Lunch with The Boys at the Diamond Palace

Monday, May 27, 2019

Since it was a  holiday today and others did not work we got together for lunch at the Diamond Palace in Westminister. They are still adding more bling to the place. The smaller dining area now has a small stage and small dance floor. Obviously catering to the party crowd.  The ambiance is great. We found some of the food dishes are not the quality as it used to me. Others are still quite good. New owners and new chefs.

Started out with an Egg Drop soup that needed white pepper which we applied liberally.  Then a plate of Salt & Pepper Calamari. Big disappointment. Could not taste the salt or pepper and the calamari was not tender. This dish is not what we have had in the past.

Then on to stir fried beef with baby bok choy with fat noodles.   This dish had good flavor, meat was tender. This is a regular  for us to order.

Sauteed scallops with snow peas was a good selection. A bit bland but the scallops were tender and cooked perfectly.

Next was Orange Peel Beef. It had a light bite to it. Not quite as good as before but still a good dish. Meat was tender and had a nice glaze to it. 

Wines were on the excellent side today.  I brought a 2010 Roar, Sierra Mar, Pinot Noir which was showing really well. I decanted it for about 90 minutes before leaving for lunch.

A 2010 Roar, Garys Vineyard, Syrah. Took quite a bit of time to open up. That is the value of decanting before. It was more than two thirds through the meal before it opened.

2014 Domaine Schlumberger, Riesling, Grand Cru was excellent.

A Pere & Fils, Launois , Grand Cru Champagne, Mesnir Sur Oger Reserve rounded out the selections. Excellent wine and the bottle was emptied quickly.

Another nice lunch with the boys. Four of us today. The fifth could not make it. It has been awhile since the entire group was together.