Review: Shari Sushi Lounge

For Valentine's Day, Errol took me to an awesome sushi place, Shari Sushi Lounge. I went on my flight to Orlando all dressed up for dinner and we went straight there. The picture above is a screen shot of their website, with a picture of where we were in the restaurant. We were on the second floor, and it felt like a private area. It was quieter and more romantic - not to say the commotion downstairs wouldn't be enjoyable too! 

Errol and I are self-proclaimed sushi snobs. We've been to so many sushi places and prefer raw, raw, raw fish. So when we sat down and perused the menu, we were pleased to see this place doesn't have California roll or Philadelphia roll. All rolls were considered "Specialty". 

We started out with Toro Tartare: 

Toro Tartare: Fatty tuna chopped with scallions and smelt roe atop a crispy tortilla chip, with black flying fish roe, Shari spicy mayo and shaved tempura shallots

 Then the Beauty and the Beast Roll:

Beauty and the Beast Roll: Two-in-one roll with: half tuna, avocado, asparagus, and spicy tobiko roe, and half eel, cucumber, asparagus and wasabi roe

And the grand finale was the Sushi Sashimi Moriawase: Combination of nigiri and sashimi selected by the Chef, served with fresh Japanese wasabi and imported soy sauce.

Errol and I have had numerous plates of nigiri/sashimi. It's always a combination of great pieces of escolar, salmon, and tuna; plus fake crab and disgusting shrimp (and I love shrimp). Since it's "Chef's choice" we can never dictate that what we really want is just the good stuff (of course). So we devised a plan to say that one of us has a shellfish allergy so we can't have shrimp or [fake] crab.

We did it this time, and our waitress said, "Don't worry there's no shrimp or crab." We literally raised our eyebrows. But oooooh man when our platter came out we were knocked out of our seats. It was the most amazing presentation we had ever seen.

Pieces of nigiri on one section of the plate as if they were swimming in water.

Then an ice boat on the other side with THICK pieces of sashimi. 1) ice boat?! and 2) these were the thickest pieces of sashimi I've ever had. The ice boat served to keep the sashimi nice and cold.

Then the martini glass had a rose bud made of pieces of white fish and surrounded by slices of strawberries. This was an AMAZING presentation!

To round out the flavors was a specially imported Japanese soy sauce (in the shot glass). It was saltier (and I normally use reduced-sodium) but when you taste it, the flavor is just fuller. It's hard to explain but it wasn't about the salt, but able the breadth of flavor.

My Valentine!

No shellfish in sight :)

Errol and I took our sweet time to finish every last bit of our dinner. It was our first dinner together since the beginning of January, so it really was a lovely time for numerous reasons. I was definitely spoiled by this dinner and loved every minute of it.

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Islands of Adventure

After 8 days of nonstop traveling and vacationing, it was almost time to go back to North Carolina, but not without one more night in Orlando.

I had one more full day to spend with Errol, and I pictured a nice, relaxing day after averaging 5 hours of sleep over the cruise. But Errol had something else in mind... a surprise trip to Islands of Adventure! He wanted the last day to be special, and he hadn't been to Harry Potter World yet, so he wanted his first time to be with me.

Islands of Adventure is great for older kids who are tall enough to ride roller coasters. The roller coasters aren't as big as Busch Gardens, but still thrilling! There are lots of different places to walk through in the park, including...

...Seussland... 

...Jurassic Park...

...Marvel comics...

...and Toon Lagoon...

But of course, the highlight of the day was Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Being my third time there, I gathered a number of tips to make the visit there as efficient as possible. And as the most popular part of the park, these tips will benefit you to minimize the your wait times and maximize your experience. Pictures and details will be in the next post! 

Overall the trip was perfect, and everything seemed to fall into place despite being completely exhausted from my cruise. We got up so early to make it to the park as it opened, and the adrenaline helped me make it all morning. Once lunchtime came, though, I was beat. After some discussion, we decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, take a nap, then come back. After this decision, it was like fate was being fulfilled before us. 

Fate #1: We decided to take advantage of the summer extended in the summer. It helped us feel a little better about leaving to take a nap. Also, we found out that there is free re-entry for the park and parking!

Fate #2: Not only did the nap rejuvenate us for the rest of the night, but there was a severe thunderstorm that lasted the span of the glorious nap! 

Fate #3: As we re-entered the park, a mother and daughter approached us and gave us their Express Pass tickets because they were leaving!!! At this time, it was 5:30PM, and the park closed at 9PM. The Express Pass made up for the time we spent napping! It was a glorious feeling to walk past all of the line, and only wait 10 minutes per ride. 

Fate #4: Because of the severe thunderstorm, a lot of the park emptied out, leaving the last couple of hours to spend in Harry Potter World, with minimal lines, and minimal crowds. 

So, as you can see, the day went perfectly. It made me completely forget the fact that the next morning, I would be leaving for North Carolina again, not to be reunited with Errol again until September. 

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Orlando and Melbourne, FL

The last vacation of the summer was a compilation of trips and experiences that are so substantial, they must be in separate posts! Within 10 days, I was in Orlando, Gainesville, and Melbourne, FL; Atlantic Ocean; and Nassau, Bahamas. 

Prior to the trip I spent 2 weeks alone in my apartment, cooking, working, and trying to stay busy. It was the first test to Errol and my long distance relationship, which actually went a lot more smoothly with the use of a webcam (no, that's not supposed to be dirty).  The webcam helped a lot with keeping the relationship exactly the same, feeling like we were still together. In fact, I find talking on the phone now to be pretty annoying. Although, hopefully that will change once Errol gets an iPhone! 

The day of my flight finally came, and luckily one of my friends dropped me off at 8AM. It was a nonstop flight and I arrived in Orlando at noon, giving Errol and I plenty of time to reunite! Straight from the airport, we went to lunch at a Thai restaurant. One of the great things about our relationship is that we love culture. Thai food is one of our favorites! 

After lunch, I met his roommate, and we hung out for a while. This was also opening weekend of Dark Knight Rises, and we bought tickets to see it in IMAX with my best friend from high school and her boyfriend. Phew, that movie was mind-blowing, right? It is just so unfortunate that it will always be remembered for the horrific shooting in Colorado.

After the movie, we all went to Taverna Opa for dinner. I would recommend EVERYONE to go there at least once in their lives. It's not just delicious food, but an experience! It is meant to have the party feel of Greece, so there are napkins thrown everywhere, waiters screaming "Opa!", belly dancers, and people dancing on the tables (yes, it is allowed, and frankly highly encouraged!) 

Another night, I met a few more of Errol's classmates and we went for a walk around Lake Eola. It's a beautiful place downtown, and the fountain in the middle resembles the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. There is music playing with lights and fountains that correspond to the tune. 

Overall, the first few days in Orlando were great! The last task before going home was to pick up the food for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary! Shown below is the food order, and all of the delicious Filipino trays of food that would feed over 80 people! 

The party was great, and filled with lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a wonderful celebration of my parents' silver wedding anniversary. I hope someday to make it that long too!

Cook-venture: Pan-Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon Butter

Errol and I made this dish back in June, and it has to be our favorite dish so far in The New Best Recipe. I recommend anyone and everyone to make this!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons softened butter

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Beat the softened butter with a fork until light and fluffy. 

Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and salt until combined. 

Toss the shrimp in the salt, pepper, and sugar. 

Add half the shrimp onto a heated 12-inch skillet over high heat with oil. 

Cook until spotty brown and the edges turn pink (about 1 minute). 

With tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand for
30 seconds with the skillet off the heat. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

(The timing sounds very specific, but Errol used a timer when cooking and it seemed to work... this cookbook is very particular, and it always works out!) 

Add butter to the skillet when you add the first batch of shrimp back to the skillet. 

Cover the skillet and let the shrimp and sauce stand until cooked (1-2 minutes). 

Serve immediately... trust me, you won't want to wait. 

Errol and I served the shrimp over a bed of linguine. The shrimp had such a robust flavor of lemon and garlic (a delicious combination) that I would have been happy without the added carbohydrates in the pasta. This meal was definitely special, and one I hope to repeat again when we are together.

The garlic-lemon butter sauce was actually one of the "Variations" in the book. Other variations include "with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze" and "with Chipotle Lime Glaze". I can't wait to try those!

Restaurant Review: The Lantern

Website screenshot: http://lanternrestaurant.com/

I had the distinct pleasure of Errol and my final date in Chapel Hill during our year together to be at The Lantern. It's tucked in by all of the other unique, local restaurants and shops on Franklin Street. One of the pharmacists at work suggested we eat there because her sister-in-law owns it. 

It's a delicious, high-end restaurant that combines contemporary style Asian dishes with locally grown farmer's market fruits and vegetables. Despite the prices being higher than our usual (entrees ranged $25-40), we decided to splurge for our last date.

I got a cocktail (I can't remember it for the life of me, but it had rum and ginger ale), and Errol got a beer. 

My entree was a twist on lettuce wraps. On the left side of the picture below, you see the roasted peanut hoisin and the absolutely delicious pork shoulder. It's cooked overnight in lemon grass, and the meat basically melts in your mouth. I would have been happy with simply a plateful of that pork. It was interesting to make lettuce wraps with a different kind of leaf, but it worked. And I finished every last bit of the dish.

BBQ’d Chapel Hill Creamery pork shoulder
with cool rice noodles, lettuce cups, Vietnamese herb salad,
chile-lime sauce and roasted peanut hoisin

Errol wanted to go to Ben and Jerry's afterwards to fulfill his ice cream craving, but I wanted to finish the experience and have dessert at the restaurant. I've never had roasted banana ice cream, but it tastes just like you might imagine: mouthwatering. The brittle was a nice touch too.

Roasted banana ice cream with caramel, soft cream
and NC peanut brittle

When we ordered the ice cream, our waiter came with this extra dessert and told us "Compliments of the owners, the drinks and desserts are on the house". What a great surprise! Our pharmacist told them that we were there, and they did us a great favor by taking ~$40 off our bill.  This was my first panna cotta; it tastes like a milky, creamy gelatin. The locally grown organic cherries were a sweet and tart addition to the palate.

Almond panna cotta with organic cherries, rosé syrup
and almond-sesame candy

I would recommend The Lantern to anyone and everyone wanting to spend a wonderful night with delicious food. It is a quaint restaurant, and I would recommend reserving at least 4 days in advance. Errol tried to reserve the day before wanted to go, and it was completely reserved for 2 days. If you find it is fully booked, do what we did: go there when it opened at 5:30PM and were immediately seated.

After perusing The Lantern website, I saw that the owner has also published a cookbook: Cooking In The Moment. It looks like a great cookbook that has recipes to take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Maybe I'll try it out! North Carolina is filled with farmers markets, and I'm looking to grow herbs on our new patio.

Website screenshot: http://www.andreareusing.com/

Cheers to good eats, good dates, and good people.