"miami foodies"

Miami Spice 2022: Mega WOW FACTOR at Sexy Fish!

September 2, 2022 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

What an introduction to Miami Spice 2022…The minute you step into Sexy Fish, you’re immediately hit by the mega WOW FACTOR! The sensory overload starts with a few humungous sea creatures so you feel like you’re inside an aquarium and museum like fantasy, definitely worth a visit just for this thrilling experience. Do not miss this fabulous opportunity during Miami Spice Lunch. If you’re an Asian food lover, I’ve put together a list of 29 Asian restaurants to explore.

Brainchild of Richard Caring, London businessman and restauranteur, he opened the first Sexy Fish in London’s affluent Mayfair drawing stylish crowds and celebrities. He’s brought his unique vision to Miami, currently the only outpost in America, and we are always ready for over the top design, exotic entertainment and Asian food.

About the food & service…

Exotic Asian seafood centric and robata grilled meats are their main focus. Their description, “full of carefree character and adventurous spirit” is so accurate!

Miami Spice menu is only available for Lunch, Monday to Friday from 12-3:30pm.

Choose 3 dishes out of 16 and if you skip the dessert, you can opt for a 4th savory. I was definitely in for that. I went with top Miami food blogger, Karen Miami Curated so we shared all the small plates. This is a lovely way to try many different flavors and textures. Ha, ha, my own fault for not keeping tabs, I was missing my fourth dish, the Salmon Tataki, phooey.

**Grilled** **Tiger Prawns with Chili, Lime was my favorite, oozing with flavor and so tender.**

**Crispy Tofu with avocado, another favorite.**

There were 4 extra dishes at additional costs. Figure out what you want before going, it’s bam bam bam cause they are so busy. Here’s Sexy Fish’s Spice Menu.

**Spice Lunch Menu, only Monday through Friday**

**Kimchi Fried Rice & Pork, Crispy Chicken & Creamy Nuoc Cham, Steamed Sea Bass with cilantro, chili**

**Warm Cinnamon Donuts with chocolate & exotic curd**

**Our server, Jonathan was well trained, he rattled off the names of the sculptor, architect and designer and proud to wear his Versace vest.**

About the decor…

Wrap this WOW FACTOR round your head…$20 million’s worth of Damien Hirst seaworld sculptures, 90 year old Frank Gehry’s over the top architecture and Versace colorful aqua costumes for all staff. Even their bathrooms are eye candy and a must visit, so bring your phone to capture some. They are located upstairs, there’s a lady who’ll help take photos for a tip.

**Front of House staff all decked out!**

**Bathrooms are eye candy, so bring your phone!**

**Gotta take photo with Bond Daniel Craig!**

About the bar…

Good luck getting a seat there, seemed very popular and of course, look up for extravagant sea creature sculptures. Check out their drinks menu online, I believe there are very exotic concoctions.

It’s definitely an experience you won’t want to miss and Miami Spice is the perfect opportunity to do that. Remember only weekday lunch till end of September! Here’s that list of 29 Asian restaurants for you to try.

ENJOY.

Drop a comment, I’d love to hear what you’ve tried at Sexy Fish and what dishes you enjoyed?

Thai Food Festival in Miami

July 1, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

If you live in Miami, you have to experience The Thai Food Festival at least once in your lifetime! The sounds, smells and hubbub is quite the experience. Wat Buddharangsi Thai Temple was celebrating their 36th anniversary and every Thai person in Miami seemed to be there either selling food or eating it. Just a note if you intend to go to a future one…

BE THERE EARLY CAUSE THE FOOD GOES!
Nearly everything was $5, so bring CASH!

Do check out my foodie buddy, Brenda’s blog and video as well. We missed seeing each other at the Thai Food Festival, so it’ll be interesting to see what caught her eye. I may put together short video snippets from the Festival.

This station was a good way to try some Thai food. Smaller portions, all at $5 and comes with rice.

Look how nicely dressed this lady is. My friend, Mary recognized her. She came all the way from West Palm Beach. She was making Thai Noodle Soup.

Recognize Chef Baz, owner of Lung Yai Thai Tapas? He had to put his name down for those Thai pancakes.

This was the only stand with BBQ protein as far as I could see and had the LONGEST LINE!

Looks like hard work splitting the bamboo stick open to fill with Red Bean and Sticky Rice. Notice pile of Galangal, Thai ginger.

The most popular were Thai desserts mostly with coconut milk and a little too sweet for me.

Mango and Sticky Rice seemed to be everywhere.

My fav Thai dessert is this one, reminds me of Kuih, a Malaysian layered dessert, slightly chewy and of course with coconut milk.

My favorite dish at this festival is Ho Mok, steamed fish and scallops with coconut milk and curry. The flavor was good but no seafood detected, ha, ha!

The NEXT LONGEST LINE EVER was Bubble Tea, KACHING!

Khanom Krot is a rice and coconut milk pancake. Someone ordered the whole lot so she sold out. I don’t think that should be allowed because we didn’t get a chance to try this, boo!

Notice the beautifully carved papayas behind the Money Tree.

There were a few shade trees with tables and chairs.

And a HUGE tent where there was live music. Crowded and only 11am.

After a peek into the Thai Temple, we headed to sit in the side area for our lunch.

So happy this Thai Temple got built. They have provided so many wonderful community festivals for us to enjoy!

Love the monks’ orange outfits! The Thai community brings them cooked food.

The Thai community brings cooked food for the general public to share, so sweet. By the time we were invited to try, the best were gone, so GO EARLY.

Khanya and I, so good to reconnect. She was instrumental in helping bring in money to get the Temple built. Thanks to Mary for getting this shot, so fun hanging with her.

Chinese New Year Wok Star Supper Club at Gaijin Izakaya (Updated)

January 30, 2018 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Extracted from Gaijin’s Eventbrite page written by food journalist & Gaijin staffer, Korakot “gabby” suriya-arporn. I added my two cents…
My Wok Star Supper Club will be celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Dog at Chef Cake’s newish Japanese gastropub, Gaijin Izakaya in midtown, Sunday, February 25, 5:30pm. A $50 per person scrumptious 5 course menu starts with a welcome cocktail and passed hors d’oeuvre that’ll get the New Year off with a bang. My main goal in these gatherings is to support and showcase mostly chef owned restaurants and introduce you to good Asian inspired food. All ticket sales go to Gaijin Izakaya. My Wok Star Supper Club, an event held periodically throughout the year, is about celebrating Asian culture and cuisine in South Florida.
Please don’t leave till last minute and be disappointed you can’t get in!
Please view MENU below PRIOR to reservations. NO exceptions, substitutions or deviations, we want to make it easy for Chef Cake and staff. Please understand, it’s difficult to deal with 70 people already so if you have any food allergies or diet restrictions, please visit on another occasion and order what you want.

Some fun rules you should know…
1) Get cozy – EVERYONE will mix and mingle at the bar as they enter and meet new friends.

2) Get even more cozy – seats and dish portions will be arranged in 2 and 4, so guests will be sitting with new friends and sharing dishes family style.

The lucky folks who’ll get first dibs into this popular event are subscribers to my newsletter. You can subscribe in the right sidebar of my site to gain priority access to this and future events plus get the latest food ideas, resources and beyond.

Yes, they are real washing machines where you can put your bag and personal belongings, how cute is that!

Bar area as you enter where we’ll meet and mingle over a special surprise welcome cocktail with passed hors d’oeuvre of tuna rice rolls which have a little kick to them, yummy!

Chef Cake will be bringing you the ultimate tasting experience with his unique Japanese-Chinese hybrid to celebrate Year of the Dog. The multi-course meal of prosperity and good wishes is a showcase of Cake’s culinary prowess as well as his imaginative flair. I love the ‘artsy’ and eclectic mix of furniture and furnishings from the previous owner who was an artist. Chef Cake has added hand picked Japanese posters and blends in well with the existing decor.
About Chef Cake, Phuket Thongsodchareondee:
Cake grew up in a resort island in Thailand, acquainting himself to cooking since early age at a family hotel business. After he moved to Miami, he soon found direction under Makoto Okuwa and trained under him at his namesake restaurant for four years. Cake then decided to venture out on his own, opening a little Thai haunt in MiMo neighborhood called Cake Thai Kitchen, which has gathered him many accolades, including Best Thai Restaurant 2015 from Miami New Times, One of Eater 38 (best restaurants in Miami), and StarChefs’ South Florida Rising Star. With lingering passion for Japanese cuisine, he finally opens Gaijin Izakaya in July 2017, fulfilling his dreams to own a fun, rigidity-free izakaya with high quality food and great selections of beverages.
About Eleanor Hoh, aka Wok Star:
Eleanor is a cooking teacher, entrepreneur, blogger and presenter. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of wok cooking she learned from her mom. After 17 years in the computer industry in London, she embarked on an entrepreneurial journey starting in Key West, FL, where her passion for teaching has evolved into a roadmap technique, eliminating recipes and encourages creativity and intuition. Currently, she teaches monthly cooking classes and produces corporate team building and wellness programs in upscale design showrooms in south Florida and also offers online classes on Udemy to reach a worldwide audience.

Passed hors d’oeuvre: tuna rice rolls has a good kick, very yummy.

Yusheng – a New Year dish with sashimi fish and shredded vegetables to toss and bring in the New Year! Light and refreshing.

1st course: Fried short ribs, very tasty. Eggy fried rice and Stir Fried Bok Choy with mushrooms (not shown.)

2nd Course: Amazing smoked duck with noodles and bok choy.

For this shot, we had Cake’s mom hold 2 of my hubby’s iphone lights, it was quite funny.

Join us for this memorable gathering, plus a chance to meet and mingle with Chef Cake, myself and fellow food lovers who enjoy Asian culture and cuisine.

2018 Chinese New Year Wok Star Supper Club Menu*

Welcome cocktail
Passed hors d’oeuvre:
Tuna crispy rice
szechuan peppercorn, yuzu butter, capelin roe
Appetizer:
Yusheng “Prosperity Toss”
local raw fish, cucumber, sesame seeds, salmon roe, umeboshi dressing
Mains:
Salt & pepper beef short ribs
Also garlic eggy fried rice, wok-fried bok choy and oyster mushroom
Applewood smoked duck breast
egg noodles, duck fat, bok choy
Dessert:
Jelly orange

SUBJECT TO CHANGE UPON SEASONAL AVAILABILITY
NO MODIFICATION OR ALTERATION

Here are the details, you know the drill…you’ll be paying directly to Gaijin Izakaya…
When: Sunday, February 25, 5:30-8:30pm
Where: Gaijin Izakaya, 3500 N. Miami Ave., Midtown Miami.
What: Eleanor Hoh and Cake Thai, Chinese New Year Wok Star Supper Club
Cost: $50 includes Welcome Cocktail, tips and tax and EXCLUDES other beverages.
Drinks: Special beverage and sake pairings is $25 and not part of dinner price.
Max: 70 seats
Parking: across at midtown shops parking or street parking
Reservations & payment: through Eventbrite from Gaijin or myself through newsletter.
Call Gaijin directly if you have any problems: 305-456-3207
We look forward to seeing you there!