Monday, June 21, 2010

Pondering Thoughts: Where Have I Been?

In Front of XIV Restaurant

Pondering thoughts, part deux...what have I been doing lately?

That seemed to be the questions most people have been asking lately and I had been mindful that a few people didn't realized I been around. Maybe the quantity of posts had been dropping precariously that had made people to think I had disappeared.

Fear not, that is not the case and I am prepare to share my latest activities lately.

To my surprise, a personal favorite dining meal in the recent months was in Michael Mina's XIV Restaurant at West Hollywood. One of my favorite dining partner, The Minty let us in on a tasting menu deal that XIV was promoting last month. A six course (including amuse bouche and dessert) that was moderately set at $40 with a chance to get a bit of a taste of each of the popular main course that appears on the menu. An agreement with almost everyone in our table, our Tai Snapper course was probably our favorite dish of the night.

I have to give credit in applauding how magnificent was the decor at this place. Some of our seats felt like a lounge couch in a trendy Hollywood club with hip trendy atmosphere. Very imaginative in terms of the setup and food gotten yours truly to think the place was obviously catered to a certain clientele during evening service. It's probably worth a repeat closer look for me in the future to further try out other main courses on the menu.

You can read The Minty's thought about that night in her post.

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Earlier this month, one of my favorite bloggers, The Ravenous Couple had a get together for their Elegant Summer Party. Set up at a private residence up over the northern inland corridor, a group of All Star Bloggers descended to be feted with some of the beautiful creations the Ravenous Couple would be presenting that day. Nice warm early weekend afternoon with a homemade lemonade, we were treated to some of the southern Asian creations with a delicate twist in their interpretation of the popular Asian modern comfort food prepared by the Ravenous Couple. That was more than enough, but we were even further treated with desserts made by The Food Addicts and Triple Scoop Desserts.

If you ever checked out their site, you will understand why I am excited to see their recipes being brought alive for my tummy to get a full tasting. Not only was I not disappointed, but I actually bummed that I didn't take up the offer of bringing some leftovers home. Next time, I won't be turning that offer down.

For the record, I sucked for not bringing my camera to this event. I wished I had taken some photos, but please check out the Ravenous Couple's site and have the wonders of their creations tempted your eyes and appetite. You will be envy of me getting the taste of some of those dishes that appeared on their site.

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My other memorable meal was at Jitlada hosted by The Gastronomer who wanted the input of the owner on what some of the dishes she would recommend for us on that fateful Spring evening. Jitalada had been one of my go-to place for some spicy Southern Thai fare and was a great occasion to have big menu of various delicious dishes suggested by Jazz, our lovely host and owner of the establishment.

The dishes being served here have never really let me down and always have the suggested fear of lashing on the tongue for the unknown consequences we might suffered if we didn't know ahead of time on the spicy meter level. It was always a great time hanging out with The Gastronomer and Astronomer in this feast.

Take a look what we have that night at Gastronomer's post.

There you have it! A glimpse of what I have tasted in the last few months. There are many more to come and more surprises I might have in store for you readers. You have just have to stay tune to find out....