I love Valentines Day! People giving flowers / chocolates to each other, restaurants packed out with beautiful couples taking photos of food and people traveling to meet loved ones. It’s good for the restaurants, good for the aviation industry and good for the economy!
It’s Friday afternoon and I am trying to stay focused, but suddenly the afternoon has a cool twist to it! A girl at work organises some small Valentines Day Cup Cakes for our team. Such a lovely thought.
When the afternoon draws to a close, I make my way through Surry Hills for a lovely Valentines Day / Birthday Party! The birthday girl happens to be a fellow foodie with a love good food and she always organises the best parties (exceeding even the highest of party expectations)! She also loves traveling as well – with trips to Japan and Europe planned for the year ahead. It’s always nice to hang with a fellow member of the jetset crowd.
The party is humming with chatter and preparations. Then we are ready to start – isn’t the table set so beautifully?
Champagne
As usual there is amazing Champagne to kick-off the evening.
Miss Chu’s
The food is catered from Miss Chu’s.
There are the Vietnamese spring rolls. Once you break through the crispy outer coating you are greeted with a beautiful mix of tender meat, fusion asian flavours and textures.
Then there are the Peking duck pancakes – these are simply delicious. The oily gamey duck meat paired with the sweet hoisin & plum sauce and crunchy spring onion & Lebanese cucumber then wrapped in a soft “pillow like” pancake.
There is the sashimi tuna with fresh herbs & wasabi mayonnaise. They are presented so beautifully. The fresh oily tuna meat (marinated in XO sauce and sesame oil) and the textures of the beautiful herbs (lettuce, coriander, mint and fennel) is paired with that hot after-taste (sting) of the wasabi mayonnaise. It’s delicious.
Then you have the traditional dumplings! An old favourite of mine. The Shanghai dumplings have tender meat contained in the soft dumpling pouches. Once they are burst open in your mouth they release a succulent juices of the meat along with the beautiful oriental seasoning.
The veggie dumplings are amazing. It’s got a range of different vegetables, its got a crunchiness to it with amazing bamboo shoots, carrots and mushrooms among other things.
Cheese and Dips
There are a wide array of cheese and dips to go with the meal. I try the (I think it’s) Labana cheese in the bowl with a crispy (and tasty) lavosh. Pairs perfectly with the wine. The dips are first class too!! The crab and ginger dip (the one on the left) is simply divine.
Chocolate Fountain
Then it’s dessert time. Now it’s Valentines day, so there is nothing more inspiring that strawberries and chocolate. The smooth rich chocolate flowing down the fountain is an amazing sight!
It’s simple; you take a lovely fresh red strawberry, place it on a skewer and then hold it under the fountain until the flow of chocolate surrounds it and cover it with a shiny coat. The sweet juicy strawberry is then paired with an amazing rich velvety chocolate coating. Enjoy!
I recommend having a fountain for any party. The flow of the chocolate assists with the flow of conversation. It’s an amazing experience to dip little bits of fruit, marshmallows and Italian biscuits into the flow of chocolate before tasting them. It’s fun and it’s interactive. Plus there the “fun/awkward” moment in a conversation when you are interrupted by the person you’re chatting with and told to wipe the chocolate from the side of your mouth!
Happy Valentines Day All!
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