Romance and Devilish Debauchery Ensue At The Shangri-La Hotel’s Restaurant
Valentine’s Day weekend has always helped put a little extra romance into the air. My adventures started Friday following a few of my favorite sinners, Duke DuRock and Upper Hands, around the City of Angels to investigate the insane minds of the collective known as The Crystal Method. The energy that these two monsters of electronica exuded made me realize that I was going to be in store for a weekend of delicious debauchery. While Friday definitely awoke the beast in me, Saturday, that very same monster wanted nothing more than to lovingly play along with the beautiful freaks found at the amorous and adventurous Lucent L'Amour Festival. Now “amour,” as some of you might know, means love - and love was definitely on the menu for my weekend.
But Sunday was the true day for sharing and showing it. After all the dirty dancing and mind expansion, I was absolutely famished. I hungered to celebrate my Valentine’s Day with a delicious dinner in good company with the woman I love. Only this could completely satiate the true beast within. My plight was answered accordingly by the Shangri-La Hotel, who had planned an intimate and delightful dinner engagement for lovers all over the city.
As my beautiful queen and I arrived to the hotel’s restaurant, we were quickly greeted by the maitre d', dressed in black and wearing a mysterious Renaissance mask. We quickly discovered that this innovative hotel had adopted an atmosphere that was akin to something the Marquis De Sade could have embraced. She quickly sat us near an ice chest and our table came complete with a bottle of Perrier Jouet champagne and a rose. While I must say I’ve always been more of a whiskey man, champagne on a Sunday night certainly cures the weary and warms the heart.
After a glass and a kiss (or three) from my beloved boo (whom I promised I would never call that ever again), out came our appetizer. The appealing colors on this platter alone made my eyes melt just a little bit. Tasty green asparagus that were grilled to perfection came accompanied with a delicious crab bruschetta along with three oysters (which were prepared three different ways), plated beautifully and everything came served with three special dips.
I must admit that the appetizer platter was pretty incredible. As the resident Italiano, I’ve always been a big fan of a lighter antipasto to open the stomach up and fix your palette right. What I have observed from prior experience with food (now twenty-six years stamped on my resume) is that a lighter beginning keeps you curious for more - and Valentine’s Day is all about keeping it curious.
Midway through our bottle of Perrier Jouet, things started to heat up at this savory table of sin. Our meal of salted cod stuffed lipstick peppers, scallop and shrimp skewers along with pasta puttanesca al dente topped by three succulent slices of beef tenderloin all made it's way to our candle-lit table. The plating of each exciting component on the dish was cured with maximum detail and refined simplicity, which also perfectly describes the hotel itself. Each bite complemented the next and also accompanied the bubbly beautifully. Being the carnivore that I am, my eyes went straight to the meat and perhaps I was truly inspired by the Mariquis De Sade himself as just the thought of celebrating Valentine’s Day in bloody style made me crave desert!
My thoughts were rewarded with strawberries and chocolate bonbons presented lustfully with three sugars citrus, chocolate and honey. Growing up in my uncle’s pastry shop in Italy when I was a boy, I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, but for this I had to make an exception.
I had heard from a foodie friend of mine that “mousse was being rediscovered by the sweet teeth of America.” While I never could figure out what he really meant by that statement (nor why he wasted my time with it for so many years), but what I do know is that the frozen coffee mousse that the Shangri-La chef presented me at the end of our divine meal might have been the highlight of my weekend. I consider this a considerable compliment especially when my weekend included both beautiful freaks fire spinning under dirty beats and the craziness of The Crystal Method.
As my queen and I made our way back to our nest later in the evening to do stuff that would make the Marquis De Sade himself blush, I would keep reminiscing back at how spectacular this meal was. So we thank you Shangri-La, for your hospitality, impeccable service and for being the icing on the cake to getting me laid on Valentines Day!
The Marquis De Sade would most certainly be most proud at the debauchery that you served up on the most romantic weekend of the year.
Photos By: Smash LeFunk
Surf: Hotel Shangri-LA
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