Saturday, 10 September 2011

• Starters: A Great Way to Begin a Dining Experience

  

  Almost every restaurant I've been to or go to, I always order an appetizers with either my boyfriend or my friends. A friend once asked, "What do you think about appetizers? Why do you like them?"

  My answer to this question was that: I love appetizers because they're inexpensive and a great way to start off a meal with people you may be dining with. I feel appetizers are little samples that you can try and get a sense of the kind of cuisine and cooking style the restaurant has to offer.

  I've posted up a post called: My Strange Obsession For Fried Calamari and stated that fried calamari is one of my favorite appetizers to order no matter if I'm eating in the restaurant or ordering take-out. However, fried calamari is not the only appetizer I order at restaurants. There are many others that I would love to share with you.

  

  Vietnamese Spring Rolls: Vietnamese Cuisine is one of my favorite cuisines. Whenever I'm eating Vietnamese food with my boyfriend, we tend to get Vietnamese spring rolls. It's became a very popular appetizer that many people order in Vietnamese restaurants. The Vietnamese rolls contains grounded pork inside the rolls with bits of carrot. I'm not sure what they season the meat with, but it tastes just great!

  Basically, you break a piece of romaine lettuce and place the roll inside the piece of the lettuce, roll it up an dip it into the sweet fish sauce that's provided. The first bite into a Vietnamese spring roll is quite extraordinary because of the crunchiness and delightful taste and filling inside the spring roll.

  

  Roti Canai: Roti Canai is like a must-have at any Malaysian restaurant. It's always listed as "#1" on many of the Malaysian restaurants I've been to. Roti Canai is an Indian Pancake that's dipped into a spicy curry sauce that's usually accompanied with potatoes or piece of chicken in the sauce. This appetizer is inexpensive and usually costing about $3-$5.

  

  Lobster Salad with Mixed Fruits: This is a very expensive, but a divine appetizer usually served in Chinese banquet dinners for birthdays or weddings. I love this appetizer because the sweet mayonnaise that the restaurant uses goes perfectly well with the lobster meat. The lobster meat is blanched which tastes pretty good than stir-fried. I also love that apples, honeydew, cantaloupe, shredded lettuce, and maraschino cherries are all included in this awesome dish!

  

  Firecracker Salmon: Over the summer my boyfriend, friends, and I went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and one of the appetizers we started off with was this firecracker salmon.  I normally don't order appetizers with fish in it, but this was an item ordered by one of my friends.

  The firecracker salmon was flavorful and I love that this dish, the  colors is just so vibrant! The firecracker salmon is a spiced fresh salmon rolled in spinach and fried in a fried wrapper and served with a sweet hot chili sauce.

  

  Curry Fish balls: This is an inexpensive appetizer that I love ordering in Chinese restaurants. However, not all Chinese restaurants have curry fish balls. I often find them in the much newer Chinese restaurants that serve  Western cuisine. I think curry fish balls is probably one of the most delicious Chinese appetizer because it's fried and drenched in creamy curry sauce. I don't think you can go wrong with that.

  I've tried a lot of appetizers from many different restaurants, but I always seek to try more. I feel appetizers are a wonderful menu item to have especially because it's small, inexpensive, and plus if your in a mood for something light or small - appetizers are the way to go!

  Do you have any favorite appetizers?

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