Food Poisoning

I was going to update this blog yesterday with all of the incredible wine dinners I have been attending this week, but then I got food poisoning and couldn't do much of anything but run to the bathroom and vom. 

I went to lunch with some girlfriends and had the eggs florentine with salmon, a few glasses of Champagne, and then came home to nap.  After a quick nap I woke up a bit nauseous.  The nausea persisted.  I sat in cramped up agony.  Took a walk.  Felt worse.  Paul and I put on 12 Years a Slave (great movie!) where I ran back and forth to the bathroom all night, and eventually puked everything out of my already dehydrated body at 10pm.  This went on a while and I was eventually able to fall asleep by 1.

Thank you, Shelter Lounge, and thank you for your rotten salmon.  I haven't had food poisoning like this ever, even in India, and the timing couldn't be any better.  I've just tried my luck with some oatmeal, coconut oil, and almond milk in an attempt to test the waters before leaving the country...for Macau...for the Rolling Stones tonight!!!

This blows chunks. Literally. 

No rest for the wicked

Vegan, Gluten Free, Raw Brownies

This is the best thing I have ever made.  Period.

I went to Maya Cafe  for dinner a little while back with Allison.  We had the vegan, gluten free, raw brownie for dessert and it blew both of our minds in terms of holy delicious flavor, density, and utter shock that it could be all of those things all at the same time.  I made it a mission to recreate this master piece, and I'm pleased to tell you that today I completed this glorious goal. 

I took the recipe from here and it was perfect:

http://www.gluten-free-vegan-girl.com/2013/01/raw-chocolate-icing.html

Paul found an article about how swishing coconut oil in your mouth for 20 minutes a day (a day!) clears you of toxins and smelly breath and cancer and all sorts of things, so I picked some up today.  It's super expensive in HK, but now he claims that if feels like the inside of his mouth took a breath.  Super healthy Sunday.

Now I'm off to pop some bottle with my friend Kim.

Bikini Fit

Ohh Bikini Fit.  That's what I've been doing this week.  Every morning.  Every single morning.  6 down 18 to go.  So Bikini Fit totally stresses me out, just as I knew it would, which is exactly why I signed up for it.  There are ~four trainers for ~ 50 girls (only 30 or show up) and every morning is a different work out.  Day one and two they had us doing dead lifts, swinging kettle balls, pulling on TRX bands, and doing a ton of squats.  These trainers love their squats. Wednesday we broke into groups of four and did body weight stuff (lunges, squat, pushups, etc), and Thursday, thank god, was yoga day which is the least attended day of training.  I find this funny because this is the only day I for sure wouldn't miss.  Yoga on the water as the sun's just coming up.  Get better.  Friday more drills and Saturday all of the BF classes come together for boxing, which is so fucking fun.  Why didn't we grow up doing boxing in gym class?  It's an awesome work out and you get to hit other people.  Again, get better.

The other fantastic thing is that I get to meet my neighbors.  The girls who do this to themselves are obviously quite driven, and I've met some really interesting and fun ladies.  Bikini Fit bonding, man. 

I'm in the bright green on the top right. 

So yeah, it's been fun, difficult, and something that I've been having super weird dreams about, but I was assured in my one on one consultation with my trainer that after 2-3 weeks I will start seeing some serious results.  I can already see it a bit in my core.

My only issue is that I miss running.  I had such a solid 10k/day routine going, and I miss it, so today I woke up early on my day off (perhaps a result of all of my days on), hiked to the Peak, and ran 6k down and around.  And life is good again.  Now that I'm used to being sore, I think I may try to squeeze in a couple of preBF short runs this week.  We'll see.

Gaddi's

In other breaking news, wow did I have an amazing week.  Monday I had probably one of the top 3 dinners of my life.   Not just in terms of food, but in terms of service, WOW, and company.   I met a new friend, a successful (and famous!) wine writer, at Gaddi's in the Peninsula.  As we sat in the lounge sipping Gosset Champagne chatting, the chef came out and introduced himself and his specialties.  Well, well, well.  We went to the table and I got all sorts of advice about the industry, writing, and life in general.  He is extremely well spoken, mannered, and polished, that I walked out feeling totally energized.  I don't know how to explain it other than I want to be a writer.  A good writer.  And so I shall.  

Band that has played every night at Gaddi's for the last 10 years.  It was like being at a Broadway show- she was absolutely sensational.

Oh and the food!  We started with caviar and Halibut, then the chef sent out this incredible escargot over orzo (the sauce!) that I will never ever forget, my god.  I can't remember the last time I had caviar before that, but I'm pretty sure I need to have a lot more of it in my life.  After polishing off the Champers we moved onto a bottle of 1990 Pichon Baron (Bordeaux).  This, I was enlightened, is also from the year of the horse, and damn, it be drinking just fine.  I finished with a dessert and then we both had a Grand Marnier Quintessence.  If you haven't had this before, go out and have it now.  It will change your life.  You didn't know digestives could taste so good, so balanced, refreshing and totally incredimazeballs until you've tried this spirit made with 150 year old Cognac.  Wooh.  

It's THAT good

The funny (and sad) thing is that the entire time we were there I just wanted to take out my phone and snap pictures for this blog as aid for my failing almost thirty year old memory.  I restrained myself, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Maria has the cutest twin boys I have ever seen xoxo

Tuesday I came home from work which was nice, and Wednesday we had our inaugural "industry night" tasting at the office. What a blast.  I invited friend Doug and Vicki who we know through Nina and Kenny.  They've been long time G+C customers, too.  Also in attendance, Damien of the Swiss Wine store, he has the best wines!, Francesca who started her own drinks consultancy, Tersina who was studying for her MW but has since stopped to focus on her wine business, and Ian Brewis the GM at Lanson Place hotels. 

 We had the following:  FX Picheler (Austrian) Riesling 2004--incredible.
Francesca brought 3 Riojas she's looking for distribution of and also a really lovely Rosso from Piedmont.  Damien brought a beautiful Swiss Syrah.  Doug and Vicki brought a 1999 Ch. Musar (Lebanon) that was amazing.  Tersina brought her bottle blind....because it was from China!  It was really green, but she thinks there's great potential from this producer (from the faaaaaaaar West in Xining or something).  And we opened a Nebbiolo from outside the Barolo area from Antiono Vallana.  All in all a good showing and my second past midnight night in three days.  Bikini Fit in the am!

 Emily and Shannon came!!!  They were married in August in the states and went back to Australia.  They just began a two month honeymoon.  First stop was a wedding in Boracay, then HK, then off to South Africa- all over, then Bali!  What a trip!

 This lady was walking her cat Friday morning.  Not pictured to the right is the other cat in it's cage.  This is where I live. 

 Friday night we went to Fa Zu Jie to celebrate Em and Shannon's marriage.  FZJ is a hidden (above Brickhouse) kitchen that creates really innovative and tasty Shanghainese French fusion dishes.

 We were all very very impresses.   Tuna, wonton, shells, foie gras noodles and a totally clever winter melon dessert.   I highly recommend it, if for no other reason than to eat this rice:

Holy deliciousness.  Beef over risotto with some sort of miracle heaven sauce.  I could eat this every single day for the rest of my long long long life and not get sick of it.    And no corkage! 

 

 It's amazing to me that it's been 3 years since we were last together.  In that time we both have crafted completely new lives in foreign countries, she's met and married the man of her dreams, and I've totally switched careers.  So much happens and nothing changes.  <3 my chingus. 

Saturday we met again for dinner and drinks and then they're off!  I love that my wedding is only two months away because I get to see EVERYONE again, all at once.  49 days.

And then my brother got another tattoo.  My mom's so proud :)

Another Week Revolving Around Wine

Dear Diary,

Sunday evening Paul and I met Csilla and Ian and Simone and Mark for a wonderful dinner at 121BC, a natural wine bar.  I went in a few weeks ago to meet the Somm and have been looking for an excuse to go back ever since.  It had great (although small) Italian bites and amazing wines. 

Simone and I shared a carafe of an orange wine (white wine made in the same way as red wine- on the skins- so it has tannin and really cool texture) and then we had an incredible bottle of Etna Rosso above, and a third bottle of Amarone.  All of the wines they do are natural, meaning the only ingredients in the wine are grapes and a touch of SO2.  Most wine contain anything from enzymes to egg to fish guts (hey, the blog name!), so less hangover and must fresher taste.  If you haven't been, go in for a glass of the Zabibo- the orange wine.  It's cool.

Tuesday I met Alison, Kim, and Ferorsa for natural French wines.  La Cabane a Vin hosted- well Alison hosted- a Mediterranean tasting of some Corsican and S. France wines, and there was cheese and ham and gluten free brownies. Above.

The wines were all really great, and again, no hangover.  You've gotta get on this natural wine bandwagon.  It's a beautiful thing.

 Wednesday was Volnay (an appellation in the Cote de Beaune, Burgundy) dinner at La Parole.  This was the fourth and final installment of Burgundy dinners hosted by Michael, and it was absolutely divine.

Pan fried foie gras with chestnuts.  This is why I run- heaven!

 I remember the first dinner Ian, my WSET 3 teacher, invited me along to.  One, it was the first time I met Simone who is now a dear dear friend, but two, I remember sitting there like what the hell are these people talking.  I had no idea about Burgundy, had very limited experience even tasting wine, and was sitting at a table surrounded by some of Hong Kong's most respected wine authorities. 

 But now, a year later, I can totally hack it!  Not only do I know what everyone's talking about, but I have an opinion and experience with the wines, regions, producers, and vintages.   I had tried a couple of the whites from Henri Boillot, above, at a G+C tasting and wasn't hugely impressed, but I really enjoyed both of the reds we had at dinner. 

Simone, waiter, James of Altaya, and Roland who is studying for his MW

Volnay is a lovely appellation with light, floral, yet concentrated reds.  Great stuff, and not as expensive as their Cote de Nuits counterparts, Chambolle Musigny namely.

Cod with purple mashed sweet potatoes

 And the food at La Parole is awesome.  Solid French food for a great price and no corkage.  Get better.

 We spend hours going through two flights of 5 wines, dissecting each to determine the vintage and level- village or 1er cru.  I got the vintages right for a lot of them.  2009 was a super ripe vintage, as such is approachable now (top Burgundy usually needs 10+ years cellaring to open up), and is full fruit and would have lower acid.  2011 was a good vintage but would be pretty tight right now. 

 The 03s and older were everyone's favorites.  2003 was also a great, sunny, ripe vintage, and second only to 2005.  The naughties were a good run in Burgundy...and everywhere really.

 And oh my god the bread pudding.  The fruit sorbet in the middle was confusing and necessary, but that doughy delicious bread and chocolate was the thing of dreams.  Of dreams!

 Thursday was wine class with JC.  This is the first installment post holiday and it was awesome to get back at it.  Theme: Natural Italian Wines.  We tasted 4 whites as presented by Giogio, co-owner of 121BC.  They were a bit funky, but the Campania Fiano was awesome

 . Then Olek came and presented four of his wines; Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo DOC, and Barbaresco DOCG.  We then compare them to a traditionally made Barbaresco.  Smelling them side by side was enlightening.  You could actually smell the chemicals and lack of freshness in the other wine, but will still a great wine..  The natural wines were all so fresh and rip and absolutely delicious. 

 Giogio doing a little QC.  And the cool thing is that I found out JC nominated me to be eligible for the trip to VinItaly!  AND JC, Olek, and Giorgio will all be there too!  I cannnnnnot wait!

Nerd alert.   Where's Paul been all week?  I don't know I haven't seen him...

 Friday I met with Alison and Tom and Caroline Raggatt for an Italian (Tuscany) tasting at Schmidt Vinotek.  My man Kevin was there who made me a VIP member- yey!- and also Patrick and my girl Sherry.  We tasted a Chard/Viognier blend which I bought.  A Sangiovese rose which is really unique.  A light Chianti, and a tasty Syrah.  I hope they keep these events going.

And then I finally met Paul with Alison and we had some tasty, albeit small, cocktails at a new bar up the street, Lab Made.  Inventive cocktails with local ingredients, but shitty booze.   Bacardi is the best you can do guys??

Saturday!  Paul went to school.  I went for a long run.  We're meeting at a market for lunch.  And then no plans!  Wooh.

APRIL

April is a lot of things.  It's usually rainy, or in Hong Kong grey and really really rainy.  It's Chetta and Ryan's birthdays.  It's my mom and dad's and cousin Shannon's anniversaries.  It used to be spring break and midterms.  It's Easter.  It's probably the first time you can hit the beach. 

Well this April is four distinct very important things in my life.

1.  April is my first business trip for Ginsberg+Chan (other than Shenzen which doesn't really count).  I'm going to Italy!!!!!!!!!!!!!  For VinItaly no less.  April 4-10th I'll be tasting wines in Verona with thousands of Italy and Europe's top wine producers.  Woot. 

2.  My family and friends FINALLY come to Hong Kong!  Mom, Dad, Aunt Connie, Stacy, Russell, Kati, Steve, Taylor, Aunt Lynn, and Jen all embark on these fair shores.

3.  I get married.  In Bali.  With 50 of my best friends and family.  To Paul.

4.  My office moves to Central.  This may not sounds huge, but it means my commute goes from 35 to 5 minutes.  It also means Ginsberg+Chan are in the big leagues.  We're going to have more tastings, more access to our customers both private and in F&B, and it means better lunch options, which you know, is huge. 

So yeah, April. 

Survival of the Fittest

I may not have made it to my race this am (a planned skip), but I managed to brave the cold February seas sans incident or frostbite.

Pre-cold boat Paul made a delicious lunch of Thai red curry and polenta.  After finishing his creation he proclaimed that he deserved a show for his cross-cuisine concoction.  It was pretty crazy delicious but I don't know if Paul's Rachel Ray ready...yet.

Red curry paste, coconut milk, onion, broccoli, potato, white beans.  A blending of cultures

 Later that very same day, I went to get my dress altered.  Apparently because of the fabric and fine stitching that Monique is famous for, it is the hardest dress ever to alter.  Eve, who designed my friend Julia's gorgeous wedding dress below, is clearly very talented and full of awesome insight so I fully trust anything she says or does.  As she was pulling my dress tighter she realized it would start to pouch and puff in some places and said that for the "perfect" job they'd have to take the entire bodice apart seam by seam, cut, and resew it all.  All of which is incredibly difficult to do given the jersey material.  She asked how concerned I was with "perfect," to which I replied, not so much, so she's just going to pull it in on the sides and put in some padding to fill out the chest.  Check.

How gorgeous is Julia and Mike's wedding?  This was last September in New Zealand.

After dresses, Allison and I met for a glass of some mulled wine at my favorite neighborhood haunt La Cabane a Vin.  The warm wine prepped us for our nautical night out.

 ICC by night.  It was twinkling with horses, fireworks, and other building appropriate images...

 Courtney hired Mr. Bing to come make Beijing style crepes.  The seas were a bit rough and more than a few people we head overboard, including our pancake maker....

 So Michael jumped in to save the day.  I'm not going to lie, I preferred the crepes we made over his.  It's all about the extra sauce man.

Alicia and I staying warm with some Bing.  Overall a great junk, cool Disney fireworks, best friends... and Paul and I went home immediately to fall asleep before midnight.  Perfect.  Thanks Court!