the random oracle

So BCG arrived in Beijing two days ago and I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with him, AH, one of AH’s friends, and AH’s mom at this restaurant called Jasmine.  I hadn’t had any fine dining experiences in Beijing yet (at least not by fancy Western standards) so this was my first.  The presentation was, as to be expected, fantastic, and the restaurant’s decor was beautiful.  The dishes were served mostly Western-style (i.e. individual plates), although a few were family style.  The baked (or broiled?) cod was delicious, and the fried rice was very good too, with a little bit of 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine) mixed in.  But the coup de grâce was surely the dessert.  We each got our own, and mine was this amazing sweet sticky rice dumpling in coconut milk with almond flavoring, served in the actual coconut itself.  It came out steaming with smoke, like a vision out of a gastronomist’s dream… the photo doesn’t do it justice I’m afraid.