In the life of a desperate housewife: Sorrento.

All I heard was 'should we go out to dinner'
and I was already in the bathroom
making myself pretty.

We jump in the car and head towards the beautiful
night time city skyline.
We find a restaurant and take our seats on the balcony.
(Or actually that is where we got seated as the lady told me I was too pretty to sit anywhere else. Ha!)

And then I notice this:



Ouch.
Anyway this is what we had at Sorrento in Northbridge.

Us: 'Garlic Bread'
kind of like French toast with not much garlic but a LOT of oil

Him: '400g Veal rib eye cooked to your liking served with creamy mash potato, green beans, roasted tomato & red wine jus'
he ordered medium but got well-done but the creamy mash as well as the wonderful red wine sauce still kept him happy

Myself: a daily special of Scallop Risotto with basil and tomatoes
a very nice risotto in general which is in fact rather hard to find these days with a lot of scallops and fresh tomatoes, however again they could go a little easier on the oil

Then we shared a bottle of Asahi beer which was served in small icy beer glasses. YUM!
Altogether a very nice little evening and I was very delighted to find a bubbly and exciting area for going out for drinks or dinner as I still had not found one here in Perth before.

- E

Pizzaiolo in Oakland, CA

People has been raving about this place. Some compared this to Zuni (casual-upscale rest in the city). Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get us a table at this joint - "lusty flavors and casual surroundings" - Bauer. This is my kind of place, casual and homey but sophisticated (y'kna).

Out of the bunch - Chez Panisse (well known restaurant in the Bay Area) and Zuni - Pizzaiolo would be on the top. Now, I have not tasted Alice Water's pizza but I have at Zuni. At Pizzaiolo, pizza's are wood-fired.

We had...

Blue Heron Farm little gems caesar (8)

--- I've got to eat more salads. This was amazing. The croutons was perfect (i love this small rebaked and seasoned cubed breads).

Farro with North Carolina shrimp, sweet cherry tomatoes, shallots and mint leaves with flatbread topped with smashed fava beans on the side (15).

--- This was refreshing. The shrimp was perfectly cooked. A lot of flavors was going on, but the ingredients went well together.

Meatballs al pizzaiolo (14)

--- OMG, Miss Elena! This would've changed your being a vegetarian to meat-eating person =))). This was life changing! The best MEATBALLS I've had! It was amazingly tasty - bedded on crushed tomatoes, capers and pine nuts - the capers did not unbalanced the whole thing, went well with the whole dish.

Braised Niman prok shoulder with sweet corn polenta, roasted escarole, fried sage & roasted spring onion salsa (24)

--- Not too keen with pork but the sweet corn polenta caught my eye. It was surrounded with butter but it didn't ruin the taste of the 'pork'. If you like pork, this was perfect - it was tender and cooked slowly.

Margherita (13)

--- The best pizza I've tasted yet. (can't wait to see what Delfina is all about - Delfina's chef recently won the James Beard award) Anyway, the ingredients was fresh (everything in this restaurant was organic, fresh, sustainable, and etc...), tasty tomatoes, and just the right amount of mozzarella and herbs.

Almond meringue, topped with fresh cream and strawberries (?)

--- This reminded me of Pavlova. Deliciously sweet.

My Ah-c-an In ME

*my Asian in me.

Today, I was craving the flavor of Asia (at least, close to that). I haven't tasted Asian cuisine in ages. My mind, body, and soul is desperately in need to reconnect with the culture. (why am I writing this way...? i don't know why... but pls.. just bear with me =))))

Alright, so for lunch I suggested we go for Thai. There's usually good Thai in the City but in our location it is lacking in the Asian cuisine category - what's mostly around us are European restaurants, lovely food but not today.

I searched the 96 Hours magazine; this magazine is where one will find what's happening in the City from Th to Sunday, restaurants openings, etc...

We opted for Grand Pu Bah in Townsend. I'm a bit skeptical of places I've never heard of before (i've seen it many times). We drove over there... The weather right now btw in SF is freakin' (excruciatingly) HOT!

We had...

Chicken Satay
marinated tender chicken served with cucumber salad & homemade peanut sauce

--- dif'rent take on how they made the chicken. it was coated with uhm... curry and bbq'd (or perhaps, marinated in), bamboo shoots, a lil bit of ginger. The bbq'd chicken was nicely done. As for the homemade peanut sauce, in all my years of eating Thai I've never had peanut sauce the way I prefer it; which is (as I explained to Mikey-Ike) I like my peanut sauce to be at least 98% peanut, then he said why don't you just asked for peanut butter - lol. Then I thought, oh yes ha... the way I like my peanut sauce is peanut butter, which dif'nitely will not go well with my chicken satay. EEECK... how awful would that be. ANYWAY...)

Papaya Salad
shredded papaya, tomato, green bean, iceberg lettuce, peanut and Spanish anchovies

---- This was a huge disappointment =/. I like the papaya salad at Slanted Door (wayyy)better.

Green Curry
homemade green curry paste, green bean, bell pepper, zucchini, basil and bamboo shoots

---- OMG! this was mind-blowing. Never had green curry like this one =)))) The best I've tasted. Everything was fresh (some rest's uses some sort of coconut paste, that after a while it'll congeal - disgusting) After tasting this Thai Curry, it was like I've gone to Thai-Green-Curry-Heaven. My mum makes curry-like dishes also, and this green curry reminded me of that - pure heaven.
Pad See You
stir-fried flat noodles with soy, chinese broccoli and egg

---- They used pappardelle clear noodle. I was a bit doubtful when ordering this dish b/c of the spelling. However, after I tasted it, it was amazing. Slightly sweet, balanced well with Soy

Mango Sticky Rice
vanilla infused coconut sticky rice topped with caramelized pop rice, mango coulis served with Tom Kha sorbet
---- The vanilla ice cream and the caramelized pop rice was surprisingly delicious together. I grew up with Sticky rice, this measured to my expectation (deteste it when rest's does not use the rice particularly used for making sticky rice, and when the rice is not well cooked -ugh!)

Fried Banana with Ice-Cream

fried banana, pineapple ginger caramel, cashew coconut brittle served with Singha beer ice-cream

---- I didn't get this b/c I was full already. But I was intrigued of what Li-Hing was... apparently it's a flower (tried searching about it but to no avail). I've never had beer ice cream before, so I asked about it, the waiter was kind enough to give me a sample. It was incredible! A bit sweet, the bitterness did not disappear, and the malt after-taste - the perfect way to end.

Everything was meant to be shared. One entree is meant for at least 3-4 people. The dessert and the app is good for 2-3 people. The decor was not bad, a bit over done but clean. The staff were pleasant and welcoming. I think we found our new Thai place in the City =))). YEY YAH!

Gator's Neo Soul Cafe & SoGreen[frozen]Yogurt (syg)

Ate at this cafe last week - and fin'ly met Greg's wife (Mikey-Ike's brother), Susan =). Lovely to have finally met her.

Anyway, I've never had full on southern cuisine. I mean I've had bisquits, which I love, but never gumbo and such. Southern cuisine is rich in flavors, seasoning and saucy, and mixed using of classical french (french creole cooking) cooking. Nothing quite like it. There's that homey feeling when eating it. Oh-so delicious...

Tasted:

• GATOR’S BARBEQUE SHRIMP & GRITS
  Tender Shrimp simmered in a Spicy Herb Butter Sauce over Grits
• BRIDGE CITY CRAB CAKES
  Dungeness Crab Cakes grilled golden brown with Kahlua Baked Apples and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Aioli
• ASIA’S DOWN-HOME GUMBO
  Chicken, Shrimp, Crab, Beef Hot Sausage, Vegetables, etc., etc., etc.
• AUNT GERTIE BEA’S FRIED CHICKEN
  10oz. All Natural Chicken Breast soaked in Buttermilk and Pan-Seared, then Oven Finished
  with Crispy Red Potatoes, Onions, Smoked Bacon and Spring Vegetables
• STICKY FINGERS BABY BACK RIBS
  1/2 Rack of Baby Back Pork Ribs coated in our zesty Pineapple B.B.Q. Sauce
  and served with Pecan Brown Rice, and Baby Collard Greens

(almost) Everything we had made our drive down south worth it =))). The baby back ribs, the meat was literally falling off its bones. The sauce was tangy and a bit sweet, just the way I like it.
And OMG the gumbo was just to die for.
The fried chicken was not I expected it to be, but still healthy and good - it was pan-seared and oven finished. Not oil fried =).
The crab cake was fresh.

The food was great, it was extra special b/c of the amazingly cool company.

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Alritey... about SoGreen(frozen)Yogurt.

Ingredients here are fresh and organic. The venue is polished clean from top to bottom.

This, Miss Lovely E, would be perfect for your summer weather =))). This frozen yogurt is divine. Our favorite is the strawberry - it's fresh strawberries, subtle tangy lemon and not too sweet, just purrrfect.