FYI, Menu is posted a couple posts back

Sounds great! Thanks again for your efforts.

Jyoti

Menu sounds terrific... but I hope somebody else likes stomach and sea cucumber and wants my portion :D

JoelF wrote:Menu sounds terrific... but I hope somebody else likes stomach and sea cucumber and wants my portion

If you haven't tried it......

I wanted to get a couple items that are not part of "typical" western Chinese menu.

Can you add me to the list.
The eggplant dish makes this trip worth it for me.
Sichuan kitchens do great things to eggplant.

Cookie Monster wrote:Can you add me to the list.

list is up to date.

Don't know if you counted me in, Sweet Willie, but I do plan to be there.

Now as for Burt's ... ... seriously, let's try that again sometime.

Katie wrote:Don't know if you counted me in, Sweet Willie, but I do plan to be there.

OK, got you on.

Just for this one dinner, I propose that we all refer to Sweet Willie as 'Sweet and Sour Willie'

=R=

I am happy to pay a 20% tip, but I, too, had water at the Flamingo's event, and I was asked to put in $48 when I should have paid $40. If I remember correctly, after putting in $48 each, we were asked to pitch in another dollar because we still came up short. I don't think it's right to assume that all members of any party will have a drink. Some people cannot or do not drink for a variety of reasons.

I brought two guests, and we weren't allowed to put our bill on a credit card (unless we were willing to put the entire party's bill on the card), so we had to come up with $144 in cash. Fortunately one of had it, or we'd have had to go to an ATM. I would really appreciate being notified in advance if any LTH event is going to be cash-only.

That said, I appreciate Sweet Willie's having organized the event. This was the only unpleasant part of a wonderful evening. I particularly appreciated the contact with the chef and the printed menus. And the food and company were delightful.

fleurdesel wrote:I would really appreciate being notified in advance if any LTH event is going to be cash-only.

This is advance warning that the Asian Bistro Dinner will be a cash-only event.

FWIW, i don't know of many restaurants that would create separate checks for a party of 19. I apologize about any misunderstanding.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Just for this one dinner, I propose that we all refer to Sweet Willie as 'Sweet and Sour Willie'

something about the sour I'm just not too fond of, how about Szechuan Willie ?

Just making sure that everyone who is interested has confirmed (see #1 post, I'll have your name posted if attending) on the thread. I am to give the total number of folks attending to the Mgr tomorrow, a week prior to the dinner.

thanks.

Sorry, I'm going to have to drop out. I've been called to the alien mothership that is my company's NJ headquarters. I'll dine on much inferior Chinese food while I'm out there.

fleurdesel wrote:I would really appreciate being notified in advance if any LTH event is going to be cash-only.

Sweet Willie wrote:This is advance warning that the Asian Bistro Dinner will be a cash-only event.

FWIW, i don't know of many restaurants that would create separate checks for a party of 19. I apologize about any misunderstanding.

Cash-only's fine if it makes things easier for you, but I have been in many group dinners where we received a single check and still paid on separate credit cards.

The usual method is to divide up the bill and pass over all the cards with a note on how much is to be charged to each. Most restaurants don't have a problem with it.

I'm really sorry to have to cancel, but yesterday, on one of those El platforms under construction, I sustained a few injuries, the worst of which is a multiply fractured wrist, and little things like getting dressed and driving are not currently among the tasks I can easily accomplish. I'm saving my energy for things like trying to earn a living (and typing with one hand is not all that easy). So I think it would be wise for me to not even attempt to attend this. I hope I'm healed enough to make the next outing.

Really sorry to miss the company and what looks like an amazing menu. Have fun. I look forward to reading the reports.

Cynthia wrote: I hope I'm healed enough to make the next outing.

Here's hoping that all goes well with your recov.

Can you add me to your list? Should the dinner last longer, I can just leave my share $ to you or Cathy2 (I have to pick my husband from O'Hare).

helen wrote:Can you add me to your list?

see you there.

see y'all this evening

Everything served was an order of magnitude higher quality Chinese food than I can recall ever having before. I was grateful for the nonspicy eggplant dish, though, for a break. I particularly liked the sweet/spicy wontons.

Thanks again, Szechuan Willie, for setting this up.

I actually thought the spicy wontons were a bit off from what I've normally experienced

My favorites were the spicy jelly fish, Chengdu Liang Mein (sweet/spicy) noodles, Lamb Twin Delight, Sea Cucumber.

Thanks to Sweet Willie for organizing this dinner and to everyone for attending. We had a nice group of 11 and the food was very good. For me, some parts of the meal weren't quite as delicious as my first trip to Asian Bistro, but overall, the experience was very enjoyable . . .



Chengdu Liang Mein (sweet/spicy noodles)
This is a great dish that I could order every time I go to Asian Bistro. It's intensely spicy with only a little bit of sweet; just enough to balance it out.



Baby Shrimp w/scallion pesto
Tasty and tender shrimp, what's not to like?



Spicy Jelly fish
I really enjoyed this dish -- the contrasts of flavors and textures was wonderful.



Green Mountain Smoked Beef
I really couldn't taste any smoke and the beef almost tasted like it had been reheated. Not my favorite.



Beef Stomach and Tripe (iirc, aka Husband and Wife)
Can I have some more please?! Loved this funky, spicy combination.



Szechuan Hot & Spicy wontons
A tasty dish but not as fiery as it was on my previous visit.



Szechuan Sea Cucumber
This dish helped me decide that I do not like sea cucumber.



Szechuan Green Beans
I love the dry style in which these tasty green beans are served.



Black Pepper Ribs
The ribs were quite tasty -- if not exactly spicy -- with a perfectly pleasant chew.



Lamb Twin Delights
It was unclear to me which preparation was which. One had cumin, the other had scallions. Both were tasty but neither one really blew me away.



Yu Shung Eggplant
I really enjoyed this sweet and mildy spicy preparation.



Chungdo Sauteed Szechuan Pork
Very tasty pork, served with chopped leeks.



Sweet Sour Fish
Probably my favorite dish of the meal. The fish was tender and delicious. The preparation was a little sweet with a slow-building punch of dead heat that followed the initial bites.



Sweet Potato Puff filled with Red Bean Paste
With the house's appreciation, fried sweet potato, filled with red bean paste and rolled in sesame seed.



Assortment of cookies baked by Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster was so kind to bring us this delicious platter of cookies, that she baked just for us. A great way to end the meal.

=R=

as usual, great photos ronnie !!