NYC - Mialino's

Another new trendy and highly raved about restaurant in NYC. The hype held up. 

 Artichokes with sardine sauce.

 Pasta with winter greens and spicy sausage in a cream sauce.

 Fresh fish served in the traditional Italian salted way - I like how they brought it out raw for us to inspect first.

 The cooked version.

 Steak with white beans, a vegetable I didn't recognize, and balsamic. Perfectly rare.

Mushrooms. 

NYC - Eataly

Mario Batali - iron chef, Italian food God, opened up an all Italian grocery store in NYC. While the shelves are stocked with all the best Italian fare, that is not the exciting part. The grocery store is also stocked with a variety of restaurants, stacked away amongst the aisles of packaged goodies. All the restaurants feature Italian food - of course. There is a chacuterie area, where one could buy a glass of wine, select a variety of cheeses and meats and stand amid the shoppers, nushing. Likely the most popular of the restaurants is the pizza and pasta restaurant, where thin crust pizzas are served with simple and delightful toppings. For two pizzas and a bottle of wine the bill is usually around $50. There is a vegetarian restaurant, an upscale more tucked away restaurant and finally, the fish restaurant found right next to the fish monger. 

 Zuppa de fish.

 Fish crudo: three fishes served sashimi style, topped with Tibetan pink salt, olive oil and other delights.

 Frito Misto. Calamari.

 Grilled Orata. The grilled lemon adds that extra something.

Mussels and clams. What really interested me about this was the razor clam, a more elongated version of a clam. While it tastes basically the same, the shape was interesting and a nice surprise.
Mario Batali did it again! Yay to full bellies! 

NYC ABC Kitchen

Home visiting my parents. ABC Kitchen was considered one of the top restaurants in early 2011. 

 Above, chopped scallops served on ice pear and mint. The texture was divine. The plate in the shape of a seashell. All ingredients at this restaurant are locally sourced. The interior, and plates, match the theme.

 Bucatini pasta. Spicy spaghetti with pancetta. Topped with bread crumbs.

 The one downside to the menu is that it's mains are almost entirely fish. Above is trout on wilted greens with winter vegetables. The fish was done perfectly, as it should be since it is featured so prominently.

 Pan fried cod with mushrooms, greens and a miso glaze.

 Arctic char served with citrus potatoes and wilted greens.

ABC Kitchen was voted best desert for this master piece above. An icecream sundae with peanuts, caramelized popcorn and sugar waffle atop. My sister said this is what she would want to come home to after a bad day of work. Drool.

Hawaii - Home Cooking

Having been on the road for nearly eight months we craved some North American home cooking. Going to the grocery store and recognizing without a doubt what you are purchasing is such a blessing. We decided to make a "tapas" style dinner for the whole family, to say thank you for having us in their gorgeous Maui pad. 

 Grilled eggplant, peppers, mushroom and onions topped with goat cheese, basil and balsamic.

 Tomato and Garlic prawns, served with basil. Optional sweet chili dip.

 Proscuitto wrapped asparagus.

 Crab cakes atop micro-greens, with lemon and olive oil.

 A mango, red onion, red chili and avocado salsa to go with the crab cakes.

 Seared Ahi tuna, served with a wasabi, ginger, soya sauce for dipping.

And for dessert, the most beautiful sunset ever. Cue jumping whale. 

Philippines

 We treated ourselves to an upscale dining experience while staying on the island of Palawan. Below is some of the best ceviche I have had.

 This is a chicken dish that the restaurant specialized in. It had very strong nut flavours.

 Kare Kare. This dish consists of ox tails, banana leaves, eggplant, string beans, chinese cabbage peanut sauce and shrimp paste. It is finished off with a spritz of citrus juice. Although oxtail is very fatty, it was still quite delicious.

 Another specialty of the region: Adobo. Pictured below is Squid Adobo. It is very salty, and is essentially squid stewed in vinegar. While I enjoyed the Adobo flavouring, I think it may taste better with a different meat.

 Second version of Kare Kare.

This is a shrimp soup and is distinctly more Chinese influenced than the other Filipino dishes. It was citrusy but with some kick. 

Taiwan - Taipei

 Pumpkin Risotto, served in a pumpkin.

 OMG. Poutine. That is how I felt when I saw it on the menu. And then I got a "gyro" burger. A chicken burger with feta cheese, roasted red pepper and tzatziki.

 My partner had salsa fries, with a more traditional burger. We were craving Western food at this point.

 Our anniversary dinner - little bread faces wearing little bread hats. :)

 Chicken stuffed with fois gras. Served with a yellow tomato salad.

 Leg of lamb, served with mashed potato and a salsa.

Cheesecake for desert! 

Taiwan - Kaoshung

The Taiwanese celebrate a holiday called the Moon Festival. They eat moon cakes, pictured below, and wear pomelo hats. I had to teach my kindergarten class about it, but never really grasped what we were celebrating. All I know is I didn't enjoy the moon cakes, but loved the fireworks that went along with the celebration.

 In Kaoshung they are famous for their oyster and chive omelets. They're wrapped up and eaten on the go.

 Just off Kaoshung is a little island specializing in seafood. All along the streets are restaurants with large tanks and icy displays of the freshly caught fish, shellfish and prawns. I have never eaten seafood so fresh.

 This dish we sort of ordered accidentally. It was delicious. I thought I was ordering scallops, but it was really squid. Either way it was very good.

 Fish sticks... sort of. These are deep fried prawn sticks, dipped in a spicy ketchup.

Macau

 Garlic Prawns. 

 African Chicken: garlic, paprika, chilies, coconut milk... drool.

 Crab and Scallop Curry.

Hong Kong - Dim Sum

 My partner makes fun of Cantonese cooking - saying it's full of "goop sauce". If you've ever eaten Chinese food in North America- you know what I am talking about.

 PORK BUNS!

 SHRIMP DUMPLINGS!

 CRAB CLAWS!

DELICIOUS BREAKFAST!