Paris Food Special!

Of the many things I want to do in life, celebrating New Years in Paris has always been floating at the top of my bucket list. Off the top of my head, it is currently ranked as being more important than raising a golden Labrador, curing my own sleep deprivation, and beating that last boss at the end of the interwebs. Luckily, all those things moved up a rank cause I was able to spend new years 2009 in Paris. Here's the proof, food style.

Basque type French Food. 1 word, delicious. Lamb stew perfected tender and seasoned, and typical European styled bacon was soft and juicy. A key thing to take away from this meal is that this was lunch on a weekday, and as you can see, I have a glass of wine. French people take their time eating and sipping wine during lunch, and it seems like the culture revolves around "wine with every meal". Being of Asian decent with particular low tolerance to Wine and Beer like alcoholic beverages, I'm glad to report that my trip in France was a breezy stroll through the land of awesome.

You can't go to France and not eat some Crepes!

Creme Brulee!

Avid readers of this blog should know of my most unhealthy obsession with pan seared foie gras. In fact, eating the oily delicacy is one of my top priorities. So after a day of walking around Paris, I sat down at a wonderful restaurant a block away from the Notre Dame de Paris, and ordered a Foie Gras as appetizer. What ensued was 15 minutes of bliss I dare not compare with anything else in this world. 4 ginormous pieces of Foie Gras occupied my mind, mouth, and shaking hands. It was cooked in a style I've never tried before, with apple pieces drizzled sparingly with sweet apple sauce. The heavenly pieces were pan seared and placed on top of toast. It was just too damn good.

Lastly, as proof that I was in Paris, here's a picture of the Eiffel Tower exactly 1 second before midnight. The single star signifying the 1second.

Bonne année everybody!

Home of the Jeffersons

I don't know about Thanksgiving means to your family, but for mine, it will never mean turkey. Noodles? Suuure. 

Stirfried Chinese cooking? Of courrrse. 

Chicken from KFC? That's getting into the fowl, and too close to turkey for comfort. 

Well, no matter what though, I was happy that the parents came down for thanksgiving, and spent the week in good'ole boring Virginia with me. However, knowing the parents, they probably would want to do a tad more than to surf the 100+ channels on my TV, so instead we went out on a small road trip to Thomas Jefferson's crib. I was pretty disappointed to see no bling. 

The Main Event Birth Day

Given the problem that is the high guy-to-girl ratio in most engineering occupations, the existence of a girl in such a situation usually means showering the oddity with nerdy adulation. Of course, if the girl turned out to be as cool as Ann, then we must proceed to buff our shoes, shine our wallets, and put on the best fedoras when it comes time to celebrate the very special occasion that is her birthday. 

The Inn at Little Washington is an exceptional restaurant. At least that is what the Washingtonian Magazine told me in their annual rating of 100 best restaurants in the Washington DC area. It is a quint little restaurant/hotel that was fortunate enough to have once housed the celebrated inventor of the Internet Mr. Al Gore, and the great examiner Victor Wang. 

http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/11/index.html

Setting:

The Inn is situated in a small rural setting, with Colonial (possibly?) styled housing and a breath of fresh air never before tainted by city-dwellers. Certainly a great place to be to get away from the hectic work place or even the boring everyday life. 

Food: 

As spectacular as anyone can imagine. Each course is artistically presented and tucks at your taste buds until you're licking the sauce from your plate. 

(presenting the world's smallest baked potato)

(the presentation of appetizers were stylish and unique)

(I think I'm going to need more meat on my plate)

(Foie Gras, the stable of our high-rolling diet. A note about the hot v. cold Foie Gras: both are delicious, but both may be acquired tastes. If you like them, sit next to someone who dislikes them, so maybe you can just yoink them off of their plate. Sauce is essential for making the hot Foie Gras, and the ones served at the Inn leaves me just a bit less wanting than one served at Cityzen)

(possibly the greatest course the Inn has to offer was the absolute delightful "7 deadly sins" that was delicious to the point that i felt decadent eating it)

(the vegetarian option for dessert was more amusing to look at)

The Party: 

Another great meal with friends. 

The Other Birthday

To gastric gurus such as Eric Ziebold, I am but a lemming, following what books and interwebs tells me to consume and enjoy. I do hope however, that someday I will be the one advising others on the delicacies of the world, and evolve from a lemming to a human being. A human being with the following motto:

"Eat, not to live. But live, to eat."

The following is a brief description of where, in my ever changing humble opinion, the single greatest meal is served in the world.

Cityzen, Washington DC. http://www.mandarinoriental.com/washington/dining/cityzen/

First Dish: This is a frigging tator tot sized something-a-rather that I probably should have taken a picture of with my flash in the ON position. My dinner party looked at the dish with cocked eyebrows, and I for one was praying under my breath. "This had better not be the first full course" I muttered. ::fork, knife, chew::

Lo and behold, it was the greatest Tator Tot I've ever tasted. A symphony of flavor (shitaki mushroom flavor with perfect texture) with a dash of smooth and creamy sauce cooked to perfection.

Sautéed Moulard Duck Foie Gras:
I'm no connoisseur of Foie Gras. Well, honestly, I'm not a connoisseur of anything cept in my own food critiquing fantasies, but I do know when my tastebuds are jumping for joy from what can only be described as a literal slice of heaven. Pefect amount of ba... oh forget it. If you want to have one of the most orgasmic dishes a 24 year old has ever had, then I suggest you try this.

Being the biggest fan of lamb meat since GhengisKhan conquered the world to find the best tasting lamb (he found them in Harbin, China), I have to say I'm relatively experienced and biased when it comes to lamb. The key to a lamb dish is how the sauce compliments the gamey lamb flavor, and the chefs at Cityzen nails it.

Cheese platter:
A decent selection and presented in a less interesting way than the cheese presentation at the Inn at Little Washington. And of course, "interesting" in a restaurant is not my style.

Wine: At the end of the meal, the gracious sommelier gave us a bottle of wine go to with the dessert. Simply put, if you like dessert wines that's sweet and soda tasting, the Moscato d'Asti is a must have/drink/drank/drunk. It's a great tasting wine that I now have cases of.

Thank you Cityzen for one of the greatest meal this man has ever had.

Wacky/Scenic China

So.. back from Chinarr. Since I have neither the patience nor the complete picture set to paint an accurate portrait of my travels, I post here a more condensed and some may say, nuanced, reflection of China. 

1: I haven't seen Al Gore's An InconvenientTruth and all, but i think people generally believe that environment is one of those problems that has no quick fix and that it will take years for the Earth to adjust to all the plastic bottles thrown into its crevices. However, China has proved to me once and for all, that you can go from being forced to do your morning Taichi under a blanket of smog so thick that crows can blend into the sky...

to being able to enjoy a nice game of beach volleyball under a clear blue sky in just 1 Month Time. That is the difference from the first day I landed, to the second to last day of the Olympics. The Chinese are plenty godly in my book.

2: The new stadiums are Ridiculously good looking.

I think that's all I need to say really. Although I didn't get into the Water Cube, I was lucky enough to watch Track and Field from the box seats in the Bird's Nest (Thanx mom!). Tons of fun, and of course, the fastest human being in the world ever just had to be named Usain Lightning Bolt.

3. The damn invasion started again. The Mongolians have come to break down the city (pronounced shitty) wall once again. Damn you Mongolians!

4. I like scenic stuff. This is the view from top of the Birds Nest, east of the Water Cube. There's a LOT of people of course, but it's also very organized and clean looking.

I miss the simpler times. When neon lights didn't line around the old rooftops for the sake of attracting more tourists at night. Sure, it may look pretty at night, but my picture looks more ugly because of it.

The Great Wall always looked nice.

Last:

I can't be sad enough about this picture. I also think I stopped drinking water in China after seeing this. Lets me get a Sprite please.

China's Jetlagged Mornings

I feel like this blog started and probably will end in the same manner as everything else I've done. Starting spontaneously, and ending with this blog achieving but a figment of what it could have been. Due to laziness.

well, don't be lazy now. =)

So, China. It. Is. Smoggy. But, I am very much looking forward to its food. Being in China has created a rift between my organs really. My lungs want to get the hell out, my taste buds is eager with anticipation, my salivary glands won't stop wetting my mouth, and my brain has just officially flipped off the lungs.

damn straight. It's time to eat.