Date Night - Naked Fish

We love Naked Fish. We've been there for Valentine's for a sake and food pairing. We've done the Omakase.  It is just one of those places that just keeps getting better and better.  Sothea started off with a Prosecco and Som ordered their Taketsuru Old Fashioned.  He absolutely loved it.  He thought it was the best Old Fashioned that he's ever had.  It was just something about the Taketsuru that added something special.
















We started off with a mackeral sashimi that was on their specials.  Their fish is always so light and fresh.  It's lovely.  This mackeral was less mackeral tasting and cleaner.  Delicious!

Then we ordered their Kushiyaki.  We started off with the chicken oysters, scallops, and mushrooms. The Kushiyaki is our favorite things to eat here.  We just kept ordering more and more.  We could eat a whole plate of the mushrooms.  And the scallops were perfectly cooked.

We also ordered rolls.  The rolls are good.  We could have probably gone without them because seriously the Kushiyaki is what we come for.

We ended our meal with a few pieces of Nigri.  It was a perfect, light way to end it.

Naked Fish is one of our favorite restaurants in Salt Lake.  A must try!

Date Night - HSL

HSL sister restaurnt to Handle in Park City opened during the Spring of this year.  We were very excited to try it.  People have been raving about it.  So we made a double date out of it and went with our friends Steven and Violetta.

The restaurant is beautiful, sleek, and modern.  It has a great ambiance.  The large dining chairs makes the restaurant seem a little crowded but it's not bad.

We started off with the flatbread.  It was really good.  It was fresh and earthy.  It was very light and a great way to start a meal.

Flatbread

Steven and Violetta started off with a meat and cheese plate.  It was perfect.  There was a good selection and it's a typical portion for a meat and cheese plate.

Meat and Cheese

But then came our other plates.  Before we go on, we want to say that we love tapas.  We love small plates and one of the things we never complain about is the portion sizes.  We've gone to many places where other people will say that's too small of a portion for the price and we usually don't think so.  But this time we did.  These portions are extremely small for the price.  Sothea, who is not a big eater, who can never finish and entree by herself, left hungry.  She ordered the Tagliatelle Pasta.  It was very good but the portion was very small and it could have used more mushrooms.

Tagliatelle Pasta

Som ordered the burger.  Again the food was delicious but look below, see how many potatoes are on that plate?!?!

  

Beef Cheek Burger

Steven and Violetta also felt the same way.  The food was very tasty but for that price, we'd all rather go somewhere else.

Date - Brunch at Porch

Daybreak seems so far away and for us it really is.  We live less than 15 minutes from downtown, so that is where you can find us.  But we went out really far to Daybreak to try the Porch.  We love Meditrina and Porch is it's sister restaurant. So we had to give it a try.  We went out there for brunch one day.

It's a super cute place and the service was good. We went for a late brunch so there was only one waiter.  There was a large group of ladies and three other small tables but our waiter was still very attentive.





We started off with a Mimosa and Bloody Mary.  Both were good nothing special but good.

Bloody Mary and Mimosa

Som ordered the Southern Stack which is a cast iron Johnny cake, sauteed crawfish, bacon, an egg, and maple syrup.  He said that this is his new favorite brunch food.  He wants to get a cast iron skillet and try making his own!

Southern Stack

Sothea ordered the chicken biscuits which is fried chicken, scratch biscuits, eggs, and green peppercorn gravy.  It's mixing two of her favorite brunch foods together, chicken and waffles, and biscuits and gravy.  So if you are a fan of either or both, try this!

Chicken Biscuits

We had a really good experience and are thinking we will have to venture back and try dinner. Other people have been raving about their brick chicken with mac n cheese.  Who can say no to yummy mac n cheese?!?!  Double date anyone?

Date Night - Cavalia Odysseo

Mama and Papa Pok love Cirque Du Soleil type shows so we thought they would definitely enjoy this.  We along with Chanthoeun and Casey bought them tickets for their birthdays.  We also wanted to see it so we bought tickets and made it into a double date.

If you haven't seen it yet, Cavalia set up a big white tent in the parking lot of the South Towne Mall.  It really is a sight to see!  The tent is the size of a football field and 125 feet high.  The show features 65 horses and 48 performers.  It also has the most wonderful landscape and scenery but more on that later.

We arrived early because we wanted to make sure we didn't have to fight traffic.  Almost ever seat in the place was taken.  There were just a couple of one seaters here and there.  Anyways, they offer parking up close for $10.  If you go a little towards REI, you can park for free which is what we opted for. The walk wasn't that long. 

We walked around for a little bit and checked out the merchandise but did not get anything. However, we did get our pictures taken. Mama Pok loves those and it was only $15 a picture.  

After the pictures, we went to look for our seats.  There is not really a bad seat in the whole place other then if you are directly blocked by the column that's put up for structural support.  It's not solid so you can see through it but it would be very distracting. We had opted for the second to cheapest seat and the seats were great.  We saw everything.  

Mama and Papa Pok loved everything about the show.  There was not one part that they disliked. Also they are the type of people that say "oh that's a lot of money to see a show" but after they saw it, they didn't think so.  They thought it was well worth it.

The scenery alone was absolutely memorable.  It was so well done that it took you through different dimensions.  In some parts, it seem like the performers were miles away.  They even had a full working carousal come down from above.  

Picture from cavalia.net

The horses were gorgeous.  There were a couple temperamental ones but for the most part, the show went on with no problems.  

The music was beautiful.  The singer and the orchestra did a wonderful job.  The music complimented everything that was going on.  

One of Som's and Sothea's favorite scenes was this one below.  The combination of the aerialists, the horses, and the white fabric was such a beautiful scene.  

Picture from desertnews.com

It really was an amazing show.  Som said it is one of the best shows, he has ever seen.  

Originally the show was supposed to end tomorrow but they've gotten such a great response that they have extended it to the end of the month.  Seriously, if you were thinking about seeing it, don't think anymore, DO IT!  It is a must see show!

  

Date Night - Kyoto

Kushi Ebi Teriyaki

Kyoto has been around for a long time before either of us had even moved to Salt Lake. Sothea has been to Kyoto before and was never wowed by it. Som had never been before. So we both thought it would be a time to try it out... again.

We started off with the Kushi Ebi Teriyaki.  It was drenched in teriyaki sauce but it was delicious and we could have probably eaten another plate of it.  

Dynamite

Then we had the Dynamite.  It was good but lacking sauce. Shrimp - over-sauced. Dynamite - under-sauced.  Som loves a good dynamite and the best one was at Ginza.  We haven't found one that we liked as much as that one.













To drink, we ordered a bottle of sake.  We chose one that we thought we'd never had before but when it came out, we recognized the bottle. While we were in California, Sothea saw the Ginjo Sho Shiku Bai and bought it because the bottle was so cute. The bottle is probably the best thing about this sake.

We also ordered a couple of rolls.  One of them was the Green Eggs and Ham.  It has yellowtail, scallions, sprouts, cucumber topped with a wasabi tobiko and sriracha.  Som loves anything with sriracha.  In fact, he'll put sriracha on everything if he can.  This roll was fresh with just a little bit of a kick.

Green Eggs and Ham

The other roll was the Kinkaku which had spicy salmon and avocado topped with crab, habanero and masago.  Also a fairly decent and delicious roll.  The rolls were probably the best part of the meal.

Kinkaku

We also ordered the Saba Shioyaki (mackerel).  We were not expecting it to be such a large portion. We both enjoy mackerel but four pieces seemed like way too much.  It was good though.  The tempura vegetables however were not.  They were cut so thin it seemed like we were eating more tempura batter than vegetable.

Saba Shioyaki

Food wise there were some hits and some misses but we'd definitely give it another try.  The service was amazing though.  Kudos to our server!

Date Night - Repertory Dance Theatre

Patatas Bravas and Wine Flight

Last week, we were fortunate enough to win tickets to see Revere by Repertory Dance Theatre. We started off the date with dinner at Meditrina. We have posted about Meditrina before so we didn't want to say much but did want to post this picture of their Patatas Bravas.  Meditrina is still one of our favorite places in the city and we are excited to see how it'll be when they move to their new location on 900 South.

 















After dinner, we were off to the Rose Wagner Theatre to see Revere. The first half was the Suite from Mazurkas.  The Mazurkas was created in the honor of the people of Poland.  The choreographer, Jose Limon, created the work as a tribute to their heroic spirit. This was our least favorite performance out of the two.  The music was Chopin and the pianist did a beautiful job but the performance was just a little lackluster.      

The second half was Missa Brevis also choreographed by Jose Limon.  This performance was powerful and passionate.  It depicts an indomitable humanity rising after near destruction.  The piece is a memento to cities destroyed during World War II and to those unconquerable qualities in human beings that compels the spirit to rise up in hope and to survive.

Missa Brevis - Photo from rdtutah.org

The dancers did a beautiful job.  You could feel the emotions from them.  Behind the dancers was a choir and they also did a magnificent job.  The music only added to the passion of the piece.

We had a wonderful time.  Thank you Salt Lake Magazine for the tickets!

Date - Shooting in Genola

Sometimes, we do things that don't involve going out to dinner. Dinner is usually so easy to fit in our schedule and we love food. This time, Caleb and Gina took us out to Genola to go shooting. Som was super excited and had been so for a couple of weeks.
Sothea who has never shot a gun before was super nervous.

Genola for all those that don't know is a small town in Utah County.  It is where Caleb grew up.  

The day was nice but cloudy with a breeze.  It was chilly at points but didn't rain til after we were done which was great!

We brought lunch.  We grabbed banh mi sandwiches from Kim Long market and other various Asian snacks like shrimp chips and seaweed.  Simple and yummy!

Gina who says she's horrible and never hits anything hit four in a row.  We think she was just being modest.

Caleb was kind and patient enough to show us how to handle the various guns.  Sothea was still super anxious but after a few rounds, the anxiety wore off.  She did not hit anything but came super close many times.  

Som who hasn't been in a long time, did hit one.  We even got it on video!

After, they took us to a place called the Red Barn.  Caleb and Gina said since we are out this way, we had to try it.  Apparently they have delicious ice cream and they did!  Som ordered the pomegranate in a cup and Sothea ordered a cookies and cream in a waffle cone.  The portion was quite large, Sothea couldn't even finish it.  

At the end of the day, we were dirty and our hair was a mess (the ladies' at least) but we had a great time.   

Date - Brunch at Current

Bloody Mary and The Antoinette

Oh brunch, how we love you.  Delicious breakfast foods and not being frowned upon when we have a cocktail at 11:30 in the morning (not any earlier because of those Utah laws).  This time we went over to try Current's brunch menu.  We've been to Current and Under Current several times but this was the first time having brunch there.  It is so nice to see a brunch menu that offers different "brunch cocktails."  What makes a brunch cocktail different from any other cocktail?  Who knows? but it's nice to have an option if front of you besides a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa.

Som, who is on a quest to determine the best Bloody Mary in Salt Lake City ordered a Bloody Mary.  It was good. Maybe in the top three in the city?

Sothea ordered the Antoinete which had vodka, elderflower, grapefruit, lime, rhubarb bitters and sparkling wine.  How pretty is it?!?!  It's one of those drinks that you just want to stare at because it looks so nice and it actually taste as good as it looks.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

On a different quest, Som likes to try all the chicken and waffles as well.  Now that we had learned to make our own delicious chicken and waffles, any chicken and waffles is compared to that and of course the chicken and waffles at Provision.  This one was equally as good as our own and Provisions.

Hangtown Fry

Sothea ordered the Hangtown Fry.  It is fried oysters, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, bacon on sourdough.  It was good but not something that she would order again for brunch.  It just didn't seem to come together.  Everything on it's own tasted great but it felt like nothing was unifying the dish.

Decor, ambiance, and service are all great at Current.  It's a must try for brunch especially for their cocktails.  Som also ordered the Belafonte which had bourbon, velvet falernum, spiced syrup and lemon.  It's very nice on cold days.  

The Belafonte

Date Night - Oak Wood Fire Kitchen

Oak Bread

Sometimes, we make it down south too.  Unless we are visiting family in Provo, we usually don't make it past 10600 South.  We do have friends that live in Lehi so we met them and another couple at Oak Wood Fire Kitchen.  It was a Saturday night and it was super early as in the time that elderly people have dinner.  (We are elderly and enjoying having early dinners from time to time!)   The place was already packed and there was two big groups waiting in front of us.  The other two couples were running late so we decided to stay. It must have been too long for one group because they decided to leave.  Yeah for us! It decreased our wait time by a lot.

When we were sat, the manager brought us out the Oak Bread which is topped with Parmesan, rosemary, garlic oil and black pepper.  He apologized for the wait.   Honestly, we didn't even think it was that long.  We've waited way longer at other places but we did appreciate the gesture.

Our waiter was super friendly and kept calling Sothea, honey.  He did a really good job.

We decided to get a few appetizers to start off with and share.  Gina suggested the Sriracha-Honey Wings.  They were delicious and probably the best thing we at that night.  Sothea even tried making her own version a few days later.

Sriracha-Honey Wings

We also shared the Junk Fries which is topped with bacon, blue cheese crumbles, and caramelized onions.  It was also good.  Goes great with beer!

Junk Fries

Per suggestion of our waiter we ordered the Wild Mushroom Pizza.   We love goat cheese, mushrooms and caramelized onions together.  He did not steer us wrong.

Wild Mushroom Pizza

Everything we had was good, the service was great.  We'd definitely go back.  If it was closer we'd probably just order a bunch of Sriracha-Honey wings to go!

Date Night - Wagner Wine Dinner at BTG

Wagner Family of Wines

We love a good wine pairing especially if it's at a place like BTG which has become one of our go to spots downtown.  Granted we did have one bad experience there.  We were with two other people. Two people ordered the same flight.  One of the glasses of wine seemed off.  We all tried it and thought it was probably bad.  We told the waitress who later came back and said the sommelier tried it and said it was fine.  We left those glasses undrunken and very disappointed that we were not offered something else or a discount.  Later, Sothea tried that glass again and it tasted completely different.  It was good that time.  So we highly doubt that she ever talked to the sommelier and we don't think she works there anymore which is fine by us.  

Anyways back to the wine dinner.  We went with our friends Daniel and Nai who have been wanting to attend more events like this.  We started off with shrimp paired with the Conundrum White. That sauce was delicious.  We all souped it up with our bread and left nothing on the plate.  The men agreed that this was their favorite pairing of the night.  

Gambas al Ajillo paired with Conundrum White

The next dish was a brown butter risotto with crispy shallots and a grilled butternut squash. The risotto was perfect and creamy. The butteriness paired perfectly with the Chardonnay.  The ladies thought that this was the best pairing of the night.

Risotto with Grilled Butternut Squash paired wiht Mer Soleil Chardonnay

The first two dishes were so amazing that we couldn't wait for the rest.  Sadly, the first two pairings and dishes were the best ones. The next one was everyone's least favorite but the wine on it's own was Sothea's favorite wine of the night.  The wine was the Emmolo Merlot.  It was dark in color and had a smokey aroma.  It was inviting and warm with hints of plum.  The dish however was not.  Both men hated the texture of the beans. 

Duck with White Bean Cassoulet and Fig Gravy with Emmolo Merlot

The next dish was beef shoulder with a crispy Asiago potatoes.  Sothea, who doesn't eat beef had one with mushrooms instead. Some people are hesitant to try tasting because of allergies and such but if you notify them in advance, most places are willing to accommodate.  We have not yet been to one where they didn't accommodate Sothea being a non beef eater.  The chimichurri was very tasty and two others tried Sothea's mushrooms and thought it was better than the beef!  Also, we didn't get a picture of the beef dish.  The one below is with mushrooms.

The wine was the Red Schooner Voyage 2 which was the men's favorite wine of the night.  They liked it so much that they ordered 2 more ounces each.  It is a Malbec which is Som's favorite type of wine.  

Mushrooms with Chimichurri and Crispy
 Asiago Potatoes paired with Red Schooner Voyage 2

For dessert, we had a poached pear with Gorgonzola cream anglais.  It was paired with the Conundrum Red.  

Poached Pear paired with Conundrum Red

Good food, good wine, good friends equals a good night.  Oh and good service!  Ask for Mike, he's the best!