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Postcard Bites: London

October 5, 2018 by sk

Culinary gems from our recent travels…

A quick jaunt across the pond to London for work was the perfect excuse for some dining research whilst catching up with friends.

Duck and Rice
Same owners at Yauatcha / Hakkassan, they have elevated western style Chinese cuisine to date night fare. Described as a sort of “Chinese gastro pub”, the downstairs definitely feels buzzy and social with tall little tables and fun cocktail list. Navigate up the skinny spiral staircase and the atmosphere is more cozy. The little fireplace is perfect for chillier nights. Highlights from dinner included the cha siu buns (amazing) and sticky ribs, which were falling off the bones. As with a lot of London establishments, service is spotty and aloof at times, but great spot nonetheless.

Bob Bob Ricard
Sexy, cozy, decadent spot with a glamorous, clubby atmosphere. Romance is #1 on the menu. We went for champers but will be back to check out the food soon. If you’re in a booth there’s a little buzzer for champagne – just in case you’re in the middle of a very important conversation. The perfect date spot. Château d’Yquem by the glass on the cocktail menu!? yes please!

Hotel Chantelle
Outpost of the NYC location, situated right across the street from Selfridge’s food hall. Quirky and borderline gimmicky presentation of the food, it’s meant to be tongue and cheek. The prosciutto “if pigs could fly” arrives hanging on a little clothes line, and the tuna tartar cigar arrives on a plate of dry ice (“smoking”). Menu highlights were the drunken chicken parmesan (one portion is enough for two), and the truffle mac and cheese. Felt like a finance guy hangout (which is usually a bad thing) but atmosphere is lively enough that you can focus on your own chit chatting.

Dining with Princes and Pirates

June 8, 2018 by sk

All of us rat-race-worker-bees have only a few weeks out of the year (plus sick days, personal days, and the ubiquitous “roll over” days) to completely detach from reality and responsibility. On those precious days off, we recommend going completely extreme. We’re not talking off-the-rails-and-end-up-in-rehab extreme, but rather, up into the skies and over the rainbow.

Or better yet, out to sea…

Despite the slight chill in the air, Monaco in May is a magical time of year. If you can get past the mobs of ‘City Boy’ posers and tourists pretending to care about Formula One racing, there’s actually a lot of class and beauty hidden away to enjoy during the festivities.

The best way to do Monaco Grand Prix is to pirate yourself aboard a sailing yacht, and let the impeccable crew wave their magic wands and treat you to one of the best experiences of your life. For 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, Dine Girl managed a ‘part deux’ invite aboard a 180+ foot classic schooner. Not only a step back into time, she’s a step into an alternate universe. She floats along ever so elegantly, sailing past the gaudy motor yachts blasting out bad techno. Heads turn as she stops traffic, commanding that regal nod of respect. And, like flies hitching a ride on top of a water buffalo, we soaked it all in as she cruised along the sparkly riviera.

Our dreamy weekend kicked off with a black-tie dinner on deck. We started the evening around sunset, sipping DQ rosé, Krug champagne, and noshed on Pointy Snout caviar canapés. We couldn’t help but notice the Christofle cutlery, fine crystal and elegant flower arrangements. Immediately we knew we were in for a treat.

Classically trained at Joël Robuchon, Chef Benedicte Cochard’s five-course Mediterranean dinner highlighted local specialties such as petit farci, and the unique ‘patoto’. Not a potato or a typo, the ‘patoto’ is a cross between gnocchi and a grain. Sublime… To round out the everything-local theme, the wines for the evening were selections from Château de Bellet, a small winery located in the hills of Nice. Dining alfresco amongst our own group of ‘princes’ and ‘pirates’, with the Monaco coastline sparkling behind us made for a magical and glorious night.

The dinner descended into puffs of Macanudo vintage cigars, vintage armagnac and a hazy hangover the next morning.

Miraculously we all managed to resurface for the main attraction: the Monaco Grand Prix. Race day antics to be continued…

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A Dreamy Royal Feast

December 5, 2017 by sk

I have this recurring dream where DineGirl is hosting an amazing and fabulous formal dinner party, and everything is perfectly seamless and effortless. Hosting, cooking, serving, laughing…. and getting respectably tipsy underneath a sparkling New York starry night in my high rise Upper East Side apartment. Clacking about in my equally sky high heels to the applause of our guests for yet another triumphant night! And the evening may even yield some mild flirtation with a new romantic prospect on the terrace (er, balcony).

“oh darrrrling how ARRRRREEEEE you??” I say as I greet my fahhh-bulous guests.

“oh FAHHH—-BBuuulous darling, just FAAAAhhhhh-Bulous. Love your new Louboutins”. kiss kiss

We all toast with endless bottles of vintage Krug as I dab the corners of my dainty, curse-free, non truck driver mouth with a perfectly pressed French linen napkin. Conversation flows, the food is incredible and guests leave feeling elevated and ecstatic…thanks to DineGirl.

We recently challenged ourselves to see if this dream could be translated into reality. Even though we’ve hosted numerous dinner parties over the years, there’s always room for improvement! For our practice ‘Posh Sunday Lunch’ and invited two guinea pigs who were more than happy to partake. The lunch was a fun test to see how we would fare as hostess + chef + bus boy + server, and above all fabulous guests!

Holly and her empty fridge… Jackie putting on the final touches to her table…

The key to being a successful hostess + chef + busboy etc… = proper planning! We decided on a menu where the majority of dishes could be prepped ahead of time, with each course assembled and plated right before serving.

Another key to being a successful hostess + chef + busboy etc… is to have a clone, (or twin), and divide up the plating duties. This ensures that you can enjoy your wine and lively conversation for precisely half of the meal. (In lieu of such option, we recommend enlisting a significant other, although depending on their kitchen skills, you might want to limit their duties to ‘bus-boy’ and ‘server’.)

Our Fabulous Posh Sunday Lunch Menu:
Pear and Endive salad with toasted walnuts and St. Agur
Seared Scallops with parsnip purée and prosciutto crumbs

and… the pièce de résistance: Koulibiac. A decadently fabulous Russian fish pie with an equally rich and indulgent cream sauce. Bellissimo ! (side note, we used the Balthazar Cookbook recipe)

For after lunch (which stretched well into dinner time), we set out some cheeses and macarons in our “salon” (er, living room) where our guinea pigs, (sorry, guests) lounged and continued their imbibing on vintage Port and more wine. Meanwhile, we finished prepping and baking our fabulously decedent sweet ending to the meal: a spiced pumpkin soufflé with bourbon maple caramel sauce.

Despite the horns honking on Second Avenue (to remind us of reality), there was twinkle and magic in the air. Just like in the dream, the evening was a resounding triumphant success! No pressure + pre-planning + close friends + good food and lots of wine = effortless hostess and a fabulous afternoon. Cheers to that!

Holding onto summer…

August 22, 2017 by sk

Say it ain’t so!! Back to school season already? How is it that the winters are so long and the summers are so short? While the Europeans make their mass reversals and head back into town, it’s actually the perfect time for that end of summer fun beach getaway such as the Côtes d’Azur. Don’t be fooled by all those faux posers frollocking around half naked during Cannes Film Festival back in May! The water is actually freezing, and there’s still a chill in the air! (Look closely at all the celeb photos and you’ll notice the clattering teeth.) Cut to August and by the end of summer, the sparkly ocean is refreshing, crowds have abated and the locals are actually happy to see you. Or rather, more tolerant to see you. Most of the time. Or some of the time… Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, is a timeless, glamorous and spectacular grand hotel, perfect for that end of summer getaway. And in order to feel that extra touch of sophistication, we’re going to troll around on Net-a-Porter for all those last minute necessities. Bon voyage et à bientôt !

1. Pucci halter neck swimsuit 2. Vanessa Bruno cotton dress 3. Etro lapis and crystal necklace 4. Christian Louboutin sandals

1. Marchesa sequined silk-organza mini dress, 2. Miu Miu Swarovski crystal sandals 3. Edie Parker Fiona glittered acrylic box clutch

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Cocktail Party for 50

December 20, 2016 by mk

After many a successful dinner party and drunkard guests singing your praises – “omg the dinner was ahh-maayyyzing”, “it’s sooo beauuuuutifull”… these sound bites can really start to go to your head. Especially if the obligatory post mortem Dine Girl twin drinks include more of the same self praising and bruised shoulders from patting ourselves on the back so much. “Our stuff is GOOD!!”, “it’s frikkin’ GOOOOOOD!!” (did anyone say it was bad that we needed to defend ourselves? surely not…) Of course we have had the occasional mishap and finger pointing disaster here and there, but with those experiences conveniently brushed under the carpet, our confidence was riding sky high. So much so, that we decided our skills were good enough to venture into more challenging waters: a formal cocktail party for 50 strangers.

We were asked to provide nibbles for some well heeled private equity lawyers at a private event. Being a dude heavy soirée, we figured ‘man friendly’ food would be our best option, and we were right. After all, barbarians do not have time to decipher frilly canapés while working the room discussing potential billion dollar deals.

The cold / room temp items were mini caprese bites, prosciutto with melon drizzled with balsamic glaze, caramelized onion tartlets, and smoked salmon sandwich bites. The hot items were mini italian meatballs with sunday gravy, mac and cheese bites, and the show stopping short rib sliders on toasted buttered mini brioche buns. For dessert, last minute brownies from Magnolia Bakery cut into bite size squares saved the day. (We won’t mention the pumpkin spice cake that ended up in the trash during prep!)

The prep work was way more time consuming than we imagined! An easy menu doesn’t necessarily mean the work itself is faster. Carefully rolling out 100+ mini meatballs using a melon baller was pretty arduous, and skewering up / seasoning all the bites was a bit of a snooze. But the little touches made a huge difference. We made sure every morsel was well seasoned with the best quality ingredients. Someone even commented how fresh the basil was that night. The empty trays returning back behind the curtain was a good indication that the party was in full swing.

Though we were not cooking directly for friends, the same amount of love and care, attention to detail went into this party as with any other Dine Girl dinner. It’s a strange feeling to not be a part of your own meal as we’re typically used to, but we felt confident that our little nibbles were making a good impression. And according to our excellent servers – the feedback was mostly positive, peppered with some smug, pompous indifference. But I guess that is to be expected when you have a room full of lawyers. The highlight of the night was when apparently there was almost sheer chaos and mutiny when the sliders went around, with one guest snipping that he had been overlooked! These guys were actually fighting over the food! Very proud back slapping self praise Dine Girl moment!

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
Muhammad Ali.

Cheers to that!

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