During my latest, mad adventure in Miami, I had the absolute pleasure of dining at the China Grill. This restaurant provided a succulent culinary affair in a spectacular cavernous space. It was a gratifying experience to try Executive Chef-Tim Nickey's Pan Asian cuisine.

Don't let the title fool you, the cuisine has all the flavors of South Beach.

Every dish is prepared on either grills or woks using ingredients gathered from pantries across the globe. The portions were quite generous as there were three of us and we had tons of leftovers. The dishes were elegantly presented in bold oversized plates. China Grill captures the

pulse and energy of Miami with interiors designed by noted architect Jeffrey Beers. There was a section that showed Marco Polo's travel diaries emblazoned in marble mosaic. It ran the length of the restaurant's imported Egyptian limestone floors. One of the most striking features of China Grill was the custom almost

ethereal light fixtures that hung from the restaurant's soaring ceilings like clouds.

Have you ever wondered how heaven would feel? Well, this Mango and Raspberry Sorbet is a luscious slice of heaven on earth. The ethereal and light texture of the sorbet is lush as the flavor explodes on your tongue.

Crackling Calamari Salad

-

lime miso dressing

Chicken Satay

-

chilled sesame noodles & toasted peanut sauce

Wild Mushroom Profusion

Pasta-

sake Madeira cream sauce

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Soy Marinated Skirt Steak

-

wok sautéed lo mein noodles & tempuras shiitake mushrooms

For the record, if you are ever in South Beach and love Calamari, your destiny awaits you at the China Grill. This was the most mouth watering, delectable Calamari Salad I've had to date! It was the perfect salad as the miso dressing's tart flavor perfectly offset the crisp greens and the slightly sweet, and fried to perfection calamari.

The brownie was soft, moist and fresh out of the open. Still hot to the touch, or taste. The sweet coolness of the vanilla, complimented the brownie perfectly. Another stand out feature of this dish was the presentation.

The brownie was layered on top of each other with the vanilla ice cream seductively melting white tendrils down the side. All of this was served on frond of palm with raspberry sauce drizzled playfully around the plate.

Caught unprepared for this photo, as I was captivated by the golf tournament on the big screen.

Stay tuned as I am still sifting through my hundreds of pics from my latest Miami excursion, lots of good stuff to come, including a features on the legendary Tides Hotel.

xoxo,

Maurenice

China Grill is located on 404 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach