Back to Entertaining

Last week, Sandi and I decided to experiment with a few things. Zohreh and Mike were to be the guinea pigs.

The ShrimpTaco Bites Sandi made were outstanding, and it had lime zest, avocado, sour cream, chili, and cilantro. The shrimp was baked and then placed on tortilla chip scoops. 

I made Chicken with lemon cream sauce. The lemon slices were edible and turned out to be delicious with the cream. Sandi made a salad of fresh tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers in a lemon dressing. 

I copied Erik's creation for dessert, but this time, I added sweet vermouth to the mango and banana slices before adding the whipped cream.

Good food and great company made the evening fun. Thank you, Zohreh and Mike, for being such good sports.

Violet Oon Singapore

Dino, Grace, and their youngest son, Lewis, treated Sandi and me to a very impressive and delicious lunch. This restaurant is located within the National Gallery, which was grand with extraordinary views from the rooftop.

They thought it best to order different dishes to share. The first to be served was the Kuay Pie Tee; these were julienned bamboo shoots and turnips poached in a prawn bisque served in a deep-fried "top hat" cup topped with prawn, chili sauce, and a sweet fruit sauce. That must be one of their best sellers as we noticed that almost every table ordered that. It was absolutely divine! 

We tried the Hainanese Chicken Rice, which was very good. The Beef Satay was one of the best I've had, with its equally delicious spicy peanut sauce.

The Beef Rendang' tender beef shin braised in a melange of spices flavored with Kaffir and bay leaves cooked in a creamy coconut sauce was perfect with the Jasmine rice. My favorite was the Butter Prawns, fried Angka prawns topped with butter floss and crispy curry leaves. It's quite amazing what one can do to prawns!  They were truly buttery. I might have to double up on my Lipitor tonight.

This was an amazing lunch. The food tasted even better than it looked. Violet Oon has three locations in Singapore. If you ever find yourself in Singapore, this is a must-see and dine. Thank you, Dino and Grace, for this fabulous lunch.

Cibo

This is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the Philippines. They have multiple locations all over. Sandi and I were there 2 nights aago. Last night, my friend Gigi, Sandi and I, decided to dine there and have  Gigi's favorite Champagne which I brought all the way from California. 

We ordered the Spinach Dip for appetizer. Both Gigi and Sandi ordered the Mushroom-Truffle 3 Cheese Spaghettini Tartufata; cream, fontina, goat cheese, butter and parmesan. I had that 2 nights ago and was very pleased with it. Both of them loved it. 

One of my favorites is the Mozzarella, White Cheese, Basil Penne Al Telefono which I also had on my last visit. This time I wanted to try something different. I ordered the Crab meat Linguine Di Valentino. That had lots of tender juicy crab meat.  It also had chili flakes which gave it a bit of "oomph". Needless to say, I inhaled my portion. 

I know I had to order the Tiramisu with Crunch. This is the only place that serves "crunchy Tiramisu". It is to die for. When the server placed it on the table, we all gasped as we saw how big the serving was. Both Gigi and Sandi do not like coffee so I was unable to share it with them. Much to everyone's surprise, including myself, I ate the whole thing!

Gigi had the Panna Cotta with Mango which looked delicious; and apparently was. Sandi had the Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato which she enjoyed.

We had a great time. Very good food, champagne and the best of friends. Thank you, Sandi, for treating us.