Saturday, October 9, 2021
Ran in place to three weekday episodes of Apple News Today then various YouTube videos. Medium bowl of oatmeal with milk, diced dried plums; warmed slice of buttermilk-lime tea bread; water. Attempted to repair a natural-hair Oxo pastry brush, this time using silicone caulk instead of Elmer's glue. Errand: groceries at Anna mini mart. Lunch to go from King of Thai Noodle Taraval: shrimp pad thai with six extra shrimp for me, pad kee mao chicken for Patrick, water. Nap. Uncle Sam cereal with milk. Prepped clothing for dinner tonight. Rode UberX with Patrick to Empress by Boon where we met Chris G and Andy T for dinner. Patrick and I last dined here on July 2, 2001, a celebration after I found out I was hired by UCSF. At the door we were asked to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination. Patrick used his original card. I showed the California SMART Health Card QR code from my phone. The space was beautiful to the eye and harsh on the ear—noisier than we preferred. The lighting at night was quite dim, making photographs of anything difficult. Our table had a view to the north of Coit Tower and Wentworth Place. Patrick and I arrived at dusk, ordered drinks for ourselves, and saw the transition of the skyline to night. Grant Avenue Highball (Hennessey VS, chrysanthemum, lime, soda) for Patrick, The Pirate's Gospel (Zacapa 23-year rum, lime, creme de banana, honey, peychaud bitters) for me. Chris and Andy arrived a few minutes later with a gift from their recent trip to Hawaii—Hawaiian Host dark chocolate-covered macadamia nuts—and ordered their drinks. After Dark (ginger-infused Woodinville bourbon, averna, fernet branca, Angostura bitters) for Andy, White Violin (Partida blanco, Dolin dry, Lillet Blanc, grapefruit, absinthe) for Chris. All specialty cocktails were between $14 and $18. The menu was a set prix fixe menu, $80 per person. They graciously and easily accommodated my desire for nothing spicy. A wine pairing of four small pours was available, but none of us selected it. An addition of Peking duck without the buns was available, and we did select this. Small Eat: crispy pumpkin puff (burgundy fall truffle, shimeji mushrooms), jasmine smoked short rib steamed bun. Dumpling: Beijing dumpling with housemade vinegar. During the meal we had a second round of drinks. Chris and I both got The Blue Rose (rum, lychee, rose syrup, Ming river baiju, lemon, sparkling wine). Andy had (?). Patrick had a non-alcoholic drink infused with pu-ehr tea. Fish: steamed rockfish broth and red chili. Main: Brazilian rock lobster and mushroom stir fry; chinese chive flower, bean curd, and crispy yam; prawn noodles with XO sauce. The Peking duck was served with the mains. Dessert was not included in the prix fixe. We shared the egg tart ($19, tahitian vanilla bean egg custard, black mission fig compote, fig, orange and star anise sauce) and the black sesame cremeux ($18, milk chocolate and black sesame cremeux, salted dark chocolate ganache, sesame florentine, yuzu and honey ice cream). We all enjoyed all the food and drink. Hosting and service were very good. We talked about Hawaii, volcanoes, Patrick's forthcoming staycation, my forthcoming return to work at Parnassus two days a week to give Patrick more space at home, Frida Kahlo, Mexico, East Bay restaurants, Seattle, tiki bars, and more. They gave us a ride home.