An un (Fig)-gettable meal

While J was "up to his eyeballs in work", I went on a weekend escape getaway with my girlfriends to Sonoma. Although it was not difficult to find delicious food there (fruits and vegetables are amazingly juicy and cheap in California!), one notable meal was at the Girl and the Fig, which is a restaurant in downtown Sonoma featuring contemporary, yet homey/earthy fare with a twist of French flavor. I came across the owner's recipe book which was featured at one of the wineries that I visited earlier that day and went in with high expectations after witnessing the mouthwatering recipes in the book. Our table started with the cheese sampler, which was a mix of fruit, cheese and nuts. We chose 3 different types of cheese: two from goat's milk and one from cow's milk. My favorite was the piece in the middle, which is goat's milk crusted with some kind of herb. The pièce de résistance and what the restaurant is partly known for, was a fig cake which provided a sweet accent to the cheeses. 


Our second dish was a simple, yet delicious plate of arugula salad tossed with caramelized bacon bits, crumbled goat cheese and dried fig.  The arugula provided a surprisingly spicy kick which enhanced the bacon, fig and cheese.

I ordered the duck confit for my main, which was highly reviewed by yelpers but which I was skeptical about because usually duck confit either comes out too salty or fatty for me. This one was perfectly prepared with a very subtle flavor, tender amounts of duck that fell off the bone and was served over a bed of quinoa and carrot ribbons, providing a lightness from the vegetables that complimented the duck. We didn't get to try dessert since we were stuffed, but overall was impressed by this charming farm-to-table restaurant!

More Chili?? You bet I Kin(Kin)!

Before we dive into the NY carb-tastrophe (which could be the title of the next blog...) last week, i thought I'd finally do a blog on an amazing Malaysian noodle place I went to the week before NY.

So, for those of you who are familiar with Malaysia, you know that we are famous for hawker stall food and each stall pretty much makes only 1 or 2 types of dishes, but makes it deeeliciously. One of the more uniquely Malaysian dishes is Pan Mee, which as you can read here, is freshly made flat noodles either served dry with sauce, or in soup. I love them both, but a certain type of dry Pan Mee, Chili Pan Mee has become extremely popular in the KL area.

The most famous Chili Pan Mee still belongs to the original, Kin Kin.

Now, it's definitely a Malaysian dish in that it is meant to be eaten with glorious amounts of this sambal/chili type stuff. It isn't incendiary like most chilis, and is FILLED with flavor so just a little is required, but it may be daunting for the spice-averse. I can't even really describe what it tastes like besides a little spicy, a little salty, and very rich.

Chili Pan mee is served with dry anchovies, fried garlic and chives as well as a lightly poached egg. Now... the egg is a little curious because the yolk is completely runny, which is unusual in a dry noodle dish... but this is the secret that makes it so delicious. The right pic includes the amount of chili I usually add.

  

When you mix everything together then, you get the beautiful flavor of the chili and anchovies tied together and thickened with the egg... it's delish. The egg just works so well to give the dish weight and a meaty feel, which helps to lighten the fire of the chili, leaving just tons of that rich flavor and the chewy consistency of the fresh noodles. And you get a tasty anchovy soup with veggies to soothe your chili-numb tongue.

It all sounds like much ado about noodles but you'd love it Mokes!

          

No such thing as Red Lobster in Southampton

We are far too snobby to eat at chain establishments!!

J & C were finally reunited this past week, and one of the first snobby meals of course had to be at the #1 rated restaurant in Southampton on tripadvisor.com, which ended up having outrageously expensive things on their menu such as a $38 lobster roll for lunch. However, since we drove allll the way out to  Southampton, we figured we needed to go all out or else we would regret it for the rest of our lives. So that's exactly what we decided to do.

First off, Silver's is located on the main street of Southampton filled with chic shops and delis (you don't see Gap here! Only the obligatory Ralph Lauren and Vineyard Vines retail stores of course)

Thy offered us the best seat in the house facing the window, because we are kind of a big deal :)

Yelp and tripadvisor reviews are never wrong, and everyone said to order the lobster bisque, so J got it for us to share and mopped up the bowl with our complimentary basket of crusty baguette drenched in a pool of olive oil (the bread was surprisingly delicious, at least for the first few bites). We asked for a second basket of plain, un-oiled bread to go with the soup, and J was in carb heaven after that. The lobster bisque had healthy chunks of lobster meat in a creamy base with a very well-rounded and deep / hearty flavor, but was on the salty side in my opinion. 3.5/5 for this one.

Next up was my lobster roll, which was nothing short of amazing. It was stuffed and overflowing with huge, fresh chunks of lobster, lightly dressed in a dab of dressing and sprinkled with a few herbs here and there, letting the true lobster flavor shine through. Absolutely outstanding and worth every $38. The only thing i'd improve on would maybe be a softer or more flavorful bun which kind of paled in comparison to what it was holding. 4.5/5 for the lobster roll and i would possibly consider rounding to 5.

J got the roman sandwich which was grilled tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto in between two crusty pieces of white bread. J seemed to enjoy every last bite and the portion of the ingredients looked extremely generous. Carb heaven once again!

Overall this was one of my favorite meals in the Hamptons! I'm sure we would have bumped into many more people far snobbier than us, but it was still quiet season. J, your turn to post the next meal!