D and I decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve a little early and went out to the Melting Pot in Irvine last night. Our leisurely meal took about two hours and a quarter hours! It was the first time having fondue in a restaurant for both of us, and it was fun. I didn’t think D would enjoy cooking his own entree, but he got into it. His stopwatch actually came in handy to keep track of the recommended two minute cooking time. It was a good thing that we were able to leave k with my parents, because bubbling pots of chocolate, broth, and cheese and a two year old would not have been a good combination.
We ordered the Wisconsin Trio cheese fondue, California salad/House salad (comes with the entrees), French Quarter/Shrimp & Sirloin entrees, and Flaming Turtle chocolate fondue. We were able to pace ourselves, making sure to save room for dessert! The cheese fondue came with bread chunks, granny smith apples slices and carrots/cauliflower. Although the busboy wanted to take everything away when we were done with the cheese, I asked if we could keep the bread and apples. That was nice, because we were able to have a little more bread with our entrees (it’s hard for me to eat meat without some carbos!) and finish the apples with the chocolate.
Even though we used our Entertainment Card (1 free entree), it was a bit spendy, but it was a meal we’ll remember for a long time. We were able to discuss our goals for 2009 and reflect a little…it was nice having a nice private booth towards the back. It was also funny overhearing the couple next to us swearing at their bubbling pot of oil (one of the entree cooking options). I thought they were going to start a grease fire!

As a general rule, D and I do not go out on Sunday nights. There is something comforting about staying in, and preparing mentally and physically for the upcoming week. However, we made an exception last night, in order to attend the 25th annual JEMS Christmas Concert in Little Tokyo.

It started at 6 p.m., so I wanted to go early to have dinner beforehand. First, we made a stop at Fugetsu-Do. Fortunately I was able to snag the last package of chocolate mochi, which I had never tried before. Highly recommended. Even D liked it, and he is not a particularly big fan of mochi. Very impressive that the store has been around for over 100 years!

We walked a few doors down First Street to Suehiro Cafe. According to Yelpers, it is like a Japanese Denny’s, but we didn’t think so. D had oyako don and CA roll and I had the house special, stir-fried eggplant with miso sauce and tofu. (You can also choose chicken or beef). The sauce was very tasty, but the vegetables were a bit too charred for my taste. The house special also came with a scoop of ice cream, so I chose the plum wine flavor–very fruity. We were there early, around 4:15, and had no problem getting a seat. Less than an hour later, the line was practically out the door! So, get there early if you don’t want to wait.

We enjoyed the concert, and it was a nice way to kickoff the Christmas season. There were plenty of reminders that “Jesus is the reason for the Season”. There were some very talented musicians/singers. It has been a while since we have seen a live performance (yes, we left k at the grandparents’ house). The baby seemed to enjoy one of the louder performances in the beginning. He was kicking away! We ended up leaving early, though, around 8:20, at D’s request. I thought that was reasonable since he was the one who had to wake up early the next day and spend all day at work.