Ringing in the New 20s

I was a bit sad to be celebrating the big THREE -OH away from my family and friends.  It’s not that Minh isn’t great, amazing and awesome (because he is).. but would have been nice to have a big celebration back home. Fortunately enough, I’ll be home in just over a week (for work), and will get to celebrate with everyone then.. not a big to-do, but a celebration nonetheless.

The day itself was pretty uneventful.. woke up – Minh made me coffee – went to work. It was a gorgeous day outside – barely a cloud in the sky on the drive to work. The clouds came and went as the day progressed, but it stayed dry and mostly sunny. Very different from last year when it rained all day.

Birthday Girl!

xoi lap xuong for breakfast

When I got home from work, Minh surprised me with a NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB3! What?!?! I wasn’t expecting a birthday present since Minh isn’t working right now, so it was a very pleasant surprise. He got me the 8.0″ version, which is one size up from the one I got him this past Christmas. He also spent ALL DAY baking me a birthday cake! This is the first cake he’s ever made for me, and probably the first one he’s every made in his life!

We had dinner at Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, a 2 Michelin Star restaurant in Nottingham. It was a pricey meal, but you only turn 30 once, right? Since it was a special occasion, we opted for the 10-course tasting menu with wine, plus added the Egg 62°and “Textures” of Peas starter to share (this is the dish from the BBC Great British Menu that received a perfect 10-10-10 score). I’ve included the wine pairing in the captions for the pictures below.

Lookin’ sharp in this suit

Freedom Organic Beer

Bonus Starter – Garlic “Soup”

House Sourdough and Treacle Muffins with Lincolnshire Butter

Duck Egg 62*C & “Textured” Peas

fancy cutlery

Pinot Gris and Scharzhof Riesling

Scallop, fennel, vanilla mayo, bellota ham – 2012 Pinot Gris, Gocker, Alsace

Chicken “Muesli” – 2011 Scharzhof Riesling, Egon Muller, Mosel, Germany

Asparagus, lemon, parmesan, espelette – 2011 Chardonnay “Vintner’s Reserve”, Kendall-Jackson, California, USA

Lamb sweetbreads, broad beans, mint – 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, Verus Vineyards, Stajerska, Slovenia

Baked potato, smoked roe, soft cheese – 2011 Verdejo “Cien x Cien”, Finca la Colina, Rueda, Spain

Roe Deer, mushrooms, lichen – 2010 Tanat “Roble”, Bodegones del Sur, Juanico, Canelones, Uruguay

Smoked Pine

Brachetto and Kia-Ora

Rice pudding, sake granita – 2012 Brachetto d’Acqui “Rosa Regale”, Castello Banfi, Piedmont, Italy

Chocolate, passion fruit – 2010 Kia-Ora, Noble Late Harvest, Kanu Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Pear, almonds – 2010 “Gimblet Gravels” Noble Voigner, Trinity Hill, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Minh and I were fairly sated and buzzed by the end of dinner.. but we still managed to split a piece of cake before bed. All in all, it was a great birthday because I got to spend it with my favorite person in the world ever.