Food bloggers' dinner!

Loads of trip updating to do, but first things first... thanks to everyone who made last Friday's food bloggers' dinner at Sage so fabulous and fun!

Or so we called it a food bloggers' dinner. The other guests at Sage may have guessed differently, possibly surmising that our gathering was in fact a support group for People Who Cannot Eat Without First Photographing Their Food Under Various Lighting Combinations And From Several Different Angles.

The whipping out of cameras, the frantic setting adjustments, the contortionist-like angling, all set against the backdrop of frequent yet resigned sighs from loved ones watching their food turn cold... these were all symptoms that we'd previously suffered in silence. But now, such company!
It's like that scene in Ice Age 2 when Manny finds out he's not the only mammoth around and his species isn't going extinct - enough to make me bawl into my SQ hot towel (in-flight movie lah) really.

As you can imagine, the dinner is now the most documented event in the Singapore food blogosphere this week. I don't have much to add to the wonderfully detailed write-ups (with pics! such a gorgeous lot we are) at Only Slightly Pretentious Food, Recent Runes and Kitchen Crazy Daffy (amongst others), so will skip straight to the Oscar thank yous:

To Colin, for organizing. I think we've all run out of superlatives to describe the evening

To the good folks at Sage, (for me at least) a previously undiscovered gem to which I now swear eternal loyalty. Note to the curious: the poached eggs/escargots dish aka Fricassee of Burgundy Escargot with Lentil du Puy and Field Mushrooms, Poached Egg and Italian Parsley Cream as well as the beef short ribs aka US Corn Fed Beef Shortribs Braised in Red Wine Topped with Slices of Foie Gras and Bone Marrow, Glazed Root Vegetables and a Mousseline of Butternut Pumpkin are on the regular menu, and you'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you don't try them soon.

To Razor Sharp, for the seriously sexy Kasumi knife; Staub for the lucky draw prizes (next year, dammit!) and to Chubby Hubby and Daffy for organizing and distributing the above.

To Julius Truffles, for the lovely truffles. The pyramid-shaped cognac ones were amazingly creamy and rich, while being terribly addictive and pop-able. I want more!!!

To Gryphon, for the very sophisticated looking box of Straits Chai tea. I haven't tried it yet simply because I intend to keep the box (which says that it's meant for the IMF/World Bank Board of Governors' Meeting) in the vain hopes of convincing people that I am in fact on the IMF/World Bank Board of Governors and hence deserve VIP treatment at every major hotel/restaurant/spa across the island from 10-20 September. Heck, if I'm even stuck in a traffic jam during that time, I'm gonna wave the box out my window as an excuse to overtake irresponsibly.

To Ivan of Recent Runes, for making us feel like celebrities with his paparazzi-like photo taking, and for attempting to get us suitably celebrity wasted with limoncello and grappa shots. For a brief moment, I even fancied myself as Paris Hilton and developed a strong urge to record an album.

Likewise, to Umami, for the yummy wines that never seemed to stop flowing.

And to my immediate dining companions - Joone of Nibble & Scribble, ST of Cheat Eat, Lavender Cupcaker, Cindy of Cinheartlife, Charmaine (hope I spelt that right) of ILoveMyPaddington - it was really a pleasure to meet you. Look forward to keeping up with all of you through your blogs! (Except ST: we have some jade shopping to do together soon!)

It was also great fun to chat with (albeit briefly) bloggers whose sites I enjoy reading - Dim Sum Dolly, Only Slightly Pretentious Food, Skinny Epicurean, Kitchen Crazy Daffy and Umami in particular. It's pretty bizarre to introduce yourself to someone, then realize that you know so many details of his or her life without ever having met him/her in person. Happy to report though that this was a much more dignified affair than teenage fan club days - those embarassing high pitch squeals at a Color Me Badd autograph session, or even the awkward stammering in front of Mark Richmond at 98.7FM sponsored Zouk event (yes, it didn't take much in those days).

For those who couldn't make Friday (Shaz!) do hope to meet you soon at next year's dinner... or how about organizing one before? ;)