tastings

[review]

a few Saturday nights ago, eL, NoH, Y and I all went to Susur (***) to try the two tasting menus. I had earlier pretended to be Y and made reservations under his name. Y found it disconcerting hearing someone calling himself Y, and I too found it very strange to be someone I wasn’t. Len the host asked if there was a particular occasion, but I said no, just dinner with friends. he said we must be very lucky. I thought he was being cheeky.

in the bright evening sun, the room wasn’t particularly impressive, very sparse and cold. but when the sun finally dip below the horizon, the room warmed up with the lights, casting a pulsating glow, a palette of colours. we were told by our short, but dark and handsome waiter that they only had the 5 course tasting menu available and it was the last night before the restaurant closed for the month. the tasting menus change daily and are not disclosed until 5 PM that day. there was so much food and dishes, so I will try to recall as many as I can.

Y chose a lovely Rhone that was a little bit spicy, but mild enough that we didn’t worry about trying to compliment the first few courses. we started the meal with the amuse-gueule. NoH sitting diagonally from me shared the same menu, while eL & Y shared another. we each shared our different dishes. our waiter directed us the order in which to eat the three appetizers on our plates. on one dish, we started with a cannoli stuffed with foie gras, moved to some yellow custard like dish with Cantonese preserved vegetable and then finished with a shot glass of gazpacho. the other dish started with some salmon and I can’t remember what else (eL, let me know if you remember!)… they were an excellent start to the meal.

after liberating eL’s bread plate from her grasp, the waiter quickly presented the first course of the evening. NoH and I had a roast breast and leg of squab, with roasted foie gras, accompanied with two flans, one of cauliflower. eL and Y had a filet of lamb, roasted pineapple, an oddly stuffed tempura, porcini mushroom and two different sauces of curry and of coriander/mint. the lamb was just perfectly done, medium rare and didn’t have that overpowering lamb game taste to it. the squab was beautifully done and the leg was stuffed. afterwards, Y found it somewhat disturbing that he just had some type of pigeon like bird.

for the next course, we had Wuxi pork, which was a slow cooked piece of fatty pork belly that melted in my mouth, along with a radish type cake with chorizo wrapped with pancetta and topped with a slice of roasted pear, and a piece of perfectly cooked daikon. the other dish was a wonderful aragula salad with medium rare slices of bison, slivers of foie gras and potato noodles. we thought so far the dishes were impressive.

after an abortive attempt by one of the other waiters to present us with another table’s meal, the fish course came next. there were maki-like rolls of smoked salmon, egg salad, nori and some white stuff I couldn’t remember what the waiter said. they were nicely presented on a very long and narrow sushi plate on top of sautéed shitake mushrooms, accompanied by four different tiny dabs of sauce consisting of raspberry, crème fraiche, mustard and dill. we were not impressed with this dish. but the other dish was absolutely heavenly. a perfectly cooked piece of sable fish with a delicate miso sauce accompanied by a roasted tomato. the fish was practically melting in our mouths. out of the dishes so far, the fish was the only thing that could’ve wowed us, if only the rolls weren’t so mediocre and disappointing. as a tasting menu pairing, it was probably the course that changed the experience from excellent to merely quite good. and again, eL’s bread plate was liberated from her grasp.

the shellfish course couldn’t quite redeem the downward slide. we had a cold marinated tomato stuffed with a lobster salad and topped with a piece of lobster and sturgeon caviar. the lobster and caviar was quite exquisite, but was tempered by a tasty but unremarkable salad. the other was a piece of grilled lobster tail over an oxtail gnocchi. the lobster was a little overcooked with a cloying sauce, while the oxtail was deliciously rich. together, both dishes had something we liked and something we didn’t quite like as much.

by this point, we were full. since the last course was dessert, we figured we could manage. the description of the tasting menu was a lie. the dishes didn’t start off big and gradually got smaller. they were all pretty much the same size. it was only the space in our stomachs that got smaller. we were glad it was 5 main dishes + 1 appetizer. we polished off the wine and ordered a pot of mint tea. instead of two different plates of dessert, we got four completely different dessert presentations. NoH got an espresso cake, crème caramel and vanilla ice cream sprinkled with peanuts. eL got the fruit presentation with port jelly topped with strawberries, some type of lemon tart custard thing, a spoonful of sorbet and some other fruity thing. Y got a chocolate cake of some type with a caramelized banana (ick). and I got a chocolate presentation of a skewer of blueberries with white chocolate, a white chocolate dipped strawberry stuffed with cream, a shot of coffee/chocolate cream, a chocolate tart, cannoli of hazelnut cream, a layered cake. we all tried to share the different type of desserts, but with so many different flavours, it was a bit much. Y doesn’t like sweets that much, so we should’ve just handed him the fruit presentation. eL loves chocolate, so I should’ve passed my plate to her. next time, we’ll just try the dessert plates as presented without too much sharing.

the photos of the dessert are a little dark, unfortunately, because my camera phone does not have a flash. and I didn’t want to look an idiot photographing food. (yes, I’m talking to you, mr. Heipel.)

eL's fruit presentation

NoH's dessert presentation

Y's cake presentation

joe's chocolate presentation

all in all, dinner was wonderful. with a tasting menu, there will always be something that we might not like as much. we were impressed with the different dishes but weren’t amazed. people certainly enjoyed themselves and the place was full. the service was efficient, quick but not particularly warm. they were friendly enough to not be obtrusive and one even looked like a model. unfortunately, we had the dumb presenter a couple of times. cute, but he was as articulate as a teenager at McDonald’s. we got to see Susur Lee told one of the waiters to clear the plates from the table next to us, who then promptly walked by the table quickly as if on his way to something important, but flipped back quickly as if catching sight of an unbearable array of empty dishes. cool, efficient and unobtrusive. that was Susur’s – unlike the food, which was at times rich and subtle and confrontational. for something special, I’d recommend it. you might not be amazed but you will enjoy it. just make sure your fellow diners (like our friends) have funny stories about dating, people with children and about royalty. otherwise, you’ll be consumed with talk about the food in front of you.

you light up my life... and the fondue chinoise

[dinner]


Y’s furniture arrived, delivered apparently by some very knowledgeable furniture movers. our superintendent had suggested we drag the chair across the floor. delivery man laughed at his ignorance.

with an actual living room now, we plan to actually invite people over. maybe not necessarily to be sociable, but more to have everyone admire Y’s furniture. like caged animals, I don’t think we’re allowed to touch the Eames lounge chair or the Noguchi coffee table. in fact, we have to use coasters on the glass coffee table. (Y scolded me the other day. *sniff*) if I get the dining table and chairs I want, then I don’t think we could even let anyone eat off of the table. it’ll have to be standing room only, finger foods, lots of napkins for everyone. dinner parties at our place would be careful.

in contrast, dinner weeks ago at SuperMario’s and Sugar’s was quite informal and relaxing. there was about a dozen of us, and we were primarily there to celebrate SuperMario’s graduating from university. we had SuperMario’s favourite fondue chinoise (a meat foudue, literally translated as Chinese fondue), with three fondues running, plates and plates of beef and all the traditional sauces from ketchup and mayonnaise to curry and mayonnaise. mayonnaise is like the secret ingredient. for those of you who’ve had a Chinese hotpot, you will notice that the emphasis is not really on the meats, but on the different sauces and the bouillon. whereas my family would be fighting over the variety of seafood and vegetables, a fondue chinoise requires you to fight over the little dishes of sauces. aside from SuperMario (who nearly set the table on fire with the fondue torch and knocked over a few glasses of wine), the main attraction was watching Sídhe and fettuccini. unfortunately, Sídhe's husband Yv didn’t make it. Yv is SuperMario’s best friend.

eL forewarned us of Sídhe’s lack of charm and we got the whole sad backstory about her & Yv’s marriage. we were told of fettuccini’s unrequited love for Sídhe and everyone’s hope that Yv was released from this marriage. we expected some fireworks, but without Yv, most of the fireworks were from fettuccini’s simmering desire for Sídhe. they were close. they were chatting, they told jokes to each other. he laughed at everything she said. she talked non-stop, incessantly, where every second sentence started with “I”, as in “I love the sound of my own voice. It’s like music to the ears. I cannot imagine anything else more beautiful, except maybe the clear mournful cry of the loon as it cries to the wonder of Mother Nature. Don’t you think I’m right?” I half expected him to start peeling grapes to feed her insatiable appetite. she absorbed as much energy as she could possibly, while she wolfed down so much food, I thought she’d explode. there is something seriously wrong with her.

at what point in someone else’s life that you do decide an intervention is required? everyone knows that this relationship isn’t good for either of them. Yv’s miserable. but how do you tell someone you care about that they must get rid of his life partner, that there’s got to be more to life than this life-draining banshee?

you know, she isn’t so bad. at least not at first. it’s just after about 30 minutes, you say you’ve had enough of one person’s obsession of being the centre of attention. you ask yourself how someone seemingly intelligent and articulate and attractive enough would be so blind to the misery of the company around her (except for fettuccine). after a few months of dating, I realize this world is full of half-evolved people, albeit interesting half-men/women. we’re not all perfect, and gawd knows I’m not, but it seems so fascinatingly irritating that a lot of people seem to be stuck. stuck in the way they see the world. stuck at the job they have. stuck with the people they love. stuck in their own insanity. if we care, we could intervene and tell Yv that this woman he had once loved is now killing him. we could take Sídhe by the shoulders and try to shake reality into her possibly sociopathic head. we could tell fettuccine that she will never love him, because she is not even capable of loving herself. but what would that do? our lives are made up of so many paths our choices have made for us. if we are stuck in the mud, it could be that we fear making that choice to pick the other path. the flavours that we enjoyed at first have become bland or even bitter, but we are afraid of trying something new. when my world seemed to have come crashing down a year ago, I was afraid. after the dust settled, I vowed that I would never let fear make the wrong decisions for me.

the rest of the evening, I watched SuperMario’s and Sugar’s friends and savoured the food and company. thanks to Sugar, we also sat next to another couple and their baby. they were really nice and interesting to talk to. they were tasting a whole new life, with their new child. Y and I enjoyed our evening there. perhaps dinner parties at our place will be half as happy and half as sad. and hopefully with as much of a variety of people as that night. of course, all of you people will need to drink your wine in the kitchen and eat your dinner while admiring the furniture from afar. you better not sit on the Eames lounge chair and for the few lucky diners who get close enough, remember to use coasters on the glass Noguchi coffee table!

courage my love

[dates]

I’ve been dating. again.

a couple of months ago, I met an award-winning architect. this award-winning man had designed and built an award-winning house. I didn’t think there was any chance that this was going to go anywhere, but I had to see his award-winning house. he kept talking about his award-winning house in the exact same manner as the way I’m talking about his award-winning house. so I was intrigued. I’ve never met someone as seemingly disconnected from what he’s saying and what he thinks he’s saying. here was a guy who doesn’t just refer to himself in the third person (which is icky, by the way), but in the third person professional designation, as in, “the professional architect would notice that the house gets natural lighting on three sides.” the point wasn’t that I might’ve noticed that nor was it that he designed it that way. the take-away message was that a professional award-winning architect designed it so that another professional (preferably award-winning, but not TOO award-winning) architect will also notice that. boyfriend material he wasn’t, but he was a fascinating character to listen to. he re-inspired the zoologist in me.

the house was actually quite nice and evidence of its award-winning-ness was prominently displayed on the wall by the door. the house had won the governor-general’s award for architecture (or something like that). it was a beautiful red coloured wooden rectangle, with cute windows. the upstairs room was a wonderful library/workspace, with bookshelves to the ceiling. I could imagine myself spending the weekends lying on his couch and enjoying the room. but that would only happen in the alternate bizarro universe. after I got my fill of award-winning-man, we were both conveniently busy. I got enough material for a great short story. he acquired another fan of his house. the last words he said to me were, “…and that’s what a busy architect does.”

* * *

weeks ago, I went on a coffee date. like watching a big blockbuster movie, I didn’t go in with high expectations. I just wanted to make sure we’d be entertained. well, coffee turned into dinner at his place. our conversation was easy and he was funny and engaging. we talked about our past loves and our current singlehood. we talked about our experiences and what we’ve seen of the world. unlike award-winning-man, he was very real. it didn’t feel like I was talking to some fragment of what a person could be. I enjoyed our evening very much and it seemed like we had enough in common for more. except for one thing. he’s 50 years old, which is a bit older than what I’m looking for.

so, I’ve been conflicted about this whole age thing. age is just a number. you are as old as you think you are. everyone has something to offer. or so I say to myself. but I can’t wrap my head around this age issue. I can’t let go of that fact. if he was, say, only a few years older, I’d give it a try, because there’s a lot I do like about him. but this number, this marker of experience, it’s holding me back. but why? if he were 21 or 85, I’d have no qualms telling him that this isn’t going to work out. what about his age that is truly keeping me back? I want to be a better person than this. I want to just say screw it, I’m not going to let this one thing make me run the other way. my head says stop being so superficial. but my heart says no.

even still, I met him again for date #2. I let myself try again, try to see past this and just go slowly. it may not go anywhere, we may just simply be incompatible. who knows, right? maybe he thinks I’m not what he wants. and that night, I know I enjoyed his company, and I enjoyed our conversation and our connection. but my heart says no, again. call me shallow, but I can’t see myself with him.

* * *

I’ve known cookie for a few years now. he’s on my msn. his photo came up and his goofy smile made me smile. I messaged him and before I knew it, we decided to go out on a real date. he was still single and I was ready to date again. I’ve always had a thing for him, and I’m not sure why. we don’t have scintillating conversations, we don’t have that much in common on the surface. we both like the same kind of furniture, we both love food, and we both cook. cooking is in fact his profession. luckily, I don’t think he’s award-winning. at least I haven’t noticed any trophies. I like him and I can’t explain it. usually that’s a good sign.

our date started off with a movie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ***) and then to dinner (hole in the wall Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, décor and food, circa 1985) and then a bit of tv back at his place. we decided to start slowly, see where we can go, get to know one another. no big dramas and no I love yous. I had fun and he was so comfortable to be with. the next day, we had date #2, and I took him to the Shape of Colour exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (colour field art, what the hell is that?). we hung out until the gallery closed. the next day, we had an impromptu dinner. cookie made a quick pasta and I tried some of his leftover curry. it was good. I learned he had worked at Prego years ago. his tomato sauce was yummy. again, we’re going slowly. a week flies by, and he asked me out for date #3. we walked to the Taste of the Danforth festival to sample the Greek food and other cuisine. I hate crowds and try to avoid any big events where lining up takes up most of your time in the festival. but it was the last day of the festival and in the dying evening sun, cookie and I walked down the street enjoying the smaller crowds and our food.

I like him, but I’m not sure if I like him enough. I know he’s holding back, and I suspect it’s because of Y. I think he questions whether I am ready to move on and if I had truly gotten over Y. after all, Y and I still live together, we do a lot of domestic things together, and we’re seen together a lot. but we’re not together. I know I’m holding back because I’m not sure if I like him enough. we connect, but how much? as mark said once, I want someone who connects with me on the most important levels of who I am. he never asked me to see this blog, though he knows I keep one. I hope it’s because he doesn’t want to see what I wrote about him, and not because he doesn’t care about what I write. I like him, but not enough, and I can’t explain it.