Secret to success? I'm sure there are many! Some may suit you and some may not! One that is absolutely essential (unless you win a lottery, which technically, is not success but getting rich) is pushing your limits! It could be anything. Today morning, I pushed my limit when I simply got out of bed! For a lazy @ss like me, that is pushing the limit. Or even eating at the same restaurant twice in two days. No wonder, I am sitting and writing a food blog!
Then there are others who push limits that are already stretched for the average Joe! When a post takes off on twitter and friends start cursing me for leaving them behind or not helping them get a reservation when Chef Vikram is in town, I had to push another limit! Go on the knees and request the chef to entertain friends for dinner. "I'm out of supply and we are fully booked," was the answer. "But I could do dessert like you guys did a few years back." Ear to ear grin. Don't know when I last stretched so much to smile. Yes, pushed the limit again.
"For half the price, chef said he could do dessert," I announced to friends. Nobody said anything except, "When?"
15 of us landed at Pan Asian at 9 PM where we saw some real limit-pushing!
Like how every meal should start, the dessert meal also started softly. Almond milk with strawberry foam! By the time we all licked it clean, the second course arrived. Steamed dumpling with berry gel and peppermint ice cream on a base of green tea! Yum!
"Vanilla crusted salmon," he announced as he placed the dishes on our table. There was a minute of stunned silence. The ladies were speechless, while we were trying to understand the statement. I mean, we eat dessert after main courses and especially after fish, but a dessert made of fish? I've had a 5 course meal made of chocolates at Park Hyatt and a few savoury dishes made of cocoa (duck breast and things like that) in Spain, but fish dessert? It had strawberry on top and some berry powder (chances are it was liquid-nitrogen-ised). The flavour of salmon was unmistakeable, but in a different avatar. Fabulous would be an understatement.
The vegetarians had a nice little cake instead of the salmon.
"Squid stuffed with chocolate," he said as he placed the next dish. Disbelief all around. Just as the brain was getting used to the salmon as a dessert, he hits us with squid. The squid itself was almost like panko fried, so very savoury elements, but the minute you cut across, chocolate oozed out! Squid flavour was there like any savoury dish, but the chocolate and the little mousse on the side made it dessert! There was brain freeze all over as the brain was battling to understand what is going on in the tongue!
Some people push limits. Others push your limits!
The final course was the dish that got Twitter and Facebook excited. The ladies were giggling as the roses got handed out to them to crack on the plate.
We paid Rs. 1084 nett/- per head and walked home with the head confused, but happy!
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