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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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Is there anything more satisfying than home made #chinesepancake and Vietnamese crispy #porkbelly? I stuffed my pancake with leek purée & chives to add more flavor & texture than just chives. Can you see the flakes of the pancake? To die for. And I have perfected the art of crisping the pork belly skin yet still leave the meat moist & tender. Wish you could hear the crunch from the crispy skin. This dish is my guilty pleasure.

What an honor to meet and listen to Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa to speak about his journey of crossing the Mexican border fence in 1987 at the age of 19 to come to the U.S., penniless with no documents and unable to speak English, to becoming one of the most celebrated brain surgeons in the country. Dr. Q., a nickname affectionately given by his patients, began his life in the U.S. by working in fields picking cotton, tomatoes, grapes, and cantaloupe, as well as welding and painting to earn enough money to pay for his tuition at a community college, where he studied English and joined the debate team to practice his communication skills. He then received a scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley, three years later that led to Harvard Medical School and eventually, to prestigious positions at Johns Hopkins and now, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, specializing in brain cancer and pituitary tumors. Dr. Q is not only chair of the Department of Neurologic Surgery but also spearheading NIH-funded research to cure brain cancer. He became a U.S. citizen along the way and, for a long time, didn't share publicly about his roots. “I knew the stereotype and the way people felt sometimes about people like me who came from humble beginnings,

Vietnamese #bunchagio is a traditional #hanoi dish of fried #imperialrolls #vermicellisalad served in a bowl with fresh veggies. Sometimes grilled pork is added but I served mine without. And the fresh herbs are all mixed with the lettuce, carrots & #beansprouts salad, with a sugarcane nuoc cham vinaigrette. So good you forget it’s a #salad

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about the Congaree & Penn farm dinners and finally was able to experience it last night. With a giant dome-like high ceiling overlooking a breathtaking view of a giant peaceful green field, no wonder Congaree & Penn is the most popular destination for weddings, farm dinners, tours and workshops. ..
Congaree and Penn started out in 2014 as a tiny rice farm. Since then, they have expand their orchard and pressing and milling operations. When the weather is nice, visitors could see rice paddies, muscadine grape vines, with the largest (and youngest) Mayhaw orchard in the world (after planting over 5,000), and thousands of honey bees. They also raise chickens, goats, and guinea fowls. In 2016, they started to juice seasonal fruit from local farms to produce shrubs, to honor a Colonial era pastime. The farm promotes seed to mouth and field to fork, with a strive to share an “ethic of environmental stewardship and sustainability, exemplified in our farming practices.”
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With an increased interest in where our food comes from, Congaree & Penn’s Farmers Dinners, sponsored by @edibleneflorida, are the hottest tickets in town where innovative, unpretentious multi-course dinners cooked by local celebrated chefs are shared by strangers waiting to become friends. The live guitar playing and singing in the background only added to the perceived romance of dining barn-style at the farm. But the highlight of the eve was when Sean gave us a private tour of the kitchen and explained their processes. Despite the pouring rain at the beginning, the magical evening had us at the flowing lemongrass Moscow mules and local beer flights upon arrival. The magical evening started out with two apps: delicious beet poke on Jupiter rice cracker & kombu miso butter, and qguachille shrimp with coconut cornmeal hoecake. The menu continued with hurricane popcorn, abodo carrots & cauliflower, peas & rice, callaloo greens, jerk rubbed fresh catch, and ending with a sinful chocolate tahini tart. Everything was super fresh, unique, and delicious by chef Genie McNally. Now we can’t wait to visit her “Floridian” restaurant in St. Augustine.

I challenged myself and made vegan #bánhcuốn, a Vietnamese dish originating from Northern Vietnam, made from a thin sheet of steamed fermented rice batter, usually filled with a mixture of sauteed ground pork, minced wood ear, and shallots. To make vegan #banhcuon , I made my filing with a veg coulis (of mushrooms, leek purée, and cabbage). My #nuoccham is made of #veganfishsauce. Yes it’s actually a thing, made mostly of mushroom extract, and it tastes just like regular fish sauce. Pickled brunoised yellow radish added color and a bit of tartness to create that five-elements of balance in Vietnamese food (sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, salty). I didn’t have fresh Asian herbs on hand but we normally eat this dish with Thai basil, mint, or bean sprouts. If I may say so myself, vegan banh cuon is delish. Also, I took the left over veg from the filling, added carrots and puréed into Vichyssoise soup. In my household, we never throw food away. Left over ingredients are made into another dish. Maybe this is why our tiny country with only three regions has turned out thousands of delicious dishes. When a country is poor, it is forced to be creative in developing dishes from every part of each veg and every part of an animal. Scarcity promotes creativity. As a chef, it helps to have that mentality- that a lack, not an abundance, of resources elicits creativity. Believe it or not, abundance sometimes promotes laziness and wastefulness. #wastenot #nowastefood #nowastechef #vegan #veganvietnamese #vegetarian #vegetarianfood #creativechef

My #vday menu mi casa: #shrimptoast with red radish rose, and #surfnturf: Pittsburgh steak with seafood risotto and blackened okra. Apologies to vegetarians out there, but steak is the most perfect food of all.

Happy eating or cooking on V day. It’s always about the food.

Ever wonder how does a restaurant get a #michelinstar? I’m no expert but having experienced many #michelinmeals all over the world, one thing for certain is that it’s not just about the food. In fact, I’m not even sure if I loved all the dishes at one-Michelin-starred #kiyamakyoto. However, it remains 1 of the most unforgettable meals with which techniques I was thoroughly impressed. First, let’s start with the service. I’m not sure if chef Kiyama personally serves his two-hour meal to all his customers himself, but we enjoyed the special treatment too much to question. When we were greeted by a nice young chef who led to a private, minimalist, wood-based nine-seater counter table, we didn’t know that it was chef Yoshiro Kiyama who greeted & served us until we asked for his name. The major thing that sets this place apart from all the abundance of kaiseki restaurants in #Kyoto is the fact that it situates on top of a well that stores the same stream course as the water used by the Imperial Palace, the same naturally soft water used in chef Kiyama’s speciality, dashi. Now we’ve had #bonitoflakes (aka #katsuobushi) many times before but never freshly shaven ones, then tossed into a #kombu kelp stock and strained to make #dashi, all in front of us. When you start with premium bonito, the best natural water, using the most authentic technique, it’s a winning formula for the most delicious, flavorful dashi that one can’t get anywhere else. Kaiseki is considered the most refined of #japanesecuisines so it was quite an education for us experience it properly, not just with the food but presentation and dishware, as many of these are antiques from China’s Ming Dynasty and Japan’s Edo Period, carefully selected to complement the composition of each dish. Every Michelin restaurant has a unique story, and always with a person behind it- not investors or a conglomerate of financial backers, but a real person. Kiyama has it all: food, concept, presentation, ingredients, setting, service, uniqueness, and a compelling story from the chef himself. No wonder Kiyama received a star the first year of operation, almost unheard of.

What’s the chance of being in Aspen to snowboard and discovered a popup dinner by a Sweden #michelinstarred chef happening at the same time? We were lucky to have scored a reservation at this one-night only event before it was sold out the next day, and even luckier when we found out we shared table with both the venue’s resident chef’s and the guest chef’s beautiful families. Held in a cozy private dining room of the gorgeous #element47 restaurant, the evening was the highlight of our trip, as we not only had the most exquisite meal but such a wonderful time getting to know both chefs’ lovely wives and daughters. Chef @hakanthornstrom of @thornstromskok in #göteborg won

Yesterday I received a DM that I had to share, from someone I met in NYC who was working on opening up a modern Vietnamese/French restaurant. He’s been DM me on his restaurant concept, and yesterday offered me an executive chef position at his new restaurant (the 2nd time this happened since I became a popup dinner chef). It was very flattering how he “gets” my food. .
At this point in my life, I don’t think I can handle the high pressure, high pace restaurant environment full time. I’m grateful to be able to create well-thought out popup dinners while traveling the world for exceptional food experiences. But the other part of my goal is to help “potential” modern Vietnamese/Asian restaurants to reach the acclaim level that they deserve. Even my business card says “chef & consultant” because in addition to hosting popup dinners, I want to help other Vietnamese restaurants that have what it takes to take it to the next level, but just don’t know how. .
As I travel the globe, it frustrates me to see so many excellent Vietnamese restaurants that could receive proper recognition had they known which areas and how to improve. Having owned a marketing company for over 15 years, I know it’s not just about excellent food (but also about concept, menu development, quality ingredients, presentation, marketing, element of surprises, story telling) to bring a restaurant to the ultimate level of respect, even Michelin Star’s. Having a star isn’t everything, and I’ve been to places that may not deserve theirs. But recognition like this gives instant respect and notoriety like nothing else. I’m interested in putting these Vietnamese restaurants/chefs with “potential” on the map and bringing them to the level of global stardom that they deserve, one by one.

What a beautiful day to visit the #farmersmarket and lunch at @Empanada.Factory for some authentic Argentinian baked #empanadas , #churrasco steak, and #lomosaltado. Yes they have a lot more than just empanadas. They should bottle their #chimichurri sauce and sell them. (Well, they are actually working on it). The food remind us of our Bueno Aires and Havana trips a few years back. It’s local eats from the ethnic diversity of our immigrant communities that enrich the culture and dining scene of our city.

“Cha ca” (turmeric dill fish) originated in Ha Noi, Vietnam 130 years ago when the Doan family invented the dish made of fish marinated with turmeric, dill, garlic, shallots, galangal (similar to ginger root), salt, sugar and fish sauce. Since then it’s become Ha Noi’s most famous dish, and can now be found in many restaurants along Cha Ca street. There are even modern versions of the dish at contemporary restaurants in Vietnam. I love the flavor of cha ca but never cared for its greasiness from the excessive use of oil to fry the fish at tableside. My version is baked fish which I prefer because it’s tastier, cleaner, and healthier. Here is my own interpretation of cha ca, in a taco shell that I made with mandolin-slices of taro roots, which stays crispy for a long time when fried. The micro watercress, radish, pickled Korean daikon, purple cabbage, jalapeño, and sriracha aioli make the dish even more delicious. #mymuybuenochefs
#chefsgossips #army_of_chefs #professionalchefs #foodartchefs #gastroart #highendchefs #chefsalert #cookniche #theartofplating #thebestchefawards #chefstalk #chefsofinstagram #chefstime #asianchefs #vietnamesechef #vietchef #jaxchef #jaxchefs #jacksonvillechefs #jacksonvillechef #gourmetchef #gourmetchefs #asianchef #asianchefs #highendchefs #discoveringchefs #fishdish #chaca #thetastecurator #tastecurator

I haven’t had #sapote in decades; come to think of it, not since our fam fled Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. But I remember as a kid, I used to eat tons of sapote, loved its sweetness and smooth custard texture. Still, I don’t get how it’s also called “Asian chocolate pudding” fruit. It tastes more like yellow kiwi, same sweetness, juicy-ness, soft consistency, and simply delicious. Sapote is in season now so you can find it at most Asian grocery stores. They are sold hard but leave them out for a couple days until they are soft & ripe to enjoy. #asianfruit #asianfruits #exoticfruit #exoticfruits #chocolatepuddingfruit #deliciousfruit

The exceptional tasting menu and impeccable service from @zerogeorgest restaurant in #Charleston caught us completely by surprise. Not only the food was unlike any southern foods we’ve ever had before, but we were transported to another time the moment we stepped into its beautiful Old World courtyard of Zero George hotel- named by @condenast as one of the Top 5 #FoodieHotel in the World and one of The #BestFoodHotels in the Country by @foodnetwork.
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But it was their super delicious and creative dishes crafted by Executive Chef Vinson Petrillo that impressed us the most. Using the freshest ingredients burst with umami flavors, every single course was well executed- a perfect balance of fine dining meets subtle southern flavors. We had the Chef's #tastingmenu that began with four kinds of what our server called “snacks” but more like “gourmet winning bites” to us: the most delicious and beautifully presented #amusebouche. See that mini potted plant? It’s made of stems of heirloom red radish buried under goat cheese topped with crispy quinoa. How charming is that? Then came sea trout fried like a fish stick with fresh cream and yuzu, which was even more heavenly when chef Vinson added an abundant of freshly shaved truffle just for our table. What an unexpected treat! Next came flavorful tilefish wrapped in cabbage, yellow wine and potato. Our last dish was the best venison I’ve ever had even though I’m normally not a big fan of venison. Don’t get me started on the wine pairings- spectacular. The grand finale had our eyes closed while murmuring “hmm” the whole time: sinfully chocolate tart and amazing tres leches of honeycomb and young coconut. Thank you chef @vpetrillo for an #unforgettablemeal and first-class southern hospitality.

It’s no secret that I love Vietnamese food. I have different expectations for those shabby shacks with low plastic chairs than nicer Vietnamese restaurants where wines are served. For the latter, I must say I was often disappointed at how little thought they put into garnishing and plating their dishes. I remember a few years ago our friends took us to what they claimed as the hottest Vietnamese eatery in SoCal at the moment, a “secret” restaurant hidden behind another American restautant that unless you’re “in the know”, you wouldn’t know about it. The food was delicious, but I noticed every dish that came out was garnished the same way with a few sprigs of cilantro on top. That’s it. Really? The food ain’t cheap and the owners obviously put a lot of thought into its impressive decors of vintage, tasteful Vietnamese ornaments, with elegant dishware, yet they seemed to put NO thought into their food presentation. It’s a shame because the food was tasty, but we could find at least a dozen equally good, but less expensive, Vietnamese food all over SoCal. .
So if we’re going to spend a little more money to go to a more sophisticated joint, it makes sense to expect a little effort in plating the food, right? After all, we eat with our eyes, and I happen to believe that thoughtful food presentation enhances the whole meal experience. It can be as simple as using colorful vegetables or beautiful microgreens as garnishes. Or if you’re as obsessed as I am with food presentation, you would continue to push the envelop with different garnishing ideas such as this one: using a silicone mold with leek paste, dehydrated and deep fried. Delicious. Plating is like doing arts & craft with food, so we cooks should have fun plating every dish. Practice makes perfect. Microgreen @gyogreens.
#popupchef #jaxchef #jaxchefs #jacksonvillechefs #jacksonvillechef #gourmetchef #gourmetchefs #highendchefs #DiscoveringChefs #mymuybuenochefs
#chefsgossips #army_of_chefs #professionalchefs #foodartchefs #gastroart #highendchefs #chefsalert #cookniche #theartofplating #thebestchefawards #chefstalk #chefsofinstagram #chefstime #chefselection #foodinfluencer
#restaurantbarworld

I just love the look of bạc hà, a Vietnamese plant that’s lightweight like styrofoam but beautifully porous. Due to its bland taste, it would soak up liquid and flavors like a sponge, and therefore best found in classic Vietnamese soup like Canh chua, where each bite into the #bacha slices bursts with savory broth. I want to experiment different ways to use “bạc hà” in cocktails, dashi, baked clams, ramen, any dishes with a delicious broth or loose sauce that can be soaked up by the spongy bac ha. Just look at its beautiful pores. How can you not be in awe of the natural beauty of #plants? It’s called “Bặc hà” in southern Vietnam; “dọc mùng

I plate according to my mood, and lately I feel like a mad woman. Doesn’t my miso #lambchop with pancetta #englishpeas and #millefeuille potato look like I’m going crazy with all my #garnishes? (Microgreens by @gyogreens)

One of my fave classic Vietnamese dishes to make: crab cellophane noodle. So light but full of umami. Taste best when you make it yourself. But if you can’t, the next best thing is order it at @slanteddoor if you’re ever in SF
#crabnoodle #crabnoodles #vietnamesefood #vietnamesefoods #asianchef #asianchefs #vietnamesechef #vietchef #jaxchefs #jacksonvillechefs #jacksonvillechef #gourmetchef #gourmetchefs #asianchef #asianchefs #highendchefs #discoveringchefs #foodartchefs #gastroart #highendchefs #chefsalert #cookniche #theartofplating #thebestchefawards #chefstalk #chefsofinstagram #chefstime #chefselection #foodinfluencer

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