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Taste Curator

904-290-6924 | mimi@tastecurator.com

PO Box 2922
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32204

130 Corridor Rd # 2922
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32204

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I can’t pick out the pièce de résistance dish because they were all pièces de résistance. But the ultimate icing on the cake was when they brought out the bill, and we realized that gratuity was already included in the cost of the meal. As we were leaving, we were shocked to realize we had been there for 4 hours; time flies when you’re having fun indeed. It’s been almost a week since our exquisite dinner at EMP and we are still high from it. Yes it was an expensive meal but for us, it was a priceless experience that can’t be quantified by the cost. We are what you would call part of the “experience economy”, who are spending more on doing stuff and cutting back on buying stuff. We love to travel and eat well because special experiences like these give us intangible value: beautiful memories to last a lifetime.

The highlight of the evening was midway through the meal, when we were given a glimpse of EMP’s newly remodeled kitchen, a massive operation full of gorgeous modern, state of the art stainless steel. We stood behind this counter away from all the preparation of the food, where one of the chefs gave us a molecular gastronomy tasting of yummy mini icicles rolled in snowflakes. We even got pictures taken with the chef de Cuisine Dmitri Magi (while executive chef Daniel Humm was away working on opening up another restaurant) #worlds50best #worlds50bestrestaurants #michelindinner #newyorkfoodie #neeyorkfoodies #foodies #amazingmeals #foodiesofinstagram #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #forkyeah #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #tastecurator #thetastecurator #rockstarchef #michelinstarchef #bestfinedining #nycfinedining #elevenmadisonpark #chefdanielhumm #makeitnice

Next came a series of desserts starting with triple crème in brioche with cherry and basil crème fraiche. Then chocolate sorbet with shortbread and coffee meringue. Then a pleasant surprise, a bottle of complementary apple brandy was placed on our table (which my husband enjoyed the most), along with a sexy tree of hanging chocolate covered pretzels. This dinner had way more than the supposedly 10-course tasting menu. Just when we thought the showstopper was over, then came a gift bag with a jar of gourmet granola for each of us to take home, with a separate tin can that stored a print out menu (with the bday girl’s version included a bday wish). Wow, talk about details! #worlds50best #worlds50bestrestaurants #michelindinner #newyorkfoodie #neeyorkfoodies #foodies #amazingmeals #foodiesofinstagram #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #forkyeah #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #tastecurator #thetastecurator #rockstarchefs #chefdanielhumm #bestfinedining #elevenmadisonpark #gourmetdesserts #makeitnice

4th course was another beautifully presented dish, seared fois gras done to perfection complemented by paper-thin slices of plum and duck prosciutto. I chose my 5th course to be striped bass (while the rest of my fam chose lobster) that looked like a beautiful painting, with cucumber and lovage. Our 6th course was another showstopper, as our server pulled up a cart where he grilled skewers of snails with chanterelles and onion. Our 7th course was delicious melt-in-my-mouth dry-aged ribeye with grilled red peppers. Next came luscious creamed corn with juniper and grated egg yolk, with a generous side of mint & lemon zucchini #worlds50best #worlds50bestrestaurants #michelindinner #newyorkfoodie #neeyorkfoodies #foodies #amazingmeals #foodiesofinstagram #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #tastecurator #thetastecurator #elevenmadisonpark #rockstarchef #chefdanielhumm #foisgras #duckprosciutto #grilledsnails #makeitnice

As we sat down, a yummy amuse-bouche awaited us: a box of black & white cookies with cheddar apple. Our 1st course came quickly, a gorgeous tomato tea in a Japanese tea bowl with an elegant, tiny bundle of summer herb, served with crispy dosa with goat cheese & green tomato. Next came the best tomato salad I’ve ever had. Each tomato was peeled by hand to leave a silky texture that melted in my mouth, complemented by cherries and spheres of strawberries. 3rd course was a sweet corn soufflé with caviar and bonito on top, which we really enjoyed watching them assemble at our table (and enjoyed eating them even more) #worlds50best #worlds50bestrestaurants #michelindinner #newyorkfoodie #neeyorkfoodies #foodies #amazingmeals #foodiesofinstagram #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #forkyeah #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #tastecurator #thetastecurator #rockstarchef #chefdanielhumm #elevenmadisonpark #dosa #tomatosalad #cornsouffle #makeitnice

Having eaten at many Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, I must say our expectations are way up there, esp for Eleven Madison Park, which ranked last year as no. 1 of @theworlds50best restaurants. So of course we were super excited to have scored a hard-to-get reservation to celebrate our daughter’s 21st bday. In a nutshell, it was a life-changing dining experience that has raised the bar of our expectations even higher for the rest of Michelin-starred restaurants. Not only EMP’s food was out of this world delicious, but the presentation was on point and execution was perfection. What also impressed us was that although EMP has three Michelin stars but the place didn’t feel stuffy (unlike this other one-Michelin-starred place, which shall remain nameless, that we hated because their servers were so snooty and pretentious). The moment we entered, we were greeted by a group of friendly staff. As we walked into the dining room, we were impressed by the elegant decors, architecture and high ceiling. EMP was all about details, as its staff spent the time to get to know its customers beforehand. It seemed everyone knew about Kellie’s bday and showered her with attention #worlds50best #worlds50bestrestaurants #michelindinner #newyorkfoodie #neeyorkfoodies #foodies #amazingmeals #foodiesofinstagram #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #forkyeah #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #tastecurator #thetastecurator #elevenmadisonpark #elevenmadisonparknyc #rockstarchef #rockstarchefs #chefdanielhumm #makeitnice

Delicious lunch @SzechuanMountainHouse: Pork ribs clay pot and thin sliced pork belly in chili oil. Mental note: gotta come back to try more interesting dishes on the menu #newforkcity #nycfood #topnycrestaurants #topcitybites #tasteofny #nycfoodchaser #forkyeah #buzzfeast #eatingnyc #nycfoodie #nycdining #f52grams #bestfoodny #timeoutnewyork #nyeats #nyrestaurants #asiancuisine #asiancuisines #foodlover #foodpics #exoticfood #exoticfoods #asianfood #asianfoods #tastecurator #thetastecurator #asiangourmet #porkbelly #claypot

HAD to stop by @LeVainbakery for their famous chocolate chips cookie. The line was long, so while my fam stood in line, I crossed the street for Récolte bakery and got matcha brioche, matcha croissant, and matcha canelé, so we could munch on while standing in line at LeVain. LV is a tiny place with only a few selections of cookies, and barely standing-room-only for about 10 people to order, pay, get your cookies & leave. But wow, the multiple ovens are right behind them and cookies are made fresh constantly. So our cookies were still hot and gooey when we stood outside their store to enjoy them like everybody else #bestcookies #levainbakery #levaincookies #levainbakerynyc #matchabrioche #canele

This place was a little hard to find because it was inside a mini mall, but worth the trouble. Their lamb soup dumplings were just the right size and SO juicy. Their spicy beef rainbow pan fried dumplings were not bad either. #nyeats #nyrestaurants #asiancuisine #asiancuisines #foodlover #foodpics #exoticfood #exoticfoods #asianfood #asianfoods #tastecurator #thetastecurator #asiangourmet #soupdumplings #soupdumpling #rainbowdumplings #lambdumplings #bestsoupdumplings #bestsoupdumplings

Sauté Chinese cauliflower (my fave dish here, so delicious) and thousand layer pancake (good but a little greasy) at @Alley41 #nyeats #nyrestaurants #asiancuisine #asiancuisines #foodlover #foodpics #exoticfood #exoticfoods #asianfood #asianfoods #tastecurator #thetastecurator #cauliflower #chinesepancake #chinesepancakes #asianpancake #alley41 #flushingeats #nyceatery #nyceats #nyceat #nyceating #nyeat

Xi’an spicy cumin lamb noodle, burger & dumplings really hit the spot. Food trends may come and go but simple, authentic, delicious foods are here to stay #xianfamousfoods #xiannoodles #cuminlamb #nyceats #nyceat #asianfoodnyc #bestasianfood #bestasianfoodever #bestchinesefood

I cook from scratch for my family almost everyday, and believe it or not, I can make something different every single day for everyday of the year, and still not run out of dishes to make. But on the other hand, I go through phases, esp when I’m fine tuning a recipe, where I would make a dish over & over again. Lately I’ve been into the green flat rice (cốm) phase where I found myself making fried shrimp using this cốm ingredient often. I’ll get sick of it soon but for now, I’m obsessed with this dish, and I finally figured out how the color green from the cốm would stay green after frying for more than a minute without having to butterfly the shrimp, or use any food color. Boom!

Today I craved for spicy braised cumin lamb stuffed baked buns so I made some. I added chopped bok choi & scallions to have some vegs in them. They were so delicious, if I may say so. I made my dough thinner on purpose because my husband and I are trying to cut down on carbs #stuffedbun #stuffedbuns #bakedbuns #bakedbun #bakedbao #cuminlamb #bao #bakedbun #bakedbuns #tastecurator #thetastecurator
#chinesebao #chinesebun #chinesebuns #homechef #homechefs #popupchef #professionalchefs #professionalchef #asianfoodmedia

So here is the end product of my 2 steps dish that I posted a couple days before: hot pot. It’s all about the broth for me, so the first step was to simmer a bunch of veggies and chicken backs for my broth. Then after straining everything for the clearest broth possible, I threw in tied stalks of scallion, lemongrass, dry Szechuan peppers, slices of pineapple, sugar snap peas, star anise, black peppercorns before boiling again from the hot pot. The rest depends on what I had in my fridge at the moment to cook at the table: bok choi, tofu, mushroom, Thai basil, raw shrimp, mung bean noodle, boiled quail eggs, and fish sauce for seasoning. This pot is going to last me until at least tomorrow. BTW, thanks everybody for trying to guess my dish before, you guys were close though, although no winner :) #veggies #vegetablebroth #chickenveggiesoup #soupbroth #homemadebroth #brothfromscratch #healthyvietnamesefood #vietcooking #vietcook #vietchef #vietnamesecooking #vietnamesechef #foodie #foodies #gourmetasianfoods #tastecurator #thetastecurator #homechef #homechefs #homechefmeals #hotpot #hotpot🍲 #hotpots #vietnamesehotpot #hotpotsoup

Technically, I didn’t cook this steak but I did season it, made the sides and did the plating. But it was my husband who made our steaks perform in our mouths like a delicious symphony. Ever since he got the @biggreenegg (thanks to our friend @cooktechnology for introducing it to us), he has become this master griller that would rival @bobbyflaysteak. Omg, every bite of this tender & flavorful #steak was like Mozart in my mouth, especially with a glass of #malbec. And now that I am done gushing about the masterpiece, here comes the supporting roles: roasted #squash rose twirl, fried quail egg on #portobello, roast #asparagus, honey roasted #carrot, steak sauce and @b_and_d_sauceco in banana shallot #steakmeal #beststeak #beststeakever #bananashallots #jaxgourmet #jacksonvillefoodie #jacksonvillefoodies foodiesofjacksonville
#jaxgourmet #gourmetjax #jaxchef #jaxchefs #jacksonvillechefs #jacksonvillechef #tastecurator #thetastecurator #artofplating #artofplatingfood

Guess what I’m making? Tons of veggies and chicken backs went into this crockpot to simmer overnight, and came this naturally savory, delicious broth. But this is step one of my two-steps dish. Guess what is my end product? #veggies #vegetablebroth #chickenveggiesoup #soupbroth #homemadebroth #brothfromscratch

One of my fave ways to make tofu is similar to agadashi tofu (cut into cubes, then lightly dredge them before flash deep frying), but season with salt & white pepper before dredging then top with crispy shallots, garlic chips, and bonito flakes to make Salt & Pepper tofu (well the bonito flakes are just my own addition to this traditional Chinese dish). This dish will turn anyone into a tofu lover #homechef #homechefs #popupchef #gourmetchef #gourmetchefs #asianchef #asianchefs #vietnamesechef #highendchefs #tofurecipes #asiantofu #vietnamesefood #vietnamesefoods #saltpeppertofu #saltandpeppertofu #friedtofu

This is our go-to place for authentic Vietnamese food whenever I don’t feel like cooking. It’s the only place in Jax where you can get “banh cuon”, a traditional Northern Vietnamese dish of rice roll with minced pork & woodear, a little time consuming to make. They also have the best “banh xeo”, a Vietnamese savory crepe with shrimp and bean sprouts to be eaten with fresh herbs. Their spring rolls & “bun thit nuong” (chargrilled pork over vermicelli) are pretty yummy too #gourmetjax #jaxgourmet #jaxdining #eatjax #nomnomjax #folioweekly #eatdrinkjax #ilovejax #jacksonville #jackaboutjax #jacksonvillefoodies #jacksonvillefoodie #foodiesofjacksonville #edibleneflorida #jacksonvillemagazine #eatjax #wheretoeatjax

Haven’t been back to #ElevenSouthBistro in a while and it was as good as we remembered. The service is always great and so close to us, we should visit more often. Great times with friends last night #gourmetjax #jaxgourmet #jaxdining #eatjax #nomnomjax #folioweekly #eatdrinkjax #ilovejax #jacksonville #jackaboutjax #jacksonvillefoodies #jacksonvillefoodie #foodiesofjacksonville #edibleneflorida #jacksonvillemagazine #eatjax #eatjaxbeach #jaxbeach #jaxbeaches #wheretoeatjax

I haven’t made crab cake in a while but this is one of my fave recipes, by a good friend who made it for us years ago and I was so impressed that I asked for the recipe, which she gladly shared. But I put a twist on it this time, with a layer of crispy green rice cốm, served with lightly seared scallop, pickled courgette, shaved roasted asparagus, and saffron butter aioli #foodforfoodies #foodie #foodies #gourmetfood #tastecurator #thetastecurator #homechef #homechefs #homechefmeals #chefsrecipe #gourmetrecipes #crabcake #greenricecom #searedscallop #courgette #saffronaioli

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