My Nephew's Graduation

Congratulations to my nephew on his college graduation! He started college during the pandemic, which was definitly not easy. Not only did he have to attend classes virtually as a college freshman, he also had to shift to another course because his original choice, for which he was accepted, was not offered during the quarantine. So seeing him now with his diploma in hand after a challenging university journey fills me and the rest of our family with so much pride.

We had a celebration lunch at XI by Cafe Guilt. I had eaten here before but it was the first time for my family. Because this was a big occasion, we had to have steak. I ordered the 1.2kg Tomahawk which was prepared with olive oil and rosemary.

Tomahawk

My favorite dish that we ordered was the Lamb Bourguignon, which is a lamb shank that is slow-cooked for 24 hours with carrots, shiitake mushrooms, red wine, and lavender tea. This was sensationally good! It was packed with incredible, complex flavors that all worked so well with each other. I definitely want to enjoy this dish again!

Lamb Bourguignon

The Bagnet and Bringhe paella was also incredibly good. It came with very crispy bagnet (or pork belly) served over paella that was cooked with coconut cream, turmeric, and tamarind sauce.

Bagnet and Bringhe paella

We also had the Asian Seabass, which is served with German potato salad and charred lemon.

Asian Seabass

We ordered several more appetizers and dishes. To wrap up our meal, we had the San Sebastian cheesecake, which we felt was quite appropriate to have since my nephew just graduated from San Sebastian.

San Sebastian cheesecake

Our waiter figured out we were celebrating a special occasion and asked me what it was so I told him my nephew was celebrating his birthday. As the end of our meal, he then came out with some complimentary ice cream that was served with truffle oil. Not a common flavor combination so it was really cool for us to get to try it.

Complimentary ice cream served with truffle oil

We had a fantastic meal at XI by Cafe Guilt, which was a truly perfect way to celebrate this important milestone. Congratulations again to my nephew and I wish him all the best in this next chapter of his life!