A rare alignment of the calendar resulted in such that the first day of the Chinese New Year and Valentine's fell on the same day. What's a chef to do? Feature both! The most opulent dinner yet in the project, the meal itself consisted of all Chinese themed dishes while the dessert was all Valentine's. I really wanted to work the theme on this one more than I had in the past and I broke out a new table cloth, multiple gift boxes for the guests, decorative place settings and even decorated the room.
Three couples were invited so with X and I that made four altogether. Craig & Joe, Anasuya & Newley, and Cameron & Dale. The meal itself consisted of the following:
Kung Pao Shrimp with Cashew Nuts
Hot & Sour Soup
Chinese Barbecued Sprareribs
Stir-fried Bok Choi
I have to say, my personal favorite was the Kung Pao Shrimp. DAMN it was good, and I wish I had some more to eat right now. Really and truly tasted "Chinese" and was a flavor explosion. Everyone else seemed to like the spareribs, which were GONE in a very short while. The soup I wasn't as happy with. I'm sorry folks, I just don't like bamboo. I try to like it. I try to give it a chance. It still tastes like rubber tubing dipped in chemicals if you ask me. And it made the soup have a tinge of that flavor, so--in my humble opinion--not a winner. Other guests liked it but whatever.
Everyone got their own gift box, which included an assortment of goodies to get the new year going. Inside were various gold wrapped chocolate ingots and coins, a small mandarin orange (for longevity), a small golden stuffed tiger (for the year of the Tiger), and most importantly a lucky money envelope. Everyone had a different coin from around the world and it corresponded with an individual "fortune" that were read out when they identified the coins they got.
Onwards to dessert, which swept away the Chinese theme into sweet sweet lovin'. The main event: Strawberry Shortbread with real whipped cream. I must admit I digressed here and used Nigella Lawson's "How to Be A Domestic Goddess" cookbook here, and it was worth every bit. Shortbread is really easy to make folks. I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to pull this off as dinner was already a bit late and I wanted to get things started, but it came off without a hitch, and was SOOOOOOOO good.
Everyone then got a second gift bag full of Valentine's treats including more chocolates, candies, marzipans in the shapes of hearts. The grand slam event in the gift boxes was definitely the passion fruit ganache white chocolate kisses procured from our very own Miss Wonka (Davina) who thankfully runs a Belgian Chocolate factory here in Bangkok. Gluttonous does not begin to describe it.
I even busted out some wall stickers I found in Chinatown the day before to put people in the festive mood. They're still up, I just love them. And for less than 50 cents a set, what a bargain! Good times, good times. Thanks to everyone who made it such a wonderful evening, and thanks to all my helpers for the night: my amazing partner X, Joe for his helping with prep and some of the cooking, and Craig for keeping everyone drunk with his signature pitcher of Valentine's cocktails. The best dinner to date if you ask me! Oh, and Cameron took some AMAZING shots of this dinner with his new camera, but I haven't got copies yet. I shall indeed share once I get my little hands on them.
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