Zinc la la

A friend from college got married this weekend. Well, technically he got married last weekend, but the reception was this weekend. So I flew home for a few days. (Isn't that weird that most of us still consider our parents' house home?) During the two-hour flight from Seattle to Oakland, we were served a bag of pretzel mix and drinks just like any other flight these days. I remembered last year while traveling in China during the Olympics, a friend of mine commented on that flying domestic in China was like flying in the US back in the 80s - the attendants (I almost said stewardesses, God forbid, that would be so inappropriate! =P) were all very young and attractive, and a full and palatable meal was served during a two-hour flight. Well, I remember even ten years ago flying between Seattle and Bay Area, there would be a sandwich if it was during meal time. Those were the times! I don't mind not getting my sandwich during a two-hour flight. But when the airlines nickel and dime us even during a 6+ hour cross country flight, that's just plain annoying, especially considering the extra time we have to spend in security these days. Oh well, I digress.

Anyways, as you all know by now, I couldn't have planned any trip without food involved. On Sunday, I went into SF with my best friend E and her boyfriend for some shopping and then dinner at Le Zinc French Bistro in Noe Valley. As E's boyfriend is French and grew up in Paris, I had high expectation of the meal on good authorities. But before we get to food, I have to tell you that he got E THE cutest coat I've seen. It was the Nanette Lepore "Walk of Fame" Coat. Don't bother doing a search. I did, and none of the pictures on the web does it justice. When she tried on the black Christian Louboutin knee high suede boots with it, all the sales reps on the floor were drooling, women AND men. =)

After such a successful shopping spree, we had to have a little celebration at Le Zinc. While E's boyfriend drank his beer, E and I toasted with Kir Royale. We decided to order a number of things and share. For starters, we got Escargots, Terrine de Foie Gras, Foie Gras Poelé, and Moules Provençales from "Le Menu Classique", the 3 course prix fixe menu. The snails were on potato canapés with porcini and garlic butter sauce. I've only had Escargots served in the shells before, so I asked E's boyfriend about these de-shelled critters. He agreed that this wasn't what he was used to either. While the taste was authentic, the presentation was definitely fancier and more elegant than what you'd find at a normal Parisian restaurant. While I loved the snail and the porcini and the garlic butter sauce, the potato canapés didn't do anything for me. As you know, I live to eat foie gras, and my preferred cooking method has always been searing. E has only had foie gras terrines before. So we got both. The terrine was served with toasted pain de mie. It was smooth and creamy. I had to admit that it was excellent. The Foie Gras Poelé came with red cabbage confit, orange sauce and blini. It wasn't bad or anything, but I was slightly disappointed. The foie gras was a little thin, and marginally over-seared in my opinion. While the red cabbage confit was good, I would have preferred a fruit confit such as apple better. Truth be told, I was secretly hoping for a perfectly seared piece of foie gras served along some divine fruit confit to lure E into the camp of seared-foie-gras-lovers. This one didn't do it. Oh well, till next time. The mussels were steamed in white wine with garlic, tomato, and red bell pepper. They were fragrant and plump. The broth was perfect for soaking up with bread.

Moving on to the entrées, E got Canard aux Pêches, a duck magret with roasted peach, roasted fingerling potatoes and peach sauce. The breast was tender and savory, the peaches were sumptuous. E's boyfriend had Cassoulet au Confit, a Cassoulet of duck confit, Toulouse sausage, and white beans. I've never been a fan of any kind of beans, but the duck confit was excellent. E's boyfriend told me that this was a glamorized version of a traditional cassoulet that would contain mainly the white beans with some pieces of meat instead of a whole duck leg. Well, hooray! As long as the essence of a cassoulet is still there, we are fine, right? I don't think I'd enjoy a conventional cassoulet as much. Meanwhile, I gorged on duo D’agneau - rack and tenderloin of lamb with sunchoke purée, salsify, broccoli, herbes de provence, and garlic butter. Ooh, la la! The rack was good, but the tenderloin was stupendous. I was speechless. What could I say? I love lamb and duck. I'd be elated if I could have these every week. Hmm, I wonder what my waistline would look like if that happened. =)

For dessert, there was no more sampling or sharing. It was unanimous that we all wanted our own tarte tatin. The apple was caramelized to a perfect golden brown. The puff pastry was buttery. It was a sweet ending to a lovely meal. To make the deal even sweeter, the price was very reasonable at Le Zinc. The prix fixe menu was only $35. A three course meal! In a French restaurant! In San Francisco!

This would be my definition of a perfect day, good friends, satisfactory shopping, and delectable food. Only if I could live like this everyday! =)

Le Zinc French Bistro
4063 24th St (between Noe St & Castro St), San Francisco, CA 94114
(415)647-9400

Food Allergies

Over the last few decades, a growing population has been found with food intolerance/allergies. While the general population has heard or known about it, their understanding is rather limited. People don't normally realize how serious these allergies can be. Whenever I ask if a food item contains dairy or egg in a grocery store, normally nobody knows. And in a restaurant, they generally have to check with the kitchen.

As I mentioned earlier, D tested positive for milk, egg, peanuts, and peas allergies in September 2008. Since then, it has been a growing experience for us all. In summer 2008, my one-year-old son was down to under 1 percentile in weight since he often threw up multiple times a day. It was a horrifying sight, especially considering that he was at 90 percentile when he was born (Yup, it was very hard). I suspected he had these allergies (other than peanuts, since we hardly have anything with peanuts in the house), but I didn't know what to do as he didn't like soy milk, and often wouldn't drink fortified orange juice. Then my coworker (whose daughter is also allergy to milk) told me to try soy yogurt first. I've never even heard of such a thing before! It was like a miracle, he started putting on weight really quickly. Today, he's at 25 percentile. He loves to eat and eat and eat. Even though, it's still sad to tell him that he couldn't have a lot of things, it's at least good to see him healthy.

And couple of days ago, J tested positive for peanuts, and pine nuts allergies after a scary visit to the ER. (And possible almonds, macadamia, and white fish allergies.) *sigh*

So if you or someone in your family has a food allergy, ask around, and talk to your doctor. However, think about what you heard first before acting on it. My pediatrician told me to load tons of butter on D's toast even after I told her my suspicion of his milk allergy! (Of course, I didn't listen to her on that one.) She also told me to give him 2 bottles of PediaSure a day. He hated it, wouldn't even take a sip. Another thing is to read all the ingredient labels. It's taking me much longer to do grocery shopping these days, since I'm always reading. Most labels will have the typical allergens listed again on the bottom, or bolded in the list. But some companies are still not practicing this, it can make the label reading process quite painful when sometimes there could be 15-20 lines of ingredients in small print, and some ingredients contain the allergen (ie: casein contains dairy). And sometimes, there is no label at all!

In my opinion, the most problematic allergens are milk, egg, soy, and wheat. These are such common ingredients. You really have to be alert all the time to not consume any. Did you know most bread contained milk? Oh, and here is a good one, soy cheese contains milk too! (What the heck? If I wanted milk in my cheese, I'd have bought regular cheese. Btw, only vegan cheese are dairy free.) I once met a Chinese woman whose son is allergic to soy, so they stopped eating Chinese food altogether. What a life altering experience! Then there is celiac disease, which is more than just wheat allergy. When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, he/she becomes so ill, it could possibly kill him/her. I used to worked with couple of people with celiac disease, one of them compared wheat on his food to rat poison. Imagine that!

I still know very little about food allergies. But hopefully by the spread of words, I could do my part in raising the awareness.

If you'd like to read more on food allergies. A few good sites are:
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
About.com: Food Allergies
Food Allergy Gourmet
 
PS: if you have any dairy and egg free dessert recipes, please pass them along. =)

Canlis Wedding

As you know, F came for a friend's wedding. I, being a big softie for weddings, went as her guest. The wedding couple loved food, so it was held at the acclaimed Canlis restaurant, ceremony included! I didn't even know you could have a wedding at Canlis!

All weddings are special, but this one was extra special. The wedding couple fell in love with Seattle when they visited last year and got engaged at another distinguished restaurant Chez Shea. So instead of Hawaii, or some other exotic location, they chose us! Every guest flew in for this memorable occasion. The officiant put it well - "In this economic turmoil, Seattle economy thanks you. The airlines, the hotels, the restaurants, we all thank you." I must have been the token Seattleite there.

Even after being married for a number of years, I still get teary-eyed at weddings. Like all marriages, mine has its ups and downs too. But at weddings, watching others declare their eternal love always teaches me something new about love, reminds me of how beautiful love was, what I felt on my big day, and what I should keep at heart and treasure everyday. Though I was a total stranger to M and G, I felt touched that they let me be a part of their special day.

After a lovely ceremony, the guests mingled while champagne was poured and hors d'œuvres were passed. The champagne was Canlis' private label NV Jean Milan "Canlis Cuvee" Grand Cru made in Oger, France. I don't know much about wine, but I do know that only the sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France can be called "Champagne", and Oger is in the Champagne region of France. I always love starched-uniformed waiters carrying silver trays with offerings of champagne or bite size treasures. So old world glamour. One of these treasures, namely the pork belly on quail egg puree with capers, came on spoons. I know that it would no longer shock anyone when hors d'œvures were served on spoons. But every time I see it, I just love it. You eat it in one bite, put the spoon back on the tray, then continue your conversation or whatever you were doing, no greasy fingers, no dirty napkins or tooth picks in your hands. Whoever came up with this idea must be a genius! The quail egg puree might not be as brilliant as the spoon, but it was pretty fabulous too. It was smooth and creamy, and the capers cut through the greasiness of the pork belly. There were also spinach quiches with Pecorino and garlic. They were topped with toasted pine nuts for a twist. The Canlis prawns were cooked with dry vermouth, garlic, red chilies and lime. Whoever said a prawn was a prawn never tasted these. They were exquisite. There was also lobster tartare. They were OK, but nothing exceptional.

After everyone had a fair amount of Champagne, we sat down for dinner. First came the cherry gazpacho with dungeness crab, paprika and oregano. I loved the chunky crab meat. The gazpacho was lovely, but just a tad too spicy for me, though that didn't stop me from finishing every drop of it. =) Then came Canlis salad of romaine, bacon, Romano cheese, fresh mint, oregano and a dressing of lemon, olive oil and coddled egg. It was very refreshing, almost like a palate cleanser (a BIG one) to get us ready for the main course. There were three options to choose from for the entrée. A seafood choice - Pacific king salmon with parsley and preserved lemon, potato puree and whole roasted potatoes. A chicken dish with celery puree, natural jus and roasted potatoes. And last, my selection and seemingly the most popular choice of the night, the filet mignon, a whole cut all-natural prime Midwest beef with natural jus, bordelaise and potato puree. It was one of the biggest piece of filet mignon I have ever had, cooked to a perfect medium, practically melted in my mouth.

Just as everyone started saying how they couldn't eat one more bite (myself included), we were served artisanal cheeses from Estrella family creamery. I don't know much about cheeses, and I couldn't remember much other than there were 2 goat cheeses, and 2 or 3 others, with nuts and fruit confiture. I liked them all, it's unfortunate that I can't tell you more about them. Then along came the killer, a dessert amuse, banana and caramel filled doughnuts with molten milk chocolate and peanut butter ice cream. Who doesn't love doughnuts?! The batter was so rich, moist and light at the same time, no one could help but indulging in one. The wedding cake had two flavors, a vanilla chiffon filled with lemon mousse, lemon curd and raspberry jam, and a chocolate cake brushed with frangelico, filled chocolate mousse and hazelnut mousse. I had the vanilla chiffon. It was probably very good, but I was too sated to appreciate anything at this point.

Oh yes, the wines! I had the 2006 Chateau Ste Michelle "ethos" chardonnay from Columbia Valley. The choice of red was the 2005 l'ecole no.41 Perigee from Seven Hills Vineyard in Walla Walla. And the dessert wine was the 2003 Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos. This was my first time drinking a Tokaji. In the past, I always associated dessert wine with Ice wine. But this Tokaji was lovely. The honeyed apricot and orange peel flavors were delightful. I will have to go find myself some Tokaji now. =)

G told me that he worked with the chef on the menu. I can say with full conviction that his effort was heart felt by everyone, if not their minds, at least their stomachs. =) I'm already looking forward to the next time M and G come to town, so we can be on our quest for another marvelous dining experience.

Oink, oink, oink...

One of my best friends, F, came in town for a wedding. Since all my activities revolve around food, I suggested that we take the bus into Seattle, do some shopping, then have an early dinner at my favorite happy hour spot in the city - Cafe Campagne. Oh, did I mention I love the public transportation system now? I used to hate BART in the Bay Area. But taking the bus in Bellevue is so convenient. A few stops, I'd be in downtown Seattle. No parking; I can hop on the bus anywhere I want. How do you beat that?

After a quick lunch at Dog in the Park, some shopping, and a white chocolate geleto at Chocolate Box, we made our way to Cafe Campagne. We started with happy hour food and ordered my "usual" pork and chicken liver pâté sandwiches, petite lamb burgers d'agneau with balsamic onions and aïoli, and Comté with house-made tomato preserve. The sandwiches and burgers were as savory as they always had been. I love the gougère they were served, so buttery and fluffy. The Comté was nice and mild. The tomato preserve was very fruity and sweet, with a little warm tomato fragrance on your tongue afterwards. It was very good, but the date confiture they used to serve was even better. Yummy, my mouth is watering just thinking of it. Unfortunately, the wines I tasted were just OK.

When dinner time rolled around, we were half full already, so we opted to share the 3-course French 101 prix-fixe. The current focus was regional food of Lyon. We started with Assiette de Crudite - a salad with carrot, beef steak tomatoes, marinated beets, leeks in vinaigrette, and celeriac remoulade. Each individual ingredient had its own little corner on the plate. Everything tasted OK, but it was only as good as the parts since there wasn't anything that brought all the components together. The entree Petit Sale Aux Lentilles was a braised, brined pork hock served on a Puy lentil ragout. For those faint of heart, this would not be your dish. You could still see that it was part of a pig's leg. And for those health conscious eaters, this wouldn't be for you either. The hock was still intact with the bones, skin and fat. However, for me, this dish stole my heart. It was the epitome of country cooking. The flavor was so straight forward, no delicate sauce, no fancy plating. The lentil was perfectly cooked, rich with the juice from the hock. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside that when I closed my eyes, I felt as if I were eating in someone's cottage. There was so much of it too, we barely finished half of it. After such a rich dish, the dessert was a light and refreshing peach sorbet - Sorbet a la Peche. (Doesn't everything sound better in French even if I can't pronounce a word of it? =) It was good I suppose, but not very memorable.

As the night drew in, we walked away again with very satisfied stomachs. Till next time, Cafe Campagne!

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley (between Pine St & Stewart St), Seattle, WA 98101
(206)728-2233

Trophy Cupcakes (Bellevue)

It was quite an event when the Bravern opened this weekend, bringing Neiman Marcus along with designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo and Hermes, etc. to the Pacific Northwest, making Bellevue a step closer to a premier shopping destination. The Neiman Marcus gala took place on Thursday night, and the store opend to public on Friday. Apparently, they had a great turnout over the weekend despite the dismal economy.

I stopped by today to avoid the weekend traffic. The stores weren't packed, but they weren't empty either. It was obvious that the popularity of Trophy Cupcakes and Party continued as the line extended outside of the store. Trophy offers 5 everyday standby flavors: Chocolate Vanilla, Triple Chocolate, Vanilla Vanilla, Vanilla Chocolate, and Red Velvet. It also offers 4 rotating flavors. As it was Monday, the flavors were Hummingbird, Lemon, Snickerdoodle, and Snowball. I seriously considered Triple Chocolate, and Snowball (a chocolate cake with coconut buttercream and pink shaved coconut). But Hummingbird (banana pineapple coconut cake with cream cheese frosting) won me over. I loved the cake. It was moist, and all the flavors complemented each other. But the frosting was a bit too sweet for me that I had difficulty finishing it. The cupcakes were $3 a pop, or $33 a dozen. The shop also sells coffees and party supplies such as cards and paper decorations. Considering a $3 cupcake can get you a 3 hour parking validation ($13 value), I say it is a GREAT value!

I think next time I will try the triple chocolate.

Trophy Cupcakes
700 110th Ave NE. Ste 260 (Bravern), Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)361-0033

The Islander

The weather god or goddess has been especially nice to Seattle this year. We've been having beautiful weather since May. Even now, a week after Labor day, we are still seeing the perfect blue sky, with the temperature hovers around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. How fabulous is that? We can enjoy Puyallop Fair with lemonades and smoothies or spend a day at the park.

After some play time at the Luther Burbank park, we decided to have dinner at The Islander. It's one of the worst meals we've had lately. J's $6 Kid's meal of Chicken Strips and Fries came with only 2 pieces of chicken. It really should be called chicken fingers as they WERE the size of my fingers. They were also dry, overcooked, and barely seasoned. Even his $1.5 cup of apple juice was very small, packed with ice. I got halibut & fries. You'd expect some good fish and chips for $16. However, only portion was generous. It was completely bland, with no seasoning on the fish or the batter, served with luke warm tartar sauce. This was by far the worst fish and chip I've ever had. I tried saving it by squeezing lemon juice all over, but it was beyond help. Hubby had California burger. Again, the portion was good. It was much better than J's chicken or my halibut, but that's not saying much. For a $11 burger, it was only mediocre.

I noticed the wine price was reasonable. But as far as food goes, unless you want to pay the over-the-top Mercer Island price, I would never go there.

The Islander
7440 Se 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
(206)232-6676

The Bar Method, and the Rewards

There is a new workout called the bar method that combines yoga, pilate, and ballet to shape and elongate muscles. They recently opened a location in Redmond Town Center. My friend K after enjoying the workout for a couple of month, decided to organize a bar method event. Tonight, about 30 of us gathered in the exercise room. We strengthened and sculpted, flattened and stretched,, tightened and elongated until almost everyone was wincing in pain. Since everybody worked so hard, we rewarded ourselves at Matt's Rotisserie and Oyster Lounge with hors d'œuvres and cocktails. Well, K rewarded us really.

For hors d'œuvres, K's associate R pre-selected the food. So the hard part of decision making was all done for us, all we had to do was to eat, which is right up my ally. =) We had Prawn and Avocado Pizzettes with grilled flatbread, chili oil, pico de gallo and avocado lime cream; Wild Mushroom Quesadilla with Jack & Manchego cheeses, portabellos, roasted poblano chilies, red onion, cilantro, goat cheese and chipotle sour cream; Cambozola Flatbread topped with rosemary, parmesan and olive oil, served with honey roasted garlic, cambozola cheese, Kalamata olives and balsamic syrup; Caprese Skewers of cherry tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinaigrette; and last - the healthy choice - fresh seasonal vegetables (julienned carrots, celery, and cherry tomatoes, etc.) with housemade green goddess dip. The pizzettes were great. Each topped with a sweet succulent prawn complimented well by the pico de gallo and lime cream. I could have popped those down all night while sipping cocktails. Speaking of which, I had a blueberry champagne which was OK. The blueberry flavor was very much present, however, I couldn't taste the champagne at all. It was vodka all the way. I also had a strawberry lemon drop which was pretty yummy. The quesadilla was good too, with nice kick from the chilies. The honey roasted garlic was so sweet without any pungent garlic flavor. If it weren't for the fear of garlic breath, I'd be popping those down like there was no tomorrow. The caprese skewers and fresh vegetables were just as they were described. They weren't bad, but they were nothing special.

We chatted, drank, and ate. It was definitely a good way to reward ourselves for the hard work we did at the bar method. =)

Matt's Rotisserie and Oyster Lounge
16551 NE 74th St, Redmond, WA 98052
(425)376-0909

Tap House Grill

Today, I met with my friend K for lunch at Tap House Grill. This was actually my first time at Tap House. I don't really like parking at the Galleria. Even though it's not THAT old, the elevators are already falling apart. The building designer probably couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted an outdoor experience or an indoor mall. It was kind of a hybrid. The elevator would take you outside, then you'd go to a restaurant, or take the escalator. I don't particularly care for the layout.

The Tap House Grill is set on the ground floor, the dining room was very large. The ambiance was very much new American. We sat at a booth. (I always love a booth. =) The lovely K has a high stress job, so she got a Cosmo. Of course, a friend can't let a friend drink alone. So I got a Tropical Paradise, which contains Midori, creme de banana, Malibu, pineapple and cranberry juice. I love all the ingredients in the drink. Together, the sum is only as good as the parts, not better. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. It was very fruity, and I could barely taste the alcohol. But I was hoping to be blown away, and that I wasn't.

K got a turkey club with jack cheese, tomato, avocado, bacon, and lettuce, along with some fries. I got Dungeness crab mac & cheese. The club was good, and fries were plenty, my mac and cheese was very rich, with big chunks of crab. I loved the crab. But nothing else was memorable.

They have sushi on the menu too. But I'm a bit skeptical. Maybe I will give it a try next time when I come for happy hour.

Tap House Grill
550 106th Ave NE (between 4th St & 6th St), Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)467-1730