Saturday, November 23, 2019
Slept in. Breakfast at home with Patrick: scrambled eggs, hash brown with ketchup, sourdough toast with butter, leftover wiener schnitzel. Washed dishes and did other cleaning in the kitchen. Finished cleaning then put the range hood grease filter back into place. Recharge Medical work in Mailchimp. Nap. Showered and dressed. Rode UberX to St. John's Presbyterian Church at 25 Lake Street for Mitchell and Alan's wedding, reconnecting with many from, or related to, the Syndicate after a long time and meeting for the first time Allan S, Chris and Raphael from San Diego, Marcus (who accompanied Ray), Justin, Nhan (accompanied by Michael I). The church was recently under renovation, and earlier it was uncertain whether the construction would be completed before today's wedding, but they finished and it looked beautiful. Afterwards we shared a Lyft ride with Emery to drinks at Moongate Lounge, arriving some minutes later than others in our group. Titan (scotch, barolo chinato, lapsang souchong, toasted brown rice) for Emery, Deimos (bourbon, oolong, green walnut, brined black sesame honey) for Patrick, Io (mezcal, montenegro black garlic, cherry flamed nine spice) for me. My drink had a large cube of ice with a Moongate Lounge logo embedded. $51.27 before a $9 tip for three drinks. Walked to China Live for the dinner reception on the second floor. Upon arrival while finding our assigned table we realized that the table had placements for 8 persons but all the other tables were for 10. Within minutes the issue was resolved and we had a place to sit. Others at our table: Scott T, Andy M, Bryan L, Ray F, Marcus, Emery, Allan S, Scot B. The menu: char siu pork crunch baked bun; chili-encrusted calamari with basil, mandarin orange, and asian spices; sichuan working hands dumplings with sesame butter and peppercorn-chili broth; wok-seared aged prime filet mignon with celtuce and lily bulbs; chengdu authentic pock mark ma's ma pa tofu with minced pork; shanghai fat chow mein with pork, shrimp, and chicken; charred chinese broccoli with washington white trumpet mushrooms and roasted sesame; assorted chinese tea cookies and pastries. Open bar, including two featured cocktails—Gold Mountain (Knob Creek rye, Camus V.S. cognac, coconut sugar, housemade iron buddha bitters, and california poppy liqueur) and Sweet and Sour Mischief (sichuan peppercorn-infused altos blanco tequila, fresh lime and pineapple, honey-almond syrup)—and two featured wines: Landmark Overlook Chardonnay 2015 (Sonoma, California) and Skyside cabernet sauvignon 2017 (North Coast, California)—and two featured beers: Deschutes Black Butte Porter and Tsingtao. We had a surprise visit from a young dragon dance group. Food, drink, and service were all excellent. Rode UberX home.