Congrats N&E !!!

Well, audience, there are weddings--and then there are WEDDINGS. My friends N&E got married this weekend, and it was definitely THE BASH of 2009. Guys, I'll be seeing you in January's copy of InStyle (no, seriously). Congrats again, it was a beautiful day. Now, the food!

Pelican Hill, Orange County's biggest most newly remodeled resort, is known for quality banquet dining. They did not disappoint. This was my favorite dish of the night: prawns in coconut curry soup. The prawns were plated on a bundle of noodles, and then waiters with oversized silver tureens of soup came to each table and ladled steaming soup into each bowl. Lovely presentation and service.

Salad with Asian pears and roast tomatoes. This was so incredibly refreshing after a weekend of eating out. But since a salad is just a salad, I'll take a moment to mention that all this food came after a lengthy and impressive cocktail hour (during which I was too cold to remember my camera!) Highlights for me were the grape soju-tinis and crab salads on little spoons. There was also some great truffled mac n' cheese, carpaccio, seared tuna, fruit and cheese, guacamole and dip, a trio of water dispensers flavored with different fruit, and free flowing alcohol.

Entree time! We had seared duck with mole, green beans in a little house kimchi, and a bowl of dashi broth with sea bass and bok choy. Can you guess that the bride and groom come from a big mix of backgrounds? The chef did a great job of melding Asian and Latin flavors. And we really enjoyed all the Riojas!

There were two choices of cake: lemon or chocolate with raspberry filling. I definitely preferred the lemon, which I kept stealing off J's plate. And that leaf? It's white chocolate!

He stuck me with the chocolate, which was fine but not as amazing as the lemon. Maybe I just wanted zingy flavors after a long day, or maybe the tanginess of the jam threw me off. Still, any complaints I had about it were minor. After a long day of bridesmaiding (yup, I made my big bridesmaid debut) I ate every last bite.

The wedding was an incredible way to kick off the holiday season. I think the bride and groom must still be off somewhere recovering, but congrats you guys! Good job, happy holidays, I'm so happy for you, and I'll see you soon.