A Collaboration Dinner: Haru Kishi and Marcel Vigneron at Chaya Brasserie

Chaya Brasserie may be a landmark in the Beverly Hills dining scene for more than 25 years, but Paris-born new Executive Chef Harutaka Kishi is bringing new experiences to its diners, new and old. One of these experiences is a series of special dinners where he collaborates with different chefs. It's not a pop-up. It's not a guest chef dinner where each chef creates their own dishes. It's entirely a collaboration where both chefs work together to create each dish.

The first of these dinners was held with Top Chef contestant Marcel Vigneron, formerly of The Bazaar and Bar210(and now star of Syfy's Marcel's Quantum Kitchen).

Chefs Harutaka Kishi and Marcel Vigneron

Our meal started with a beautiful Thai Lobster Roll, Avocado, Roasted Banana, Thom Kha, Pickled Red Onion

How beautiful is that dish? It looks like a garden. Despite the delicate look, the the flavors was pretty bold with the thom kha sauce. The richness from the coconut milk added to the creaminess of the avocado.

The dishes were prepared with cocktails made by Devon Espinosa from Tasting Kitchen (and also Marcel's bartender on Quantum Kitchen). The thai lobster roll was paired with the Thai Reviver (Plymouth Gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blonde, Fresh Lemon Juice, Thai Basil Leaves) - a great pairing if I may add.

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Anniversary Afternoon Tea at The Langham Pasadena

Every year, The Langham Hotels around the world celebrate their anniversary with a ridiculously priced afternoon tea. The price is what the original Langham in London used to charge back in 1865: 1 shilling and six pence. That, dear readers, amounted to $0.15 this year. Fifteen cents!

Before this, I have not had the chance to try the Langham afternoon tea, and what better time to do it than when it was only 15 cents as opposed to the usual $39?

The afternoon tea is held at The Lobby Lounge of the Langham. We got a nice table by the window overlooking the green expanse of the hotel.

For this event, the servers also dressed up as if it was 1865. Our server had on a mustard suit and a cute blue ribbon while the female server was wearing a blue dress of that era.

The Langham offers a pretty nice selection of classic and scented teas. I ordered the Orchid Oolong, described as being "highlighted by a touch of coconut to offer the tranquility of a fragrant bouquet of fruit and floral notes in a rich, soothing infusion." Rich, indeed.

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Heirloom Tomato Dinner, The Terrace at The Langham (Pasadena)

'Tis the season for heirloom tomatoes! These red pearls were the theme of The Langham Pasadena's latest Farm to Table dinner at The Terrace.

Before the dinner, we had a wine reception in the lobby lounge with creative appetizers such as the "pizza chips" (airy pizza-flavored chips made from tapioca) and macaron with a guacamole center.

All the passed appetizers and the dinner courses were prepared by Erik Schuster, the Executive Chef of The Terrace, while the wine pairings were done by Eric Espuny, the GM of The Royce upstairs.

After appetizers and glasses of wine, we move downstairs for our dinner.
As soon as we sat down, we all fell in love with the tomato tapenade they served with the bread. We had to ask how they made it and while I don't remember many of the ingredients (beyond the obvious tomato and olive oil), it apparently involved anchovies.

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