last night was alot of fun, thanks to all the organizers, restaurants, voters, nominators, and participants for all their hard work. Also the food was typical Sun Wah, great. I also enjoyed meeting some new people, and seeing some now familiar faces. Thanks again.

I was not ready to go home after the event, I had to walk down to The Green mill for a few PBR drafts before I was ready to head out of the city.

jman wrote:I really enjoyed dinner and meeting more LTH'ers. I have bent to the will of Nicinchic and Aschie30 and gotten my own screen name. Yea!

Welcome!

The dinner last night was great. I think the restaurateurs were genuinely pleased by the honor, even if some were wondering how long the evening was going to go. It is always great to see LTHers. Sun Wah did a fantastic job with the food that never seemed to stop coming out.

Many thanks to the GNR committee!

Some images from last night (with many more to come) . . .


GNR Czar David Dickson kicks off the evening by explaining what the GNRs are all about



Santander announces several of this year's newly-minted GNR recipients



Adam and Malaika from The Brown Sack receive their award from nominator ChristyP



JoelF praises Captain Porky's, while proprietor Dino looks on



LynnB presents a GNR certificate to the folks from Marie's Pizza



Mekato's Colombian Bakery receives their award from Mhays



G Wiv presents Mixteco Grill with their GNR certificate



Jim from Moon's Sandwich Shop receives his GNR award from the ubiquitous G Wiv



Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris from Prairie Grass Cafe receive their GNR certificate



Stevez presents the 2008 GNR Poster, which he created and distributed to last night's attendees



The Cheng family of Sun Wah BBQ, who put out a phenomenal meal last night (more on that later)

=R=

The GP wrote:

jman wrote:I really enjoyed dinner and meeting more LTH'ers. I have bent to the will of Nicinchic and Aschie30 and gotten my own screen name. Yea!

Welcome!

Ditto the welcome, jman!

Many thanks to the organizers last night. The evening went seamlessly and only an LTH event would serve non-stop as much food as was served last night @ Sun Wah.

Special thanks to stevez, for creating the limited edition GNR poster which all attendees received last night.

a big thanks to all of the dinner's organizers. I'm sure others will post details about the meal itself, which was indeed wonderful. What I marveled at more than anything else was how seamlessly and professionally the staff at this relatively humble restaurant served our large group. I haven't often received such outstanding service even at four and five star places. I'm on my seventh visit to Sun Wah, and I grow more and more enamored with the restaurant every time.

Kennyz wrote:a big thanks to all of the dinner's organizers. I'm sure others will post details about the meal itself, which was indeed wonderful. What I marveled at more than anything else was how seamlessly and professionally the staff at this relatively humble restaurant served our large group. I haven't often received such outstanding service even at four and five star places. I'm on my seventh visit to Sun Wah, and I grow more and more enamored with the restaurant every time.

I couldn't agree more. What a sensational dinner. In fact, it may have been the best meal I've ever had at Sun Wah, which is not something I was expecting, given the size of our group. But they definitely nailed it last night.

Here are a few more images from last night's event. I'm sorry about the less-than-great focus on some of the shots. I'm used to shooting food and with the exception of jello, most of it doesn't move. People are a bit trickier . . .


aschie30, nicinchic and spouse



The Captain Porky's family



Cathy2 and jimswside



Robyn, ChristyP and lemoneater (left to right)



dansch and BR (left to right)



The Figs, Justin and Molly



FrankP and Ms Wiv



GAF and tarte tatin (left to right)



glennpan and guest (left to right)



Mr. X and The GP (left to right)



gtomaras and guest (left to right)



Gypsy Boy and Lovely Dining Companion



Jazzfood (masquerading as The Chowpoodle)



Jefe and guest (left to right)



jimswside and jesteinf (left to right)



JoelF and Mrs. JoelF



Kennyz



LynnB and Jonathan (right to left)



The Mekato's contingency



Jim from Moon's Sandwich Shop



The team from Prairie Grass Cafe



Ramon



Adam and Malaika (The Brown Sack), LTH member Stagger and Sean (iirc?), also from The Brown Sack (left to right)

=R=

Last but not least, the actual meal, which was excellent, and as good as I've ever had at Sun Wah . . .



Pickles



Golden Marinated soybeans



Preserved Egg with Pickled Ginger



Buns with BBQ Pork, aka Laura Biting Mike



Rainbow Cominbation - Jellyfish (center), Brisket (left), Squid (right) and Ham Hock (bottom)



Roasted Baby Pig



Won Ton Soup



Citrus-Fried Chicken



Pork Belly (bone-in) and Butternut Squash



Crispy Chow Fun with BBQ Pork and Duck



Bok Choy Tips



Garlic-Fried Ribs



Pan-Fried Shrimp

Thanks to the entire Cheng family -- especially Laura -- for taking such good care of us last night.

=R=

It was a real privilege to be part of this event, and terrific to see the Brown Sack and all the other wonderful new GNRs recognized.

Thanks to those whose dedicated labor made this possible! Nice to put some faces to names as well.

Although I was fortunate enough to have a friend along for the ride, I want to give kudos to the LTH community for making even the solo diners--some of whom were newcomers--feel welcomed and at home. That's a real testament to the character of this group!

I suppose this is as good a place as any to add this reminder: though we are working on making sure each winner recieves its winners package, feel free to arrange a celebratory meal at one of the newly-designated GNRs on the events board.

Please remember if you do so, that our intent is to support the restaurant - so even though we hope to get an enthusiastic response, we don't want to imply that we are anything but happy, paying customers.

Just a fantastic dinner last night. Without a doubt the most food I've ever eaten at Sun Wah, and also the best. Highlights for me were the buns, the roasted baby pig, and the pan fried shrimp. If those shrimp weren't served last, I would have eaten far more than I was able to at the time.

Definitely a great time. Met new friends, got to honor Dino of Captain Porky's, great food.

I should probably post some of this under a real Sun Wah thread, but I wanted to talk a bit about the food: I'd never been before, and the great thing about an event like this is that we ate things I'd never have ordered. I got to add Cuttlefish and Jellyfish to the Animals I have Eaten list (the Jellyfish was probably the least animal-like animal I've ever eaten: it could have been a preserved vegetable from its flavor and texture), as well as the preserved egg -- things that I'd probably have said, "why bother" and now I can say, "eh, I had it, I don't need to again."

I loved the fact that almost every dish came with its own condiments. Having that variety of sauces around is a lot of fun (in fact, we were surprised the garlic spareribs didn't have a dipping sauce). Of the bunch, I loved their chili oil, the fresh chili soy and the scallion-citrus for the chicken a heck of a lot.

And the crispy noodles with pork -- oh, my, gawd. There's a rich, sticky flavor that only comes from slow-cooked pork fat, with a healthy (unhealthy?) umami level underneath it all. We took some of this home and I had it for lunch, and I should have cleaned the leftovers off ever platter I could find.

My biggest worry about this event is that a few years down the line, this will be some big media event, with radio, TV and newspaper reporters, 300 LTHers, and we get stuck holding it in some rubber-chicken banquet hall in order to have capacity. That's a scary thought.

Good to see you all again, sorry I won't see you at Chuck's for the LTH Holiday Party, but hope to see some of you on Jewish XMas Eve.

I can't add much to what's already been said above, but did want to express my "thanks" as well to all the organizers. We had a great time. I was so happy the Marie's people made it and that they were so enthusiastic. I hope to see the plaque and sticker in the restaurant soon. Steve - the poster is awesome! I also love that you numbered and signed them. Looking forward to Chuck's! -Lynn & Jonathan

JoelF wrote:as well as the preserved egg -- things that I'd probably have said, "why bother" and now I can say, "eh, I had it, I don't need to again."

Joel,

Preserved egg with pickled ginger was one of the best bite combinations I've had in weeks, rich soft yielding yolk, crunchy tart snap of ginger, it really tripped my trigger.

The event was a joy, a seamless evening filled with good food, friends and the distinct pleasure of showing newly minted GNRs some well deserved love.

A lot of work and effort went into the evening, with GNR Czar Dickson keeping a dinner party worth of plates spinning, Steve Z putting together his amazing GNR poster, Ronnie_S taking his usual Time Life, or maybe it should be National Geographic, quality pictures and Mhays, Santander and Ramon, plus Ronnie_S and Steve Z, accomplishing a myriad of GNR related efforts making it all possible. Thanks, of course, to all the LTHers who participated with nominations and interesting spirited discussion. A real team effort

Looking forward to the LTHForum Holiday Party on 12/6.

Enjoy,
Gary