Daily Archives: April 25, 2012

Chicken velvet – Benu

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Project 365: Day 108

Omg, the weather is still SO warm, sunny, and perfect. I went to the gym this morning, got my hair cut, picked up some Euros from the bank, caught up with DVR, and now just sitting on my balcony to blog (and pay bills, ew). It’s been a perfect day! I think I’ll go for a light run before dinner. It’s days like this when I feel so blessed and happy to be where I’m at in life. I do miss my honey, but he’ll be back from his conference on Monday.

Chicken velvet Benu

With abalone, abalone mushroom, and chrysanthemum. Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

Another first! When this arrived, I asked “Where’s the chicken?” I’d never had chicken velvet before so I didn’t know where to look, hehe. I’ve subsequently read that chicken velvet is usually fried or poached in oil, then reheated through in a hot broth. I’m not sure if this velvet was ever fried, it didn’t taste like it, but it was definitely velvet-y and oh so delicious. The soup broth in this dish was also very delicious. And I loved the combination of abalone and abalone mushrooms. Fun!

Chicken velvet Benu

Beef braised in pear – Benu

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Beef braised in pear Benu

With beech mushroom, sunflower seeds and leaves. Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

Sorry that this pic didn’t turn out very well, but the meat was dark and it was served on a dark plate. The beef, however, was tasty (perhaps a little on the tasty side though). My favorite part was the sunflower seeds and leaves. I’ve never had the leaves before and they were fun to eat along with the seeds.

Beef braised in pear Benu

Chicken with black moss – Benu

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Chicken with black moss Benu

With mountain yam and celery. Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

I loved the chicken and the broth in this dish, but I didn’t like the mountain yam. The yam was too slimy for my taste. Also, I liked how the black moss looked on the plate, but it didn’t taste like anything. The chicken, on the other hand, was so moist and delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever had chicken prepared this way. That’s another reason why I loved this dinner at Benu, it afforded me the opportunity to try so many different things. I didn’t like everything, but I certainly appreciated all the dishes.

Chicken with black moss Benu