“hot n’ cold”

Yep I love food.  I wake up thinking about what to eat.  Before I’m done with my current meal – I’m thinking about the next one.  There’s pretty much nothing I will restrict myself from eating, although I do have a few food phobias ( see tagged again! blog post).  I just usually eat in moderation.  But, I also just usually eat out.  I would consider myself a decent cook, but I just have no time.  I’m a perfectionist so when I do anything, including cooking a meal, it has to be absolutely perfect, which results in being very time consuming.  So I gotta look up the recipe, go buy ingredients and the worst part for me is cleaning up.  I think I’m on Food Network so I’ll end up using every bowl and spoon in my kitchen and next thing you know the sink is full of dishes.  Also I’m entirely prone to spills and accidents.  Somehow food always ends up on the floor, all over the stove or on my shirt in the process.  It’s very much an event when I cook.  So I resort to eating out – anywhere and everywhere.  I have my local favorites, guilty pleasures and as much as I can (or afford to), I love to find those hole-n-the-walls and also try those new-to-scene-highly acclaimed-maybe overpriced joints.  I would consider myself a FOODIE and won’t pass up an opportunity for good food.

So this week my friends and I decided to participate in dineLA Restaurant Week where a few of LA’s notable eateries offer pre-fixed menus at reasonable prices for a limited time.  Our choice?  Gordon Ramsay at The London in West Hollywood.  For those of you who don’t know, Gordon Ramsay is Mr. Hell of “Hell’s Kitchen”.  I’ve watched the show a few times, but it was a lil’ too intense for me.  I felt bad for all the people he yelled at and I didn’t like how sweaty the cooks looked in the kitchen.  I know, I’m weird.  Nevertheless, Mr. Ramsay’s restaurants are considered top notched around the world so we were anxious to see what all the hoopla was about.  Plus we heard that the interior was divine, which is always an added bonus for me.  Here’s a photo of the gorgeous decor from the restaurant’s website:

So last night we managed to get reservations for our party of 10 – at 9:30pm!  I was starving by that time.   I apologize for the not-as-great quality of photos.  I didn’t want to bust out my huge SLR at such a fine establishment.  People might think I’m paparazzi!

Here are the “single” ladies =).  I’m not so sure why we lined up all of the vertically challenged people on one side.

For the dineLA Restaurant Week menu, we each chose 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert (my favorite part of course). There were 3 choices for each and wasn’t so adventurous last night and stayed away from the menu items that included rabbit or ox cheek.  Some of my friends said both were delicious.

Prior to our first course, we had what they called “Steamed Bamboo and Shiitake Mushroom Chawanmushi amuse”.  It was yummy and actually reminded me of a Vietnamese dish, probably because of the bamboo.  Plus it came in this cute lil’ cup.  Presentation is a plus!

My first course choice was “Wild Mushroom Veloute – with sauteed mushrooms and chive cream”.  It was very creamy and rich and I thoroughly enjoyed it – especially the mushrooms.  I think I became a lil’ full after this dish.

My main course was “Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto – with artichoke chips, black truffle and sherry caramel reduction”. I love risotto, but I actually thought this ok.  (Please don’t yell at me Mr. Ramsay!).  My friends had the “Ox Cheek” which they said was very tender.  On a side note, I’m not sure which “cheek” of the Ox it was, if you know what I mean…

Next comes the intermizzo, which is between your entree and dessert to clean your pallette.  I know – you learn something new everyday don’t you? =)  It was a sorbet thingy and was quite refreshing.  Sorry I don’t remember the fancy name for it.

Finally, my “Chocolate Savarin – with malted milk emulsion, salted caramel ice cream and caramel powder”. Y-U-M-M-Y.

All in all, I thought the food was good, but nothing spectacular, especially for the $$$$.  Maybe my palette is just not refined enough yet.  I must say the service and ambiance were great, but I probably would not choose to return here and rather satisfy my cravings elsewhere.

And there you have the most exciting part of my week…hahah…well except for the launch of www.kimlephotography.com!!! =)

There’s still a week left for dineLA Restaurant Week so check out the website and go indulge your inner foodie!!! =) Have a great weekend!!! By the way, I already have my weekend meals planned out – Mom’s PHO tomorrow and Superbowl junk food on Sunday!!!