Sea Smoke Magnum Dinner at The India Restaurant

 Saturday, January 28, 2023

CJ sponsored this dinner. He has magnums of wine that need a crowd to share. This is the first of several dinners he plans on having to relieve his cellar of this big bottles.  The restaurant was packed all night long. Very popular in Little India area of Artesia. as the food is some of the best around. Eleven of us tonight.

I am still having digestion problems so I knew my selection of food would be very limited and I would need to watch my consumption of alcohol. Spicy and alcohol are top on the list of things to avoid.  

We started out with a couple of appetizers, Vegetable Samosas which are pastry stuffed with potatoes and green peas and then deep fried. I did eat one of these. It was very good. The other was Chicken Tandoori. White meat chicken marinated in yogurt, herbs and spices. I passed on this one. 

Next was Jeera Aloo. Sauteed potatoes with cumin seed, onion and tomatoes.  This I passed on. Others said it was very good.

Then a dish of Karahi Goshi which is diced boneless lamb cooked in spices with onion, bell pepper, ginger and garlic. I took one piece of lamb and had one bite. That was it for me. I knew my stomach was not going to be able to handle this one.

Chicken Tikka Masala was next. Boneless white met marinated in spices and yogurt, tandoored in a clay oven and served in a curry sauce This dish was very good, chicken was very tender and the sauce was tempered by the yogurt. I sopped up the sauce with Naan bread. 

Garlic Naan and Basmati Rice rounded out the meal. 

There were 4 magnum bottles of Sea Smoke, Southing, Pinot Noir, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. There were differences in opinions of what years were best, I personally liked the 2007 and 2010.  I had less than 2 ounces of each. And small pours of two champagnes.  Did not want to tempt problems.

Several Champagnes were on the table. Top for me was the 1998 Piper Heidsieck " Rare" Brut Millesime.  25 years old and was vibrant. Excellent bubby.

Also a Moet & Chandon, Ice Imperial. This champagne is specially made to be served over ice. A  Duval-Leroy, Brut Reserve.  There was another bottle of champagne on the table but I did not make a note of it. 

I found it difficult to take pictures tonight. Table was very long and the magnums are big bottles and hard to move around. I use pictures to remind me what we drank and the details of the bottle. Also the champagnes did not move down to my end of the table easily. A batch of hearty champagne drinkers at the other end of the table. A good dinner, glad to be able to attend.  Looking forward to the next one. 

Lunch at Irrawaddy, Taste of Burma Restaurant

 Friday, January 6, 2023

6 of us today for lunch. This is a new restaurant for me. Irrawaddy in Stanton. Have never tasted Burmese food before. Looking online is seems very similar to Indian but without the fire. Lot of coconut milk and tea leaves used along with loads of spices but not hot like Indian food.  Restaurant is very clean and well appointed.  So many "asian" restaurants are on the tacky side. Service was very good.

This will be a place where the boys and I go for a lunch soon. Corkage is $12. There was no wine at this  lunch but a few people had the Myanmar beer. 

All the dishes we had we shared. that way we got to taste numerous items.

Started out with Tea Leaf Salad. Very good, interesting flavors. They sell the mix in a jar for takeout. You just add your own greens etc.

Then onto Paratha with curry sauce. A pancake style fried bread, slightly sweet and a non spicy sauce. I really liked this dish. This would be a definite reorder for me.

Sauteed green beans with sweet onion, carrots and a light sauce came next. Beans are al dente and bright green. Good job in cooking and presentation. 

Next is the one dish I did not care for. Mint Leaf Chicken. Did not like the texture nor the flavor. Whatever spice they used was over whelming to me. 

The Chicken Masala was more to my liking. A bit different from what I am used to in Indian cooking. Nice blend of flavors but would have preferred to have boneless chicken. Wasn't keen about spitting small bones out of my mouth. 

The Sour Leaf Shrimp was interesting. Good flavors in the sauce. But not sure if I would order this again.  Not sure why but it just did not knock my socks off. 

Dessert was Fried Banana with Green Tea Ice Cream. Ice cream was exceptionally good.  Over the years I have OD'd on bananas and just do not like them anymore. The fried ones did look good as they seemed to be caramelized. 

A large menu and so many more items to try.

Lunch at Seafood Cove # 1

 Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Lunch today at Seafood Cove. We were supposed to go to Cali-Chilli on the 19th but I had a bad episode of GERD and had to cancel. This was a last minute decision today.

Place was packed. Almost all were Chinese. All 3 lobster tanks were virtually empty. I saw one lone lobster left. Christmas must have been extremely busy for them. No deliver until Friday. 

Started out with the House Sweet and Sour Soup with tasted very good to me.

Next was Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles with Chicken, Shrimp, Calamari, Bamboo Shoots, Bok Choy and Carrots.

Followed by Beef with String Beans and Fried White Fish Fillet with Carrots, Baby Corn  Pea Pods and Mushrooms.

Apparently, I was having issues again with taste The fish tasted good along with the mushrooms and string beans. Nothing else.  I talked with several people I know that had Covid and developed taste issues. They are having the same thing. again. Not much tastes good. Seems we all want only salty or sweet. This issue  seems to come and go. Lasts a few hours or a few days. No rhyme or reason to it.

Two wines on the table.  A 2019 St. Huberts, The Stag, Paso Robles, Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2012 Trimbach, Alscae, France, Pinot Blanc. I had a very small taste of both wines and they tasted the same to me, off.  It was me not the wines.