Today I was invited to the Minneapolis area team get together. My company is big enough that they can actually have get togethers at different cities where remote employees work.

It was cool to meet fellow coworkers, I'm still getting used to the fact that I may never meet someone of the people I work with, they're just all over the US and it's hard to get everyone together. It's very different from the days of having 25 total people work at X-Systems.

We met up at a place called Azia in downtown Minneapolis, and let me tell you, the place was great! It's one of those Asian fusion places that have become popular, serving traditional Asian dishes with a twist. I had lemongrass monkfish bow Thai pasta, which was delicious, and everyone around me had no complaints at all about their meals. I missed out on the appetizers, since I got there late, but everyone else raved about the cranberry cream cheese puffs.

The restaurant itself is dimly lit, like most cool/hip restaurants like to be. The bathrooms are a unique experience - the sinks are outside the bathrooms and are shared. From the dining area you can see the bathroom sink area and then the doors for the bathrooms are on the sides. I'm sure it's a fun game to play for the diners to see who doesn't wash their hands as they come out of the bathroom!

The highlight of the night for me was the dessert. There were many tasty desserts to choose from, from a lemon tart to exotic ice creams to banana rolls. What I decided on was the sweet rice with coconut ice cream. The words "sweet rice" caught my eye, because it made me think of one of my favorite childhood Filipino desserts, bibingka - not the weird yellow kind, but the one made with sweet sticky rice with cocoa jam on the top.

After I put the first spoonful in my mouth, I was immediately brought back to my childhood - watching my mom and dad cook the rice, then scoop it out onto a pan, smoothing it out and giving me any extra that didn't fit. It was delicious, just the right amount of sweetness, complimented so well by the coconut ice cream and sauce. It's been a long time since I've had a reaction to food like that. It made me so nostalgic - I missed my childhood, I missed my mom. Memories came back that were a bit forgotten, a little bittersweet, but so beloved. It's incredible how a smell or taste can bring you back in time. I sat there and silently reveled in the dish before me, savoring every bite.

At one point, I wanted to jump up and exclaim to everyone at the table, "THIS IS THE BEST DESSERT EVER!!!" Which would be unusual, because most of my favorite desserts have chocolate involved in some way. But it was a great experience, definitely something I will remember the next time I'm in town.

So if you're ever in Minneapolis, check out Azia. It's a little on the pricier side (about $25-$40 total for a meal) but well worth it. Check out the sweet rice - it may not bring you back to your childhood, but it will definitely give you a taste of what mine was like.

Posted by Yano at November 16, 2006 05:31 AM

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