I had meant to take all kinds of pictures to capture the work holiday party that I attended on Monday last week, but was kind of busy getting lost trying to find the place, and then kind of engrossed with eating, and then really glued to my blackberry (including taking a conference call in the desolate warehouse hallway between two sets of swinging doors) and so forgot to take any pictures at all.
It was an interesting space, located inside a huge warehouse that smelled of grease and weird chemicals. We ascended in a huge metal elevator to the 21st floor, then walked through some empty, fluorescent lit hallways to reach the event space. Once inside the swinging doors, I felt like I'd been transported somewhere else entirely. Called "Culinart," it was one of those beautifully decorated open loft spaces where they had a chef kitchen demonstration table hooked up to live feed video, and participants could go up and learn to make things while in the spotlight. We then all sat around eating as the chef and his staff bustled about, cooking. I opted for the lamb main course, paired with brussels sprouts and medallions of mashed potatoes (my favorite part). The whole thing was more form over function, but at least I got to see an up-and-coming event space in Aberdeen.
Then on Thursday evening, after my deal fiiiinally closed at 5:45 in the morning (Hallelujah!) Michael and I joined two other couples for dinner at Chili Fagara, a Sichuan restaurant located on Graham Street in Soho. The place is perpetually packed (the space is very small and fits about 25 diners max at any time) and the restaurant is very jealous of its space. The tables are nailed down to the floor and the chairs against the wall leave those unfortunate diners with very little wiggle room. The food at the restaurant was quite tasty. However, the portion sizes were very meager (the rice came in tiny mounds that looked like they had been carefully doled out by an ice cream scoop) and the prices were quite high. Personally, I'd rather go to a private kitchen out in Wanchai where I have plenty of room and the portions are much bigger.
On Saturday evening, Michael and I went to dinner with another couple at Sura, a Korean restaurant in TST, to eat stir fried rice in a stone pot (bibimbap), cold noodles (japchae), tofu stew (jiggae), rice noodles and seafood/kimchee pancakes. The food was decent/mixed (the japchae was outstanding, the pancake was very good, the bibimbap and jiggae were unimpressive) but again the portions were small. I could only think of my favorite spots in New York with longing: oh, Gahm Mi Oak and Book Chang Dong, how I miss thee!
After finishing up our Korean food, we went to Ned Kelly's Last Stand, a bar with a live band, beer on tap and lots of greasy finger food. We opted for the basket of onion rings.
Other than that, all that remains of our days is wrapping Christmas presents, scrounging for cold weather apparel, and packing! I can't believe Christmas is in a week.
It was an interesting space, located inside a huge warehouse that smelled of grease and weird chemicals. We ascended in a huge metal elevator to the 21st floor, then walked through some empty, fluorescent lit hallways to reach the event space. Once inside the swinging doors, I felt like I'd been transported somewhere else entirely. Called "Culinart," it was one of those beautifully decorated open loft spaces where they had a chef kitchen demonstration table hooked up to live feed video, and participants could go up and learn to make things while in the spotlight. We then all sat around eating as the chef and his staff bustled about, cooking. I opted for the lamb main course, paired with brussels sprouts and medallions of mashed potatoes (my favorite part). The whole thing was more form over function, but at least I got to see an up-and-coming event space in Aberdeen.
Then on Thursday evening, after my deal fiiiinally closed at 5:45 in the morning (Hallelujah!) Michael and I joined two other couples for dinner at Chili Fagara, a Sichuan restaurant located on Graham Street in Soho. The place is perpetually packed (the space is very small and fits about 25 diners max at any time) and the restaurant is very jealous of its space. The tables are nailed down to the floor and the chairs against the wall leave those unfortunate diners with very little wiggle room. The food at the restaurant was quite tasty. However, the portion sizes were very meager (the rice came in tiny mounds that looked like they had been carefully doled out by an ice cream scoop) and the prices were quite high. Personally, I'd rather go to a private kitchen out in Wanchai where I have plenty of room and the portions are much bigger.
On Saturday evening, Michael and I went to dinner with another couple at Sura, a Korean restaurant in TST, to eat stir fried rice in a stone pot (bibimbap), cold noodles (japchae), tofu stew (jiggae), rice noodles and seafood/kimchee pancakes. The food was decent/mixed (the japchae was outstanding, the pancake was very good, the bibimbap and jiggae were unimpressive) but again the portions were small. I could only think of my favorite spots in New York with longing: oh, Gahm Mi Oak and Book Chang Dong, how I miss thee!
After finishing up our Korean food, we went to Ned Kelly's Last Stand, a bar with a live band, beer on tap and lots of greasy finger food. We opted for the basket of onion rings.
Other than that, all that remains of our days is wrapping Christmas presents, scrounging for cold weather apparel, and packing! I can't believe Christmas is in a week.
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