Since we are typical Asians and just don't do Christmas at home, my mom and I went to Maxim's (an Asian-run restaurant that doesn't serve Asian food) for our annual Christmas dinner:
Potato salad wrapped in smoked salmon on a bed of spring salad, tiger shrimp with tomato avocado salsa, and pearl scallops and seaweed salad on a puff pastry with hollandaise sauce
Crab cake stuffed in a crab shell and drizzled with béchamel sauce
Lobster bisque au Cognac
Oven-roasted New Zealand Provençal rack of lamb with golden crust and rosemary au jus, served with sautéed vegetables and garlic Yukon mashed potatoes
Mango almond meringue cake, profiterole with strawberry and mango, and New York cheesecake
Oh, god, dinner was so good. Better than anything we could cook at home (though, let's face it, we wouldn't even dream of cooking at home). I love that they serve three mini appetizers on one dish, rather than one huge appetizer. It keeps it interesting with different flavours and textures. I loved the different interpretations of each type of seafood this year, too. And that crab cake was so moist, so flaky, so... full of crab! The crab shell was a nice touch, as well. They serve the lobster bisque every year for their five-course Christmas dinner, but it's as good as I remember it: So creamy, so rich, so flavourful! But the lamb was just glorious. There was so much meat on that rack, and it was so tender and juicy and fatty, and the golden crust added a really nice texture and flavour to the meat... I will dream of this lamb for years to come.
And, of course, the infamous mini dessert buffet. You see, Maxim's is not just a restaurant; it's also a bakery that is well-known for their phenomenal cakes. I had three mini pastries, but you know if I wasn't about to bust out of my pants, I would've gotten more, 'cause it's all you can eat! And all inclusive for $45. Completely worth every penny. And so rewarding after a ridiculously busy and tiring day at work (and over a week of being sick!).
Hope you all have a very merry Christmas!
O-M-G I LOVE NY style cheesecake. LOL at "there was so much meat on that rack." Leave it to me to turn that into something porny. lol But, seriously, that lamb looks so good. The golden crust doesn't look too thick!
ReplyDeleteDid traffic pick up today? Hope you feel better!
Merry Christmas, Denise :-D
LOL! Ohhhh, man, I didn't even realize I had written that! Unintentional pun. :P But for serious, it was really good...
ReplyDeleteThe last two days were so ridiculously busy, it was like people were avoiding the malls for the last month only to do all their Christmas shopping as last minute as possible. RIDICULOUS.
I'm feeling better than I was before, though not completely better yet. Thanks, though! :)
Merry Christmas to you, too!
Now that's my kind of Christmas lunch!
ReplyDeleteHaha, Dee, it's better than anything I could possibly ever make at home. :P Merry Christmas!
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