How much grilling is too much grilling?

I was wonderfully surprised with an early birthday present this week by my brother (who makes the league of most wonderful brothers of the universe, by the way. He plays shortstop).

"WHAT? A birthday gift? Nooooo...."

"Ignore the price tag."

(I look straight at price tag)

(Then, at the actual gift itself)

"OH!!!!!!! A cast iron grill! And a tong! And, some real salt and pepper shakers!"

And this ladies and gentlemen is what set loose a crazy night of grilling everything that you can possible put grill marks on. This was also the night where I realized life is about 33% easier with a tong. The utensil is like a third arm.

The night was young and there were things to be grilled. We started with rounds of vegetables:

Peppers, zucchini, corn and onions were all present at the meeting.

Shrimp and chicken also made personal appearances.

Mojitos always stop by. Thank god no one decided to char-up the mint leaves.

I can do this grilling thing. It's not all too bad. In fact, at one point, I actually got a sense of quaint, suburban life... hosting little grilling parties. Being a master of flames...

And then the apartment got way too smokey. And the eyes, a little teary.

But still... I have myself a cast iron grill!

Who's that lady?

That mother of mine, a fine lady she is!

Ms. Liang turned a wonderful 48 this past weekend. In celebration of it all, we took everyone out for a little Korean bbq in Flushing. We are all well aware that when it comes down to korean bbq, there is no way that one cannot find him/herself enjoying. You would be lying to yourself if you were against the spectacle of cooking thick slabs of meat on an open fire. And to add the cherry and whip cream on top of that, all in the comforts of your own dining table! Now, thats a clear cut gold medal.

The little plates start to arrive. Yes, we all love those little plates. A tease for the appetite I would label it. On top of that, the tea was one of my favorites. Toasted rice or some kind of barley tea. Cant fight the grain teas. No way jose.

One minute, all peace and quiet.

And the next, voila! Those ladies were a force to be reckon with. Snipping, flipping, razzle, dazzle... Im surprised one didnt lose an arm in the midst of it all.

The beef was the best of the breed of edibles we sizzled.

The eel was questionable by most, but my brother and I were fans. I guess it takes years of eating experience to like eel. Or maybe we are just pretty much open to eat anything in front of us. I think it was the latter.

To wrap it all up, we ordered a serious pot of boiling seafood, ramen and everything under the kitchen sink kind of thing. It was some spicy marriage of sorts. Good for the senses.

All in all, it was a solid birthday. Cheers to you, mom.