Ladies Lunch at Shanghai Slims

The Friday afternoon before heading to Borneo (a month ago) I met up with some friends for a wine tasting lunch.

 (Note to self: no drinking before packing for a trip as results could be disconcerting. i.e. 9 pairs of sock for a 7 day trip and only 3 undergarments. Good thing it was a beach vacation and I would be spending all my time in a swimsuit!)

 We were scheduled to meet at Shanghai Slims at noon and were prepared to taste four wines and enjoy a good meal.

As it was a gorgeous day we sat outside. A menu was placed on top of each place setting and we had ample opportunity to read it. As I was busy chatting and catching up with pals  I neglected to read the menu carefully so I thought that I was getting a protein and a pasta!  I was really looking forward to some Gnocchi after my Tuna and although I was disappointed,  pasta was not the second main, I did not leave hungry. Aren't I greedy!

 The bread basket, need I say more?

We were then served a chopped salad, to share, with a large Parmesan crisp. I have eaten at Shanghai Slims before and this is my favorite salad.  I let the others enjoy the crisp but gobbled up all the crunchy vegetables.

In addition to the shared salad we had a cream of mushroom soup.  The menu did indicate that either a salad or soup would be served but the management of the restaurant decided to give us both.  I really don't know why but it was a nice treat.  The three mushroom soup should have just been called triple cream mushroom soup.  It was so rich and velvety and just heaven in a bowl.

Now the purpose of this lunch, besides getting together with friends, was to sample new wines. The wine purveyor decided to make this a game.  He served a white to start and asked us to write on the back of our menu, the grape and location of where the wine came from.  We were going to try four different types of wines and at the end who ever guessed them all correctly would win a bottle of wine.  John (the wine guy) must have done these lunches before and knew from experience that this kind of crowd doesn't really know their wines, he wasn't going to have to give anything away.  But if you asked us prior to the lunch we would have told we knew A LOT about wine.  Plus at this wine tasting John (wine guy) started us off with a glass of white and then gave us another glass when the first course started.  That's not a tasting that's just drinking.  Perhaps he wanted to get us tipsy so we wouldn't do well at the contest?  I don't know but we sure had fun!!!

First a white, then two reds and then we would be served a white with dessert.  

Here is my good friend Robyn who ordered her steak medium she thought the little flag was delightful!
There were four main course choices on the menu and everyone either ordered the steak or the tuna, I wonder if we all thought that pasta was the next course?

Steak!

My tuna, perfectly cooked and delicious!

Here we are at three glasses of wine, only one more course and glass to go.

I truly could not drink the last glass of wine nor eat my dessert.  I did taste both but had to push it away as I was bursting! The ultimate tiramisu, as claimed by Shanghai Slim, was yummy, too bad I didn't have any room left.  I wonder if the owner of Shanghai Slim is slim?  If he eats his own food - cream of mushroom soup, creamy tiramisu, oh remember the bread basket! - I think not!

So who guessed all four wines correctly?  For red #1 I guessed Shiraz and it was a Merlot and #2 red was Merlot and I guessed Shiraz.  I was totally wrong about the two whites. No one guessed all four correcly but there were two winners anyway, I think the wine guy drank a few as well and was feeling generous.  Robyn, pictured above with the medium steak, won a bottle as did another gal. 

I have been to another wine tasting dinner which John was also the purveyor of the wines and I am sorry I did not take a picture of him while at this lunch.  Sadly, John suddenly passed away 2 weeks ago.  He had lived in China for more then 30 years.  He frequently went back to Australia and New Zealand to buy wines and I assume to visit family.  He left behind a wife and family here in China.  We will miss John.