson Streets on an unnamed road also near Jaffe Rd. My pot stickers were devoured too quickly to get a picture, but luckily I snapped one of the place. <a href="http://www.angelaip.com/foodblog/bafang.html">Here</a> is another review and a few good pictures.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9TDkg3ZvuU/T9hEcRsPS4I/AAAAAAAAA6c/85CVyZIQ-q8/s1600/IMG_1355-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9TDkg3ZvuU/T9hEcRsPS4I/AAAAAAAAA6c/85CVyZIQ-q8/s320/IMG_1355-1.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apparently this is a Taiwan-based chain which loosely translates to "Everywhere Gather Here." I gathered, and got some super delicious street food. They had a perfectly crisped skin, porky-vegetable flavor, and just the right amount of oil. Unfortunately, the guy charged me a bit more than he should have (pictured below). He must have added a "tip" for himself, though even after that they were dirt cheap and some of the best pot stickers I have ever eaten (Taiwanese McDonalds or not).</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERQ-7B6f-F4/T9hEd7cMjqI/AAAAAAAAA6s/HAy_BnbJhC0/s1600/IMG_1357-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERQ-7B6f-F4/T9hEd7cMjqI/AAAAAAAAA6s/HAy_BnbJhC0/s320/IMG_1357-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">BaFang YunJi (Dumplings)</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Causeway Bay</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Near Perceval and Patterson (<a href="http://www.infoguidehongkong.com/search/bafang%20yunji">though locations vary</a>)</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Causeway Bay, Hong Kong22.28066 114.1809622.265967 114.161219 22.295353000000002 114.200701tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-10429848996939143042012-06-15T11:41:00.000-07:002012-06-15T11:41:00.081-07:00Tatsu at the InterContinental<a href="http://www.intercontinental-kl.com.my/dining/tatsu_restaurant.asp">Tatsu</a> was a happy accident. I stumbled upon it based on the Malaysian International Gourmet Festival (basically an Eat Around Kuala Lumpur event). InterContinental took over a Hotel Nikko, which you would expect to have good Japanese food. The hotel was remodeled, and so was Tatsu. The menu was enough to draw me in:<br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RBkW59TOwfw/T602oGZV8VI/AAAAAAAAAwU/1bvScOAgb-Y/s1600/IMG_7018-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RBkW59TOwfw/T602oGZV8VI/AAAAAAAAAwU/1bvScOAgb-Y/s320/IMG_7018-1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">Apps:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Japanese Yam and Friend Anchovy Bruschetta</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Tuna and Trifoliate Citrus Leaves with Wasabi Sauce</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Avocado and Sweet Shrimp with Spiced Cod Roe</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Sushi with Eel, Avocado and Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab served with Almond Sauce</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Starters:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Sautéed Tiger Prawns and Eryngii Mushrooms topped with Japanese Soba Sauce</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Foie Gras Steak in Cod Fish Teriyaki</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Main:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Tatsu's Volcanic Stone Grilled Wagyu Beef with Ginger Soyu and Tatsu's Spicey Dip with Green Tea Onigiri</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KW7hP3guinE/T602mEEAqTI/AAAAAAAAAwE/3hZILGxnjrw/s1600/IMG_7015-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KW7hP3guinE/T602mEEAqTI/AAAAAAAAAwE/3hZILGxnjrw/s320/IMG_7015-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">Desserts:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Dried Fruit Tempura served with Chocolate and Red Bean Fondue</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Does that sound good? Well, it was. We walked in, were greeted instantly by a number of people in the waitstaff, and the sushi chef behind the bar. There were not a lot of diners, and the spartan, contemporary simple Asian decor looked even more sparse without patrons. Word to the wise, omakase must be ordered in advance and is ordered course-by-course.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Our waitress took our order, the front-of-the-house manager poked by here and there to offer an explanation or suggestion, and all around the service was excellent. We placed a little order of Scallop and Bontio sushi to go along with the tasting menu. The scallops were fresh, delicate, butter-like and delicious. The bonito fish came out with a few scallions, and was so fresh it was almost criminal. I wish I could have eaten a pound of it.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tY4H0KXFFtE/T602YYx_PpI/AAAAAAAAAu8/8WASpkWXHAc/s1600/IMG_7000-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tY4H0KXFFtE/T602YYx_PpI/AAAAAAAAAu8/8WASpkWXHAc/s320/IMG_7000-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sL_IEkoYRDc/T602ZdR668I/AAAAAAAAAvE/-i6quNXU_Ds/s1600/IMG_7002-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sL_IEkoYRDc/T602ZdR668I/AAAAAAAAAvE/-i6quNXU_Ds/s320/IMG_7002-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Aside from the extra sushi, the dinner began with a little pickled carrot, and radish. They were nice, and had a little more taste than an average Korean restaurant. The Japanese Yam was salty and tasty. Then you ate the tuna, a delectable little bite with a soft soy flavor and touch of seaweed for a little extra taste of the sea. The sweet shrimp, there was nothing to not like. It was a nice balance of shrimp, egg, and avocado - and sweet shrimp in general is a treat. The sushi was amazing, and the addition of the crunch with slivered almonds was a first (surprisingly) for me. It won't be a last.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uO8vqy6uQpo/T602aU97L0I/AAAAAAAAAvM/sqBMWyjlYcc/s1600/IMG_7004-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uO8vqy6uQpo/T602aU97L0I/AAAAAAAAAvM/sqBMWyjlYcc/s320/IMG_7004-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fkOg27ZPH7E/T602bON231I/AAAAAAAAAvU/ByXjNufVqTs/s1600/IMG_7006-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fkOg27ZPH7E/T602bON231I/AAAAAAAAAvU/ByXjNufVqTs/s320/IMG_7006-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7Rz7zKl94E/T602ca77EMI/AAAAAAAAAvc/HiQMPerRj4k/s1600/IMG_7007-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7Rz7zKl94E/T602ca77EMI/AAAAAAAAAvc/HiQMPerRj4k/s320/IMG_7007-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The "starters" that following did not disappoint. The cod was utterly stunning. The foie gras was every bit as good as you'd hope, and the pairing was made complete by the chef creating a small pocket for it in the cod piece. The teriyaki was not overdone, so you could still taste the sweetness of the foie gras and cod. Surprisingly, the "spot" tiger prawn soup was overshadowed by the cod, and was good - but a footnote compared to the other dishes.</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rD6wFvlbcNs/T602dkWqU9I/AAAAAAAAAvk/6br1HKdlL5w/s1600/IMG_7009-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rD6wFvlbcNs/T602dkWqU9I/AAAAAAAAAvk/6br1HKdlL5w/s320/IMG_7009-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zk7ZnC_wpac/T602iGLJfsI/AAAAAAAAAvs/DF2ucQ6gekI/s1600/IMG_7010-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zk7ZnC_wpac/T602iGLJfsI/AAAAAAAAAvs/DF2ucQ6gekI/s320/IMG_7010-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Wagyu is synonymous with yum to me. Sadly, I asked for rare to mid-rare, and the waitress, who cooked the steak on a stone at the table, cooked it to medium. Not to stereotype, but she was Asian and didn't seem completely comfortable cooking a rare steak (a la many Middle Eastern people who also look at you funny when you make such a request). Also, many people say that Wagyu is best served at medium because of caramelization of flavor. Well, how a medium, verging on medium well steak remains like butter, is a happy mystery. Everyone has heard the mythology surrounding Kobe beef, or Wagyu (simply not from Kobe), but it's remarkable when you eat it, and cool, rare, or mid-well, it remains just as soft, buttery, and delicious. I just wish that it was grass fed and had that beautiful grass-fed tang.</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91i--hSR37I/T602jT95v2I/AAAAAAAAAv0/AJaAYnNMPIU/s1600/IMG_7013-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-91i--hSR37I/T602jT95v2I/AAAAAAAAAv0/AJaAYnNMPIU/s320/IMG_7013-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GfQmHXJwVV8/T602kyb7hgI/AAAAAAAAAv8/D4M0lMnx5bQ/s1600/IMG_7014-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GfQmHXJwVV8/T602kyb7hgI/AAAAAAAAAv8/D4M0lMnx5bQ/s320/IMG_7014-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking it in front of us</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KLkG7c5nhP8/T602nFEi3oI/AAAAAAAAAwM/k6RmRkZrycA/s1600/IMG_7017-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KLkG7c5nhP8/T602nFEi3oI/AAAAAAAAAwM/k6RmRkZrycA/s320/IMG_7017-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k6Bu1wlLu_Q/T602pGGX5pI/AAAAAAAAAwc/CEN8hS5TKOA/s1600/IMG_7021-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k6Bu1wlLu_Q/T602pGGX5pI/AAAAAAAAAwc/CEN8hS5TKOA/s320/IMG_7021-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take a look at the formed, crisp rice, also beautiful, herbaceous, delicious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dessert was fantastic. The fruit was tasty, and a great choice in Southeast Asia. The chocolate, with some red beans, had this flavor that was almost reminiscent of cherry. It was so delicious, honestly, that the waitress eventually brought out two spoons for my dinner companion and me to eat a few scoops. We didn't finish off the chocolate, but only by exercising the greatest of self control.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-auzna8aW3d8/T602qPQPZXI/AAAAAAAAAwk/ivV_STJBBMA/s1600/IMG_7023-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-auzna8aW3d8/T602qPQPZXI/AAAAAAAAAwk/ivV_STJBBMA/s320/IMG_7023-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GOAVmUAtZc/T602rRywwUI/AAAAAAAAAws/GeSSzo6QpO4/s1600/IMG_7027-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GOAVmUAtZc/T602rRywwUI/AAAAAAAAAws/GeSSzo6QpO4/s320/IMG_7027-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">One of the best Japanese meals I have had anywhere, let alone Kuala Lumpur.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Tatsu</span></div>
<div class="p1">
InterContinental Kuala Lumpur</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">165, Jalan Ampang</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">03-2782-6118</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">tatsu@intercontinental-kl.com.my</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>4.5 of 5 </b></span><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3.139003 101.6868553.0121645000000004 101.5289265 3.2658415 101.84478349999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-89152726900217650162012-06-13T11:28:00.000-07:002012-06-13T11:28:00.289-07:00M. Matsumodo Grocery Store (Shaved Ice)<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Hawaii had its ups and downs. Everything from decent to bleh food, and jumping out of an airplane. <a href="http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/">Matsumodo Shave Ice</a> from the M. Matsumodo Grocery Store was an absolute up. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-37LNaHTqJHA/T6tBvUnyN_I/AAAAAAAAAk0/i7LHLEuERDI/s1600/20120415-IMG_1778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-37LNaHTqJHA/T6tBvUnyN_I/AAAAAAAAAk0/i7LHLEuERDI/s320/20120415-IMG_1778.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">Another location frequented by tourists and locals alike, Matsumodo-son clearly knew what he was doing. My wife insisted that we make the trek more than once, and together we tried mango, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">piña colada, lilikoi, l</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222;">emon, sour li hing mui, coconut, sour apple, and pickled mango. All with soft serve in the bottom.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f28WxXfbLUk/T6tBummrMMI/AAAAAAAAAks/n-PHiyyTpQA/s1600/20120415-IMG_1777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f28WxXfbLUk/T6tBummrMMI/AAAAAAAAAks/n-PHiyyTpQA/s320/20120415-IMG_1777.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">A tip, pay the quarter for the plastic protector you see above. It is worth its weight in a quarter. This shaved ice institution has earned its stripes, and I would highly recommend getting at least one sour <a href="http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/content/view/14/37/lang,en/">flavor</a> to break up the incredibly sweet, sweet ones. Our favorite was the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hawaii-Hing-Mui-Powder-Pound/dp/B001Q51RU0">Sour Li Hing Mui</a>. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Wondering what Sour Li Hing Mui is? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_hing_mui">It's salty, dried plum</a>.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXoU41YNzBQ/T9gyOeHJ_xI/AAAAAAAAAzA/2tUkULmO4WQ/s1600/li+hing+mui.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXoU41YNzBQ/T9gyOeHJ_xI/AAAAAAAAAzA/2tUkULmO4WQ/s320/li+hing+mui.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Matsumodo Shave Ice at M. Matsumodo Grocery Store</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">66-087 Kamehameha Highway </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Haleiwa, HI 96712</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;" /><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">(808) 637-4827</nobr></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">5 of 5</span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Haleiwa, HI, USA21.59 -158.113888921.560471 -158.1533709 21.619529 -158.0744069tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-4014515698916537542012-06-10T10:56:00.000-07:002012-06-10T10:56:00.223-07:00Squeeze Inn<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">My family descended upon the poor unsuspecting <a href="http://thesqueezeinn.com/">Squeeze Inn</a> in Galt, California (right outside Sacramento) to try their famous grilled-crisp cheese cheeseburgers. Once a modest establishment, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and other accolades have caused rather rapid and aggressive expansion. We ordered just about every type of burger and fry they served, milk shakes, and other artery cloggers. In the end, we enjoyed ourselves, but a mix of average service and often underseasoned food caused the overall assessment to be rather lower than where they could, and probably should, be.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FOX9Cas6mRM/T6tD0SOmqFI/AAAAAAAAAmU/VON99-0M7E8/s1600/20120413-IMG_1750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FOX9Cas6mRM/T6tD0SOmqFI/AAAAAAAAAmU/VON99-0M7E8/s320/20120413-IMG_1750.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The milkshakes were large and delicious.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kFrjcMgAfwE/T6tD1QeczMI/AAAAAAAAAmc/3EBoX37FSA4/s1600/20120413-IMG_1751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kFrjcMgAfwE/T6tD1QeczMI/AAAAAAAAAmc/3EBoX37FSA4/s320/20120413-IMG_1751.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The fries were fresh and cooked perfectly, but needed more salt.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-djrsccaM_qI/T6tD2sZX97I/AAAAAAAAAmk/teX4EDZ54e4/s1600/20120413-IMG_1752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-djrsccaM_qI/T6tD2sZX97I/AAAAAAAAAmk/teX4EDZ54e4/s320/20120413-IMG_1752.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The chili fries were a meal unto themselves and featured good, Texas-style red (no bean with meat) chili.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zjk-4jYMB-I/T6tD6iC4NhI/AAAAAAAAAnE/NTLqFjT9pdg/s1600/20120413-IMG_1757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zjk-4jYMB-I/T6tD6iC4NhI/AAAAAAAAAnE/NTLqFjT9pdg/s320/20120413-IMG_1757.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The sweet potato fries (a new addition) were rather disappointing. They had an odd taste, were crisp but not 100% delicious, and the wasabi ranch sauce was probably powder ranch mixed with powder wasabi (resulting in an extremely tart, oddly tangy - in the wrong way - pretty impossible to eat mix).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i06ltkWPkSM/T6tD4uFEptI/AAAAAAAAAm0/1gLIw_DN95w/s1600/20120413-IMG_1755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i06ltkWPkSM/T6tD4uFEptI/AAAAAAAAAm0/1gLIw_DN95w/s320/20120413-IMG_1755.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXY5xxeXZCU/T6tD3ny_ElI/AAAAAAAAAms/bC-D8xIsNaQ/s1600/20120413-IMG_1754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXY5xxeXZCU/T6tD3ny_ElI/AAAAAAAAAms/bC-D8xIsNaQ/s320/20120413-IMG_1754.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The burgers were beastly (hand for scale) with a delicious side of crispy cheese (which I folded back onto the burger).</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fiuHBn4HPsQ/T6tD5k0tKzI/AAAAAAAAAm8/tnSNdltgUnA/s1600/20120413-IMG_1756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fiuHBn4HPsQ/T6tD5k0tKzI/AAAAAAAAAm8/tnSNdltgUnA/s320/20120413-IMG_1756.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And filled to the gills! (Fork for scale of crispy cheese). The patties were the thin variety, not fat "Red Robin" style, but more expanded "Wendy's" style. This said, they were juicy and well cooked. We couldn't be sure they weren't frozen, but such is life. The main issue with the burger was the meat was underseasoned. Salt - Pepper. Feel free to also add a little Garlic Powder, etc.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, good but not great. We were glad to have gone. Crispy cheese, what a fantastic idea to create a unique burger experience around it! Bravo! Our party could have been a little nicer, and so could the host/first server. For example, as we arrived (with a large group) the servers were unwilling to allow us to move together a few tables (with 3/4 of the space open). They wanted us to sit near each other, but not connected or wait for at least 10-15 minutes. Some quick subterfuge later and the tables were connected. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This did not seem to be a problem for local high school kids around. The staff seemed perfectly content to allow them to nurse their fries for 45 minutes or more and drop by to see what they needed. It appeared we caught them between shifts though, as one less helpful waitress left, a new, more helpful waitress arrived. Seemed they may have wanted us to wait because one waitress did not want to help a big party and end up with no tip. I cannot say I completely agreed with how our group handled the situation, but the service from hosting to serving never was super impressive. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Squeeze Inn</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">545 Industrial Drive </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Galt, CA 95632</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" /><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(209) 745-4313</nobr></span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>3.5 of 5</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Galt, CA, USA38.2546373 -121.299948538.2047618 -121.3789125 38.3045128 -121.2209845tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-25909566267804273062012-06-01T12:42:00.000-07:002012-06-01T12:42:00.122-07:00Pacific Pie Company<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There is nothing bad to say about <a href="http://www.pacificpieco.com/">Pacific Pie Company</a>. You may incorrectly assume it is something like <a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2011/07/la-mode-pies.html">A La Mode Pies</a> or <a href="http://foodbibber.blogspot.com/2012/02/serious-pie-westlake.html">Serious Pie</a>, either related to American Pies or Pizza Pies. Nope. Pacific's Pies are of the Australian savory meat pie variety, and they are perfect. The crust, the innards, there is nothing wrong with them. And they are reasonably priced. Their pasties and sausage rolls are good too, but it's hard to want anything but one of their perfect little meat pies.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt_ZP--g6WE/T6s6SBzs-KI/AAAAAAAAAh0/C6uSyG7RI9M/s1600/20120316-IMG_1169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt_ZP--g6WE/T6s6SBzs-KI/AAAAAAAAAh0/C6uSyG7RI9M/s320/20120316-IMG_1169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The pies were so delicious we brought a number of the frozen ones home (and if you follow the directions, low oven heat for a little bit, they come out just as good). My wife enjoyed the chicken and mushroom pie, and she doesn't like mushrooms. I don't drink, nor enjoy the taste of beer, but the beef stout pie was delicious. The classic beef pie, and sunday roast lamb were also memorable. You cannot go wrong with any of the pies. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DYC8s2Ewt_4/T6s6TLP2sOI/AAAAAAAAAh8/W0G7Mpc5QWo/s1600/20120316-IMG_1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DYC8s2Ewt_4/T6s6TLP2sOI/AAAAAAAAAh8/W0G7Mpc5QWo/s320/20120316-IMG_1170.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This beet side salad also provided a punch of flavor and was well prepared and seasoned.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FjSg5jzDY7g/T6s6RAF_YLI/AAAAAAAAAhs/A_9S9gKYBTg/s1600/20120316-IMG_1167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FjSg5jzDY7g/T6s6RAF_YLI/AAAAAAAAAhs/A_9S9gKYBTg/s320/20120316-IMG_1167.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And then there were the sweet pies. No complaints, though I wouldn't go out of my way for them - I would just get them when I was visiting the Pacific Pie Company to pick up a pot pie. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3czavVLxoM/T6s6T2W7xXI/AAAAAAAAAiE/YvH78bZWNCk/s1600/20120316-IMG_1171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3czavVLxoM/T6s6T2W7xXI/AAAAAAAAAiE/YvH78bZWNCk/s320/20120316-IMG_1171.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key Lime Pie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbptvzHy1AM/T6s6Uw1rrpI/AAAAAAAAAiM/EpRvLuDSC1w/s1600/20120316-IMG_1172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbptvzHy1AM/T6s6Uw1rrpI/AAAAAAAAAiM/EpRvLuDSC1w/s320/20120316-IMG_1172.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Cream Pie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what's the verdict? Isn't it obvious...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pacific Pie Company</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1520 SE 7th Ave</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Portland OR 97214</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">503-381-6157</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-large; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">5 of 5</b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Portland, OR, USA45.5234515 -122.676207145.345457 -122.9920641 45.701446 -122.3603501tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-18948916470153675752012-05-29T11:13:00.000-07:002012-05-29T11:13:00.062-07:00my wife's old obsession - burrata and how to cook a wolfQuite some time ago, a friend couple took my wife and me out to dinner at Ethan Stowell's <a href="http://ethanstowellrestaurants.com/blog/menu-how-to-cook-a-wolf/">How to Cook a Wolf</a>. I had not developed my (annoying) habit of taking pictures of what we ate. The dinner was excellent (and below I will give a rough idea of what we ate and our opinion). <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The star of the meal though was the Buratta dish. Buratta is a mozzarella cheese with normal mozzarella on the outside wrapping mozzarella on the inside that is mixed (minced) up with creme. I am fairly certain that after that point, Buratta became the basis for an extra five pounds around both our waists. You can typically buy some (not quite as good as Stowell's) in Seattle at:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Quality Cheese</div>
<div>
Pike Place Market</div>
<div>
Corner Market and Sanitary Market</div>
<div>
1508 Pike Place</div>
<div>
Seattle, WA 98101</div>
<div>
qcheese@nwlink.com</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.delaurenti.com/deli/inventory1.html">DeLaurenti</a> Specialty Food and Wine</div>
<div>
1435 1st Avenue</div>
<div>
Seattle, WA 98101</div>
<div>
206-622-0141</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.nowcake.com/">Borracchini's</a> Bakery & Mediterranean Market</div>
<div>
2307 Rainier Ave S</div>
<div>
Seattle, WA 98144</div>
<div>
206-325-1550</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvwPicS-WQU/T7gziQ9OWFI/AAAAAAAAAys/XgAtMSL8OSc/s1600/how+to+cook+a+wolf+burrata+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvwPicS-WQU/T7gziQ9OWFI/AAAAAAAAAys/XgAtMSL8OSc/s320/how+to+cook+a+wolf+burrata+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aMSNsLVmpCU/T7gzjBqTdvI/AAAAAAAAAy0/hb6TIkNCozQ/s1600/how+to+cook+a+wolf+burrata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aMSNsLVmpCU/T7gzjBqTdvI/AAAAAAAAAy0/hb6TIkNCozQ/s320/how+to+cook+a+wolf+burrata.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
Here are a few shots of Buratta from How to Cook a Wolf (they are not mine). The first is a better shot, the second is closer to what we ate - burrata with a salad (not shown) and figs (shown). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, our impression of How to Cook a Wolf? It was delicious. Think Italian tapas. We ate at least the beets, burrata, escolar, beef tartare, tagliarini and campanelle. There were a few other seasonal dishes that have since escaped me. Obviously the Buratta was a huge hit, and my wife was surprised to enjoy the tartar so much, but I also remember thinking that it could have been even better (ergo, no 4.5 or 5 star). My wife and I enjoyed it quite a bit and are planning a return visit soon...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How to Cook a Wolf</div>
<div>
2208 Queen Anne Avenue North</div>
<div>
Seattle, WA </div>
<div>
206-838-8090</div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span></div>
<div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Queen Anne, Seattle, WA 98119, USA47.6349926 -122.362960947.6242926 -122.3827019 47.6456926 -122.34321990000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-34921003992017329672012-05-25T12:22:00.000-07:002012-05-25T12:22:00.228-07:00The Harvest VineIf you are looking for quality tapas in Seattle, look no further than <a href="http://www.harvestvine.com/">The Harvest Vine</a> in the Central District. While there are still a number of places to check off, and <a href="http://ethanstowellrestaurants.com/howtocookawolf/">How to Cook a Wolf</a> could be described as a delicious Italian tapas option, The Harvest Vine does not disappoint for traditional Spanish delicious.<br />
<br />
Our family spent a special evening for a special occasion ordering just about as much as we could off the menu. Here was the damage:<br />
<br />
-Beet, Sheep Cheese and Serrano ham amuse buche (not pictured).<br />
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">-Sardinas.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2izLn06GuFk/T6tHNJ-NK5I/AAAAAAAAApE/0d_H4P03Eqk/s1600/20120113-IMG_1038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2izLn06GuFk/T6tHNJ-NK5I/AAAAAAAAApE/0d_H4P03Eqk/s320/20120113-IMG_1038.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Grilled sardines. Silver and a perfect balance of delicate and the sea.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Pato Confitado. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNzRbeyxf88/T6tHS_BZKmI/AAAAAAAAAps/6icMxIgE1_A/s1600/20120113-IMG_1043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNzRbeyxf88/T6tHS_BZKmI/AAAAAAAAAps/6icMxIgE1_A/s320/20120113-IMG_1043.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Duck confit with parsnip potato mousse. One of the nights highlights. Crispy duck skin and fantastic mousse. A complete win that reinforced my wife's obsession with duck confit.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Venado. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksHK1rusZ34/T6tHRnbcEUI/AAAAAAAAApk/k_rkigjwVQo/s1600/20120113-IMG_1042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksHK1rusZ34/T6tHRnbcEUI/AAAAAAAAApk/k_rkigjwVQo/s320/20120113-IMG_1042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Grilled venison with licorice sauce and oyster mushrooms. Expertly cooked and totally delightful.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Vieiras. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vCqaNHO5Ces/T6tHPUVL1fI/AAAAAAAAApU/lcjRCgmbXrU/s1600/20120113-IMG_1040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vCqaNHO5Ces/T6tHPUVL1fI/AAAAAAAAApU/lcjRCgmbXrU/s320/20120113-IMG_1040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">The pan seared scallops were memorable. If you can believe it, the caramelized onion was quite possibly the star of the dish - which I can't decide if this is good or bad (that the scallop is overshadowed).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Lomo de Conejo. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Df8Oe9ndWig/T6tHTzYv89I/AAAAAAAAAp0/LG6XFt7SKbY/s1600/20120113-IMG_1044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Df8Oe9ndWig/T6tHTzYv89I/AAAAAAAAAp0/LG6XFt7SKbY/s320/20120113-IMG_1044.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Grilled rabbit with fideo noodles. The rabbit was seasoned excellently and delectable. The noodles seemed like an afterthought, though others in the family were big fans. Myself, I could have double fisted all that rabbit strait into my mouth it was so good. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Coliflor. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWIjPQS6Yes/T6tHOCtsYXI/AAAAAAAAApM/VlgaWuoKxog/s1600/20120113-IMG_1039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWIjPQS6Yes/T6tHOCtsYXI/AAAAAAAAApM/VlgaWuoKxog/s320/20120113-IMG_1039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Roasted cauliflower with onion confit. A little salty, but I would have eaten 3 pounds!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Pulpito a la Gallega. (Not pictured). </span>Baby octopus. Uniformly we didn't care for it. The paprika didn't do it any favors, it was both not picturesque and a huge miss.</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Sepias. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue__Wa4BQ10/T6tHQn_V6VI/AAAAAAAAApc/TMet-Hx35AA/s1600/20120113-IMG_1041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue__Wa4BQ10/T6tHQn_V6VI/AAAAAAAAApc/TMet-Hx35AA/s320/20120113-IMG_1041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Seared cuddlefish with squid ink bomba rice. On the complete opposite side of the octopus, this total win dish may have been the best of the night. It was composed of perfectly marinated cuddlefish. The rice could have been a little more aggressively seasoned, but the squid ink did amplify the flavor nicely.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Foie de Pato. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wfc5t1n8riM/T6tHVHl1rHI/AAAAAAAAAp8/pHNYqQeMZU8/s1600/20120113-IMG_1045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wfc5t1n8riM/T6tHVHl1rHI/AAAAAAAAAp8/pHNYqQeMZU8/s320/20120113-IMG_1045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Seared foie gras. It is a tantalizing slab of foie gras, is it not? Unfortunately, it was slightly under temp on the inside (in my opinion), with baby food on the side (not pictured). Delicious none-the-less, but overshadowed by less expensive, better dishes during the evening and far outstripped by other foie gras dishes around town.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Garbanzos con Tomate. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUqGL2AzQKQ/T6tHMJSWVII/AAAAAAAAAo8/l9kZmItB29E/s1600/20120113-IMG_1037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUqGL2AzQKQ/T6tHMJSWVII/AAAAAAAAAo8/l9kZmItB29E/s320/20120113-IMG_1037.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Garbanzo beans with tomato cumin sauce. The strong cumin flavor made the dish good but not fantastic.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Cerdo Iberico. (Also not pictured. We ate it too fast!) This f</span>resh pork cut from a pata negra pig was another absolute smash hit. This was the single best bite of pork I've ever eaten! Ever - Eaten! Cracklin skin on the outside, juicy fatty soft meat. I can still taste it on my tongue...</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Remolachas. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--6SK_f3CBM8/T6tHLFty_3I/AAAAAAAAAo0/H8pjXPUc4EQ/s1600/20120113-IMG_1036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--6SK_f3CBM8/T6tHLFty_3I/AAAAAAAAAo0/H8pjXPUc4EQ/s320/20120113-IMG_1036.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Red and golden beets. My beet hating wife ate and enjoyed these.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Tabla Iberica. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zSgk7Uz5urY/T6tHKLPGNhI/AAAAAAAAAos/qS070RAE_tQ/s1600/20120113-IMG_1035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zSgk7Uz5urY/T6tHKLPGNhI/AAAAAAAAAos/qS070RAE_tQ/s320/20120113-IMG_1035.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">The c</span>ured meats plate was very good, with a wide variety of flavors coming from the same base ingredient (one piggy piggy). </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">-Profiteroles. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJmaIX7ZF6w/T6tHWUvs-XI/AAAAAAAAAqE/i1VkuzX-pJ4/s1600/20120113-IMG_1046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJmaIX7ZF6w/T6tHWUvs-XI/AAAAAAAAAqE/i1VkuzX-pJ4/s320/20120113-IMG_1046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"></span><br />
<span class="s1">Oh yah.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Overall, the meal was great. We were sad to have visited when the duck breast was not on the menu though, and a little disappointed by the inconsistent seasoning - with (for example) some of the rice being underseasoned, and things like the cauliflower being overseasoned. These inconsistencies kept this meal from being perfect. However, the cuddlefish, venison, pork, duck, sardines, beets, and rabbit were memorable, and the only protein problem was the octopus. The service was solid and took nothing away from the kitchen, which you can actually see if you sit in the front of the house.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">Harvest Vine</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">2701 East Madison Street </span></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Seattle, WA 98112</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;" /><nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">(206) 320-9771</nobr></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>4 of 5</b></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Seattle, WA 98112, USA47.622942367599826 -122.297229766845747.612241367599829 -122.3169707668457 47.633643367599824 -122.27748876684571tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-5921447864061988632012-05-23T11:37:00.000-07:002012-05-23T11:37:00.600-07:00On Norms<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DAxuqq9GWBg/T7ggQlvDQXI/AAAAAAAAAyg/Hm5YwUQVuq0/s1600/Chipotle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DAxuqq9GWBg/T7ggQlvDQXI/AAAAAAAAAyg/Hm5YwUQVuq0/s320/Chipotle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1">Some might say that I am norm seeking. Others a norm deviant. I'm not sure it's germain to the conversation at hand, but in everything that is scalable there must be a scale. In anything where there is a spectrum, bads and goods, there must be an average. There must be a benchmark. There must be a norm.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">For restaurants, and my 1-5 scale, these are your 2s, maybe on their best day a 3. They are where you go, spend a few dollars, and get a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/marilyn-hagerty-olive-garden_n_1332753.html">decent meal</a> that *should be dependable. If you are in Tulsa or Moscow, you should be eating basically the same thing. <a href="http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/231419/">Also, if you live in a smaller town, these might be your only options</a>. That's ok, because they *shouldn't disappoint you.</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Here are some of the more common standards I use. Also of note, something starts being "expensive" when it costs more than Outback. Anything around the price of a meal at Applebee's is average, and fast food is cheap. This is by no means exhaustive, but meant to be a fun little exercise...</span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">American: Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Chili's.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Burgers: Red Robin.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Fast Food: Taco Bell, Wendy's</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Fried Chicken: Zaxby's or Chik-Filet</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Steak: Outback.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Italian: Olive Garden.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Breakfast/Bakeries: Panera Bread.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Sandwiches: Subway, Quiznos, Jersey Mike's, Blimpes.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Chinese: PF Chang's, and anywhere with the words Dragon, Panda, Express, Lucky, and Garden in the name.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Japanese: Anywhere with "Sushi" or "Tokyo" in the name, and mall sushi.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Thai: Anywhere with the word "Thai" in it.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">Vietnamese: Anywhere with the word "Pho" or "Vietnamese" in it.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">And finally, Mexican/Tex-Mex: <a href="http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/Default.aspx?type=default">Chipotle</a> (often 4 stars of deliciousness!). </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1">You may also may enjoy a somewhat interesting quirk, I deal in the currency of Chipotle burritos when I eat out. For example, a $12 meal is two Chipotle burritos, a $30 one is five, etc. Because Chipotle is so delicious, you get a good sense of the relative value of your meal when you consider how many Chipotle burritos you are paying for it. (This is not product placement, I have not been offered any $ or burritos to talk up Chipotle. I will accept bribes in Chipotle burritos though.)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674157313475646507.post-27656171379957351892012-05-21T12:22:00.000-07:002012-05-21T12:22:00.629-07:00Iggy's at the Hilton Singapore<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJ9VeR-sXfg/T6tPbWNbGNI/AAAAAAAAAss/Ztch3sSh-js/s1600/20111007-IMG_7176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJ9VeR-sXfg/T6tPbWNbGNI/AAAAAAAAAss/Ztch3sSh-js/s320/20111007-IMG_7176.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.iggys.com.sg/">Iggy's</a> is listed as one of the <a href="http://www.theworlds50best.com/">top 50 restaurants in the world</a> according to Restaurant magazine. Passing through town, it was impossible not to indulge. The restaurant is very small, and reservations are a must. You are given a "Gastronomic Menu" reflecting their seasonal menu on the weekend and this prix fixe is your only option. Weekdays there is a slightly less expensive "Dinner" prix fixe menu. Here was mine:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--u5yWQMDpbw/T60tyHmK4rI/AAAAAAAAAtw/gPbtIi_GWX0/s1600/IMG_7174-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--u5yWQMDpbw/T60tyHmK4rI/AAAAAAAAAtw/gPbtIi_GWX0/s320/IMG_7174-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Eel</span><br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Avurga, Yuzu, Silver</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Sea Urchin</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cauliflower, Abalone, Shiso</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Chlorophyll</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sea and Soil</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Sanma</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wild rice, Olives, Thyme</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Pigeon</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beetroot, Hickory, Lentils</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Epoisses</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yukon gold potato, Winter black truffles</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Cantaloupe</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Raspberry, Peppermint</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -Watermellon</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pepitas, Goat's cheese, Milk ice cream</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was one of the best meals I've ever had. However, it was not "better" than the best meals I've ever had. It did have some of the best courses that I've ever had. This is an interesting dichotomy. Here are the details:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, there were two bonus courses at the beginning of the meal. These courses were, in a word, outstanding. Iggy's "sushi," a toro, wagyu (possibly Kobe) beef, and beautiful seasonal white fish (not white fish, but a white fish with which I could not pick out of a lineup - possibly Bonito fish) was phenomenal. The pieces were not served on rice, but "gnocchi" in the loosest of senses. It was more a cracker, though it's hard to make "cracker" sound fine dining. These gnocchi exploded with flavor in your mouth, and gave a crunchy textural contrast to the soft fish and beef that was most welcome.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdehSkGVkYI/T6tPcrmSVpI/AAAAAAAAAs0/ZlbFbraWEqo/s1600/20111007-IMG_7179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdehSkGVkYI/T6tPcrmSVpI/AAAAAAAAAs0/ZlbFbraWEqo/s320/20111007-IMG_7179.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iMj-SHp3pH0/T6tPd5cF6rI/AAAAAAAAAs8/8vAnZtvkqtU/s1600/20111007-IMG_7180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iMj-SHp3pH0/T6tPd5cF6rI/AAAAAAAAAs8/8vAnZtvkqtU/s320/20111007-IMG_7180.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlCfV0nB-Os/T60tzXPhcgI/AAAAAAAAAt4/yWc56UyIdag/s1600/IMG_7177-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlCfV0nB-Os/T60tzXPhcgI/AAAAAAAAAt4/yWc56UyIdag/s320/IMG_7177-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition, here is a "bonus" salad course:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWYcwLa1B2U/T60t1OSjYEI/AAAAAAAAAuA/m5PWpj_pHrg/s1600/IMG_7183-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWYcwLa1B2U/T60t1OSjYEI/AAAAAAAAAuA/m5PWpj_pHrg/s320/IMG_7183-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The eel course was smoke infused with an upturned "bowl." I don't normally buy into this gimmick, but the chef was able to infuse a great deal of smokey flavor into the eel and caviar, making the dish a complete success. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WabatxrK-7E/T6tPhmWsfuI/AAAAAAAAAtM/pnOpT7lg-0I/s1600/20111007-IMG_7185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WabatxrK-7E/T6tPhmWsfuI/AAAAAAAAAtM/pnOpT7lg-0I/s320/20111007-IMG_7185.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, however, the sea urchin was not on the same level. I first tasted the sea urchin and gel-like broth. Independently they were a little disappointing. When eaten together, they ceased to be disappointing, but only arose to "good," and additionally disappointing, the shiso flavor was really not present. Even sadder, I neglected to snap a shot of it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chlorophyll, however, was spectacular. If you were going to have a disappointing dish, go ahead and put it before this dish. You quickly forget all about it, since this was the single best vegetable/vegetarian-friendly dish I have ever eaten. It had no salt, creme, or stock added, according to the server. It was, in a word, plants. The amount of flavor that Iggy was able to get out of plants was amazing, and the roasted buckwheat seeds about stole the show. They were so salty and delicious, it was hard to pay attention to the okra, seaweed, and other elements. With each bite, however, you were reminded of just how harmonious this dish was. I don't know how it would impact it, but I for one would have enjoyed a few seabeans in this dish - not to say it wasn't individually a five of five.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JcOgeRMpDjI/T6tPjI1kjiI/AAAAAAAAAtU/lfXQWB-o23M/s1600/20111007-IMG_7187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JcOgeRMpDjI/T6tPjI1kjiI/AAAAAAAAAtU/lfXQWB-o23M/s320/20111007-IMG_7187.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another example of the nice textural touches within the dish were puffed rice pieces amid the wild rice that accompanied a perfect medium sanma. The thyme was nice, but the sprig included on the dish would have blown out anyone's palate. While pretty, frying it to a crisp and diffusing some of the thyme flavor, or transforming the ingredient in some other way would have been a better option. Since the oil on the plate was already infused with thyme, you wouldn't lose anything. This is a minor complaint, a garnish issue, but to me it is the difference between a great meal and a perfect meal.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_ilABaiML8/T60t4CT3DdI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/v1th-dnKigI/s1600/IMG_7197-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_ilABaiML8/T60t4CT3DdI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/v1th-dnKigI/s320/IMG_7197-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pigeon. Why it wasn't called squab, is beyond me. The woman next to me commented, pigeon, I don't think I want pigeon. What she wouldn't have known would not have hurt her. She probably would have gotten the dish, eaten it, declared it was the best squab she had ever eaten, and then later in telling her friends would have found out squab is actually pigeon. Technically, again, the protein was cooked perfectly. The lentils, of all things, about stole the show though. They had this almost intoxicating, berry flavor that paired perfectly with the beetroot that was infused with a nice delicate smokey flavor. Throw on that the pickled treatment that a few pieces of beet get, with micro-beet greens and you have another winning dish. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EX38oJlhOG0/T60t7kQ4P7I/AAAAAAAAAug/HQFPuc_u35M/s1600/IMG_7199-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EX38oJlhOG0/T60t7kQ4P7I/AAAAAAAAAug/HQFPuc_u35M/s320/IMG_7199-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The potatoes and cheese. My goodness. They were irresistible, with the truffle adding this magnificent earthy "umami" flavor. I don't use the word umami lightly, or to be trendy. This dish just had it. This dish showed how amazing potatoes can be, and made for the best "mashed" or "scalloped" potatoes I have ever eaten. </span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yMw27p5G0Do/T6tPlJnXxpI/AAAAAAAAAtc/FTdVoce_LNQ/s1600/20111007-IMG_7203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yMw27p5G0Do/T6tPlJnXxpI/AAAAAAAAAtc/FTdVoce_LNQ/s320/20111007-IMG_7203.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The (former) pastry chef, really had a stroke of brilliance when he created this cantaloupe soup. It was like an injection of cantaloupe, so much flavor you might as well have stuck it straight into your veins with a needle. In addition, I'm sure this is a fine dining trick, but to freeze and break apart individual raspberry cornels shows both patience and ingenuity. Absolutely loved it!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pIjtLLbBgqU/T6tPmmPOkLI/AAAAAAAAAtk/qWQxxTwXCoA/s1600/20111007-IMG_7206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pIjtLLbBgqU/T6tPmmPOkLI/AAAAAAAAAtk/qWQxxTwXCoA/s320/20111007-IMG_7206.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final dessert (or so you think), had a goat cheese infused vanilla ice cream. The woman next to me (a different woman from the last time) declared, oh, goat cheese, I don't like goat cheese. The chef convinced her to give it a try, and she gobbled the whole thing down. The goat cheese wasn't prominent, but used to break up the sweetness of the ice cream. The watermelon and pepitas were just winners. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-APinfQcJEv8/T60t9EVcHEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/p76Hr5phNm4/s1600/IMG_7208-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-APinfQcJEv8/T60t9EVcHEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/p76Hr5phNm4/s320/IMG_7208-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you think you're done, they bust out a chocolate box. I said yes to every one, after consulting with the pastry chef and him telling me that he would absolutely take one of each chocolate in my place. The apple-flavored piece was outstanding. I was glad to have grabbed one of each, because I wouldn't have grabbed the apple chocolate if I had only picked 2 or 3. The white chocolate with pink peppercorn was good enough, and my least favorite was the pistachio (which would have been my first choice). They had some delicious caramels, truffles, and macaroons. I guess picking a least favorite was like picking a least favorite child.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C4sqxb5HVB0/T60t9wk9I_I/AAAAAAAAAuw/gxotIjXWCvM/s1600/IMG_7212-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C4sqxb5HVB0/T60t9wk9I_I/AAAAAAAAAuw/gxotIjXWCvM/s320/IMG_7212-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed my experience at Iggy's. It was expensive, fine dining anywhere in the world expensive-expensive. Do I think it was worth the price tag? Yes. I would strongly recommend it for a special occasion or business meeting. Do I think given Singapore's food culture, that it is wise to spend some 50 times the cost of average fare on a single dinner? Well, that's a tougher one. I think in a nutshell that this is what cost Iggy's the last half of a "star" to me. While the meal was fantastic, at the price (in Singapore), it needs to be perfect and it wasn't perfect. The wonderful staff really does lift your experience as well, each member is knowledgeable, friendly, and on task. If your paradigm is Panda Express for Asian food, this will blow you away!</span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iggy's</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hilton Hotel</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">581 Orchard Road Level 3 </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">Singapore</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"> 238883 </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Tel</span><wbr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"></wbr><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">: +65 6732 2234 </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Email: marcom@</span><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">iggys</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">.com.sg</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">*Google has not updated the address from the Regent Hotel - Beware!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>4.5 of 5</b></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sXeX5x3Zyi4/T6tPftYy-eI/AAAAAAAAAtE/T9quGe5_RR0/s1600/20111007-IMG_7181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sXeX5x3Zyi4/T6tPftYy-eI/AAAAAAAAAtE/T9quGe5_RR0/s320/20111007-IMG_7181.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tX4U9QvmXgM/T60t2r3qf6I/AAAAAAAAAuI/B0XyD9z8WxM/s1600/IMG_7194-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tX4U9QvmXgM/T60t2r3qf6I/AAAAAAAAAuI/B0XyD9z8WxM/s320/IMG_7194-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yh5-JYvr6eE/T60t6Y6U5jI/AAAAAAAAAuY/kBXyc3qW084/s1600/IMG_7198-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yh5-JYvr6eE/T60t6Y6U5jI/AAAAAAAAAuY/kBXyc3qW084/s320/IMG_7198-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Singapore 2392201.2989676 103.83212641.2969830999999998 103.82965890000001 1.3009521 103.8345939