Seattle
Catching up with friends was the theme of the day. Monsoon Bellevue is a contemporary Vietnamese place that is pretty tasty, with the typical wood tones and big glass windows of the area. Claypot catfish was solid but missing the clay pot (why?), vermicelli was also good, asian pear salad was very, uh, stylish? Enjoyed it but clearly a light appetizer, especially split between two people. Belle Pastry a few doors down sadly was a miss with terrible croissants, supermarket quality or close, although James said the cake was very good.
Caught up with Mia for dinner at Rondo Japanese Kitchen. Izakaya-type of vibe with a very varied menu, from katsu to pasta to chirashi. Yeow teow with curry and egg was a miss (yeow teow was good, rest was not a value add), the waygu BB bolognese had a very rich and tasty noodle but the beef atop was quite disappointing. Mia's pork katsu was massive, as were the chucks of fried chicken they called karaage. Was good to spend the day catching up with friends!