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Ling

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Everything posted by Ling

  1. We had the banh xeo and the fried duck soup for lunch. The banh xeo is light in flavour without the fish sauce, but I made sure each bite got a healthy dunking in the sauce with plenty of basil and cilantro too. We thought it was great, and it was amazing how it stayed crisp even with the steam coming from the bean sprouts. The duck soup was also pretty good, but I don't like eating soggy duck skin. Next time, we'll try something else. I drank every last bit of broth, though! The man (maybe the manager?) spoke Cantonese...(is it Vietnamese-owned? Just curious.) He was really excited that we liked our lunch, and told us how the chef was on a local cooking show awhile back.
  2. ^That's not my picture, but I did meet HCC (the lady with the glasses) yesterday at Union! She had Bourdain for dinner and it was filmed for the show, but I wasn't at that particular dinner.
  3. I know what will be on the show but I don't think I should spoil it for everyone... The show will be on the Pacific Northwest.
  4. Geez Abra, that looks so delicious! That must be the most perfect salmon dish right there.
  5. Went to a Tony Bourdain event last night at Union...ate creme brulee and lemon tarts for dessert.
  6. Tony was at Union in Seattle tonight for dinner. Tix were $150, and included food (mussel, soup, asparagus and haricot verts, roast chicken, steak tartare, double-cut pork chops, the best fries and aioli, creme brulee, lemon tarts, lots of wine) and a copy of the book. hhlodesign and I (along with 10 other guests last week) are going to be on "No Reservations" in late September. We taped the show last week.
  7. I think we spent 5+ hours at the French Laundry too. Also had a number of meals in the 4 hr. range.
  8. Thanks for the recommendations. I didn't have much luck at Boule (though the sorbet was good) or Sweet Lady Jane, so I'll definitely check our Michel Richard's on my next trip. ETA: That is such a perfect dessert, Patrick! You never fail to impress me!
  9. I don't think it's possible to burn the pork...the temperature would never get that high, like oil for frying. (Save me a piece, please!! )
  10. Anyone have a favourite pastry (or two, or three) from Columbia Bakery? I might head over there tomorrow.
  11. Ling

    Lunch! (2003-2012)

    Leftover crab from a Chinese restaurant...it was fried and wok-fried with salted egg yolk used as a "sauce". And then I had a bowl of coffee ice-cream and a few truffles.
  12. Mmm...nice pics! I am coming down to Seattle when I get off work...are there any leftovers?
  13. ^Like I said in my PM, no need to apologize!
  14. I know this isn't the SLJ thread, but I'll post my brief comments here. We went to SLJ immediately after Boule (only had one day in LA, afterall ) and none of the cakes--towering monstrosities of what looked like thick, sugar bombs--appealed to me. We got a croissant that was easily the worst croissant either of us have ever tasted. My bf was like, "I've had better croissants at Safeway!" and I'd have to agree. The croissant was enormous, and very bready and dry. I had the tart tartin--the caramel was burnt BLACK (and yes, very bitter) and the crust was underdone on the edge, and soggy on the bottom. How could they serve something like this? Sorry if this is sounding too harsh, but I was appalled by the quality of the two things we purchased. Far and away the two worst bakery items I've ever tasted.
  15. ^awww... I do have a lot of fun. I feel very fortunate. The icing on the cake is that Tony Bourdain was a guest at one of the dinners.
  16. Playing catch-up as I've been on vacation for a few days... Today: -litchee and a selection of truffles Yesterday, at Mistral -honeydew, cantaloupe sorbet -pineapple tart -soft, warm chocolate cake with brownie ice-cream Friday, at Providence -lime shiso sorbet, strawberry vanilla sorbet -some sort of fruit "tuile" filled with fromage blanc (blanking on this dessert, sorry) -petit fours (chocolate macadamia, homemade peanut butter chocolate cup, homemade caramel) at the bakeries (Boule and Sweet Lady Jane) -tart tartin -passionfruit mousse cake with coconut dacquoise -pistachio-cream chocolate -canneles bordelaise ...and a churro from Mr. Churro at a touristy part of LA Thursday -hazelnut butter cake with Valrhona mousse, hazelnut dacquoise, and Valrhona ganache (made by me, for bf's sister's birthday) Wednesday (Gypsy dinner in Seattle) -sour lemon pudding, Italian meringue -butterscotch pudding -chocolate terrine (SB 70%) with various treats like homemade marshmallow and candied nuts -lime cheesecake with strawberry Poprock graham crust (this was very good!) -petit fours
  17. The most delicious thing... Yesterday -toss-up between the honeydew and cantaloupe sorbet and the pineapple tart I ate in the Mistral kitchen on Friday -the gougeres at Providence, in LA on Thursday -a cake I made for my bf's sister's birthday...three layers of hazelnut butter cake, four layers of Valrhona Le Noir Amer mousse sandwiching layers of hazelnut dacquoise, and Valrhona ganache on Wednesday -hangar steak, tendon, tea broth, and fondant potato dish at an underground Gypsy dinner (but to choose ONE thing, it would have to be the meaty tea broth and tendon, together in one glorious bite)
  18. To clarify, I also thought the food was above average. (I said it was "good" in my comments above.) It was in line with what I expected for the price of the meal, but it didn't leave me thinking this is a place I'd definitely like to go to again.
  19. We had dinner at Providence on Friday night. Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the dishes we got (9 course full tasting menu). Everything was consistently good, but at those prices, I expect to be blown away at least once or twice. There were problem with the service. We were given no spoon with our first course, which included consomme. The servers, with the exception of perhaps 3 of our courses, gave really brief descriptions of the dish--one server set down the plates, said the two main ingredients (really, just two words), and then left abruptly. Another server told me the fruit paste served with the cheese course was strawberry but I was quite sure it was quince...and when I heard a different server telling the table next to us that the cheese plate comes with quince, I asked again and had it confirmed as quince. Usually, I have no problem with "cozier" seating, but a group of men who were seated to my right spoke loudly and obnoxiously during our entire meal and I felt that really detracted from our dining experience. (And in case you're wondering about the subject of their conversations, one of them including bridles and saddles, and no, we're not talking about horseback riding. ) The table on my left (a couple celebrating an anniversary) were very quiet for the duration of their meal and looked rather unhappy. I have no doubt they heard every word. As noted above, portions are on the small side and you won't leave feeling stuffed, but pleasantly full, after a 9 course meal. Best parts of the meal were the gougeres, the lime shiso sorbet, the pork belly with the super thin, crisp skin (though neither of us liked the strawberry tarragon sauce on the side), and the first course which consisted of a barely poached oyster, chorizo consomme, and celery sorbet. The bread was also excellent. Anyway, to sum up...better-than-ordinary food at extradinary prices, beautiful room, hit-and-miss service. ETA: Sorry, no pictures...our camera ran out of battery. The presentation on the plates were very artistic and looked as good as Russell's pictures.
  20. After lunch on Friday, we stopped by Boule and got the lemon basil sorbet, a canneles bordelaise, and a passionfruit mousse cake with coconut. Also sampled a pistachio cream-filled chocolate. The sorbet was far and away the tastiest of the three. The mousse cake was also pretty good, but a little too sweet for my tastes. I was surprised at how rustic the items in the pastry case looked, like the chocolate tarts, the lemon tarts, the eclairs...I wasn't tempted to take any pictures. The canneles bordelaise was really bad. The outside was all thick and rubbery and the interior was an unappetizing gummy texture. We each took a bite or two and threw the rest away. I found Boule a little disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing as our next stop--Sweet Lady Jane.
  21. I had Beard Papa cream puffs (plain and matcha) for breakfast on Friday, en route to L.A. Both were very good. We went to a location that was inside a Japanese supermarket. No line.
  22. How many courses are in the full tasting menu?
  23. No wonder it's fantastic!
  24. Friday: I had lunch at the food court in Richmond Public Market, which I already covered here. We had xiao long bao, hot and soup soup, potstickers, and these pan-fried dough things with meat inside. Nothing made me want to go back for more. Dessert was at Chocolate Arts on W. 4th (salted caramel, Poire Helene, and a brownie.) The chocolates were delicious as usual. I had dinner with some friends at Cru. Everyone enjoyed their food and the service was wonderful. The only "off" bit of the evening was that two of my friends ordered the mussel and clam dish, and both had perhaps 3 clams on their plate that were unopened. My bf and I split the smoked tuna (our favourite), the short-rib with mac and cheese (the meat was a little salty, but still very tasty and an incredible deal at $15), the duck confit with greens and bacon dressing (also very tasty) and the seared Abalone mushroom with asparagus and manchego. We each had a glass of the Township 7 Cru Blend, which was great, and he had a glass of Quail's Gate pinot noir which neither of us liked. I also had another glass of really good wine, but unfortunately, I forgot the maker. Ended the night with lemon tart and basil tart with strawberry sorbet and vincotto, which was a very nice combination of flavours indeed. Saturday: We had dim sum at Empire Seafood in Richmond. The best thing we ordered was this dim sum dish of fried taro paste with minced pork, Chinese mustard, and scallop. I also really liked the tendon and tripe dish (especially the tripe, because that honeycomb really holds onto the sauce), and the steamed fish maw with chicken. The latter had a really subtle, pure flavour that my bf found bland, but hey, more for me! The shrimp dumplings were steamed for a bit too long, and the Shanghai stir-fried thick noodles were just OK.
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