Ling

^I agree! Both desserts look delicious, Lumas!

Let me chime in with my praise for the red currant jelly, Klary. So beautiful and jewel-like! The Buneulo Ice Cream with Warm Pumpkin Empanada sounds like my kind of dessert, tupac! Mmmm

The escargot in the puff pastry cups are really cute. Could you tell us what went into the creamy sauce?

I've never tried bread and butter pudding, but I make my bread puddings with croissants or brioche. Just another option. (And I would definitely serve the bread pudding with a bourbon caramel sauce.) I had an amazing Poire Williams sorbet this year that was just wonderful...I'm quite sure they have fresh pear in there too, because the body of the sorbet is so ripe and full. I also love lemon basil sorbet. The strawberry balsamic sorbet idea sounds great.

The lighting in my pictures always look terrible once the sun's gone down...but here's a shot of my pots de creme and white peach. I'm going to have pound cake later too--it's still in the oven right now.

I like Kirin best out of the places you've listed (with the exception of Gingeri--haven't been there yet), but the shrimp dumplings and the radish cake aren't the best there. I love their egg tarts, though, when they are hot out of the oven! Perfectly flaky 'sou pei' and the custard is more delicate than most dim sum places. ETA: Where did you read about "Yu"? Is that the full name? I haven't heard of it. Is it in Richmond?

Has anyone done any cooking from the book Foods of Sicily & Sardinia and the Smaller Islands by Giuliano Bugialli? I borrowed it from a chef who highly recommends it. I've flipped through the book and the recipes look great...I'll probably cook something from that book next.

After our dinner party, we dropped by the Mistral kitchen to hang out for a bit, and we mentioned to the pastry chef that we didn't fry cannoli because we didn't have the metal tubes. Turns out she has some metal tubes so maybe we can borrow them and I'll give it a try on Thursday or Friday when I'm back down in Seattle.

^Can they make it at lunch time?

It looks like a jewel. I enjoyed your desserts at Providence.

I'm a fan of your photos, Ann...as you already know from the "Dinner" thread. I've been to Vancouver Island a few times, but mainly to do the touristy things like having high tea and visiting the wax museum. Looking forward to seeing more of the local produce and cheeses!

Jade is on Alexandra Road in Richmond, Golden Szechuan is on No. 3 Rd right across the street from Yaohan Center. Sounds like a very ambitious few days of eating! I look forward to your report.

Your pictures are lovely to behold as usual, Patrick...especially that delicate lemon sponge roll! I've only tried making a sponge cake roll once...that was about 10 years ago. I remember my sponge cake cracking when I was trying to roll it over the lemon curd and I got discouraged...I should try it again. Welcome, Marcia! The colours in your picture are so vibrant!

That looks incredible! You got some great meat and bread in one tasty package...what more could you want?

That looks like some good eatin', Daniel. I was just thinking about carnitas yesterday...I should make some!

OK, so we should all shut up and only believe what food critics write. Then we can blindly follow them to new restaurants, and, after dining, formulate exactly the same opinions as said food writers. That's kind of funny, since as I was making my way to the bathroom at Sanafir, I ran into a restauranteur and he asked me how I liked my dinner. I told him honestly how I felt and he encouraged me to post it, saying how feedback from everyday diners help him (and his kitchen) re-think and improve the food at his own restaurant. So I might not be professionally trained, but I daresay I'm a pretty decent home cook and I've dined out at a number of restaurants over the years. A lot of people have PMed me since I've joined EG to tell me they like reading what I have to say, and lots of people have said the same to me in person. I would like to think that EG is as much for professional critics as the average diner/home cook with a passion for food.

I was just thinking it was odd that Henry was reporting on his desserts since I remember you saying he wasn't much of a dessert guy before he met you. Thanks for clarifying. ← Surprisingly, he also ate all of the sweets I noted above, with the exception of the chocolate bar! I think he especially liked the strawberry pie and the Snickerdoodles I made...and ice-cream is also one of his favourite desserts. The last few desserts on this page look great, especially the mango pudding! I'm going to check out that recipe...my family loves mango pudding and I can't even remember the last time I made it.

I get oysters from Lobsterman, and live shellfish and live fish from T&T and Empire in Richmond.

Wow. What a luxurious hit of protein!

85% is a little bitter for me to eat on its own as well. You can use it in any recipe that calls for milk chocolate or 60-70% chocolate--just add a bit more sugar and butter or cream to taste. The easiest thing would be to just make hot chocolate. I have a brownie recipe in Recipe Gullet that calls for 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate and 3 oz. bittersweet--you could use 8 oz. of 85% instead.

^Egg wash...or heavy cream works too.

mrbigjas: The only thing that matters is that your loved ones enjoyed the meal! The red peppers look great...are they cooked, or raw? The almond syrup and coffee granita sounds like such a great snack on a hot summer day.

I'm still full from my two day eating marathon too...but I'm just about to head out the door for biscuits, sausages, and gravy, and strawberry pie at Marjorie... ugggggh

^They are in the second half of phlawless's post. Thanks for the recipes, btw!

Thanks for all the compliments! Yes, our huge pan of risotto was cooled, then mixed with 2 eggs, then covered in egg wash and panko. (We love panko...we apologize for the deviation from tradition.) The squid was cooked in about a minute--they were probably the most tender squid I've ever eaten. The calamari dish by Batali has tomato sauce (homemade), capers, pine nuts, currants, and couscous (but we didn't use the couscous). The cannoli shells were OK--we bought the mini ones pictured there (the brand is Ferrara), and these huge ones that didn't taste quite as good. The morning after--my stomach is STILL bloated from all that food!