kung hei, whatever.... reprise 1

i wished for action. i got action, just not the type i was expecting, that is.

got a message while having dinner with my family at rockwell. while burying my knife into a thick slab of wagyu, two very reliable birds were chirping like crazed hens into my ear. one was about a possible "fight", the other about a rather interesting sighting. ah... my network of cloaked informants stretch far and wide, and very efficient i might add.

the year of the ox will be quite interesting. would i see myself becoming "bullish" this year? i am a ram... i already have the horns to start with. maah, maaah, maaaaah! :)

anyway, as i have previously stated in tweeter, all water under the bridge. don't really want to start my year feeling all "300"-like battle crazy... though i seriously would not mind looking like a spartan, or xerxes sans all that gold. :)

so.... off to another topic that i hold dear to my heart, more than juicy debates or curious sightings of a something-something..... FOOD!

last night, like an answered prayer from the chinese gods of luck, kuya texted me to drag the 'rents to rockwell so that we could have dinner out. the place of choice.... astralis.

kuya had known of this place for quite some time now from reading about it (and seeing pictures) from the food blogs he frequents. i recall seeing some of the shots taken of the food they served and i have to say, they made my mouth water! the sight of beef in particular was almost pornographic! hahahaha.

anyway, so dinner was set. with the paternal units in tow, we gracefully sashayed our starving behinds into the resto and ordered like there was no tomorrow. feast your eyes on the following selections:

appetizer 1: parisian scrambled eggs with foie gras

appetizer 2: baked oysters served 3 ways

dad's: slow roasted leg of lamb with ratatouille

mom's: pan-grilled chilean sea bass with lemon anchovy sauce and leek mashed potatoes

kuya's: US prime rib with poached bone marrow

mine's :): US wagyu rib-eye steak with fries on the side

not included in the pictures was the house salad and the soup we each ordered. i really have to train myself to take pictures of the food first, for posterity sake, before decimating it like a hungry hyena!

overall, and my kuya concurred, the entire astralis experience was ok. the service was excellent but the food, well, let's just say we have had better. steak-wise, the one at cantinetta was WAY better. the wagyu was alright, though i would have liked it if it was rarer (i ordered medium but it came out looking medium-well) like the one i had at malcom's at salcedo village. the sea bass was nothing special, mom said. and the lamb, well, my dad just loves lamb.

by far, my most favorite was the parisian egg we had as appetizer. the foie gras was not as velvety but rather tough, which i never knew can be done to foie gras. the egg though... OMG. utterly delightful!!! and i'm not really a fan of eggs mind you. i would not have hesitated licking the bowl clean if it weren't for the possibility of being disowned by my family.

tonight, the clan will meet up again. where and what we will devour will be material for my next post. gaaaaaad..... di ko na to KAYA!!!!! good luck. 300 physique my fat lard ass! hahahaha!