Tempt Asian, Take Two

Biscuit Boy gave me a macro lens for Christmas. I was so excited because now I'd be able to get some really cool close up shots to post. We've been playing around with it for about a week when I decided I was ready to give it a trial run all by myself.

So last night we went to Tempt Asian which I had previously written about back in June. And while the pictures from that post were good, I was eager to see what I could with this bad boy.

When we got there the place was packed. We were seated at a table for two with another table for two sitting empty beside us and no sooner did we get settled when the waitress told us to get up so they could seat a party of four that just came in. She said another table for two was about to become available. So we got up and within a few minutes we were seated, again.

We looked over the menu with some idea of what we wanted and kept an eye out for the stuff coming out of the kitchen just incase something interesting caught our eye. We also scanned other tables, discretely, of course. The couple seated next to us was doing the same even though they had already finished eating and were paying their bill. We struck up a conversation about how fun it was to try new things here. They had a plate of Pork with Ferny Vegetables. It looked good so I asked them what ferny vegetables tasted like. “Sorta like wild mushrooms,” they said. Hmmm…..mental note to self……next time get this dish.

Our order was taken by a rather harried waitress who still maintained her smile and pleasant manner. We got pan fried dumplings as an appetizer. Yes, I know…..where’s our sense of adventure? We saw some at a table when we walked in and they looked really good and we were really hungry so just about anything we set our eyes on would have looked good.
The dumplings were tasty but nothing spectacular. As I tried to use my chopsticks to cut one in half I heard a ‘snap’ and looked down. In my hand was half a chopstick and sticking out of the still whole dumpling was the other half. Oops. I silently wondered if I had just caused a faux pas. A quick scan of the dining room assured me that nobody seemed to notice or care so I got another chopstick and just set into biting a piece of the dumpling off instead.

For our entrees, we ordered Dry Fried Green Beans and the Roasted Fish with Green Onions. Oddly enough, the fish is neither roasted of full of green onion. It’s fried with a scant amount of onion, a lot of Cumin a dash of salt and a bunch of hot peppers. Darn tasty.
The fish is served between two bamboo mats which make for a pretty presentation. The flavor and heat are well balanced and after a few bites you are addicted to it.
The green beans were also wonderful. Big chucks of garlic and pieces of red chili peeked out from all over the plate of glistening beans. The heat was just right and the beans still had just the right amount of crunch to them. Delish!

When each dish came out, I pointed the camera at the plate and took a few pictures and was quite conscious of the people sitting around us. Some looked at us like we were nuts for photographing our food.

In fact a woman at the table behind us with as much tact as a bulldozer in a mine field said to her tablemates “Will you look at that. That woman’s taking pictures of her food. Have you ever seen anything seen anyone do that before? How odd is that?”

Yes lady, I heard you as did most everyone else in that section of the restaurant. I wanted to turn to Biscuit Boy and say loud enough for her to hear “This food critic gig is great. I love the restaurant but some of the clientele (nodding my head in her direction)…..sheesh.”

But I refrained even though I should have said it or better yet gotten up and asked them if I could take pictures of their food too. Ha-ha, sometimes I just crack myself up.

So as I close my last post of the year, I want to say Happy New Year to one and all and here’s to a wonderful 2006!