Plantation and Bayou Tour
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| Off to another adventure |
We want to do a plantation tour and to visit the Bayou. Finding a tour that does both seems to simplify the logistics and planning so we decide to go with that.
One thing we realized is our apartment turns out to the THE center for big tour buses to consolidate everyone as it's just outside the French Quarters and close to the freeway. Who would have guessed, except the 2 of us waiting for 1.5 hours for the pickup.. as we are the last ones to be picked up =)
Oak Alley plantation
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| Tickets |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Alley_Plantation
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| Lots of plantation around New Orleans |
The plantation is known for their rows of 200 to 250 years old oak trees.
Beautiful!
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| Row of 250 year old Oak trees |
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| The trees with the big House at the background |
Had a good tour explaining the lives of slaves vs plantation owner.
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| How the slaves lived during that time |
It's a window to how the locals lived during those times, for the empowered and the enslaved.
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| History of the plantation between the high and low point |
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| A little Mint Julep to ease into the day |
In NO it is allowed to drink alcohol in public, call the open container rule (no cans or bottles). This is similar to Vegas. So we walked around the plantation with a mint julep in our hand.
After the plantation tour we head to the bayou.
New Orleans is surrounded by swamp area and our tour brought us around this area
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| Map around Lake Silvador and the swamp area. We launched off in the channel to Lake Silvador |
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| Getting to the dock and getting registered |
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| Beautiful and creepy picture of the Bayou |
It's a tad creepy with all the nooks and crannies.Not to mention the alligators and Spanish moss shadows. But it's also very pretty.
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Captain Rocky and our Small Airboat
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Captain Rocky is great, getting us very close to alligators and ensuring we are within touching distance.
Its winter times so the big ones are all hibernating and I'm mighty fine with that!And they are all lethargic with Rocky explaining how their body are like popsicles right now. Hence we are able to get really close.
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| Gator 1 sunning on the shore |
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| Gator 2 in the water suntanning |
The video gives you an idea how close we got to them.
The captain also explained the wild life and hunting permits, on top of the vegetation that grows in the bayou. It's a mixture of salt and fresh water and the mix is constantly moving. I have a deeper understanding of how the area works after the tour.
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| The Bayou |
Tonight is our splurge night at Commander Palace.
https://www.southernliving.com/souths-best/commanders-palace
Reputed to be one of the best restaurant in the South, we picked this place to be our choice for experiencing high end Southern food.
As we are quite early for our reservation, we end up going to a couple of bars including Sake Bar. Had fun chatting with some locals getting tips.
For example, i learned that you are not supposed to put the straw in the drive-through Daiquiris! ya rite.
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| the rows of famous people that ate at Sake Bar??? |
Commander Palace Tasting Menu
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| Menu at the Palace |
We went for their tasting menu and added the 1-1-1 soup so that we can taste their gumbo, turtle soup and soup du jour
The turtle soup took me by surprise as it's definitely not gamey at all. But slightly sweet. (growing up in South East Asia I'm used to seeing turtles parts in turtle soup. This isn't quite the same. Hee)
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| Their 1-1-1 Soup Tasters |
First course is raw scallop.
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| Raw Scallop with Endive |
Very good and fresh scallop that's very enjoyable. I did find the orange peel too over powering. The other parts of the dish do work well together.
2nd course Parpadelle with short ribs
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| My favourite dish for the night |
Homemade parpadelle cooked al-dente with freshly made cheese, coupled with perfect short ribs make this an excellent dish.
3rd course Spotted trout
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| Spotted trout |
This sea trout is not my favorite as I can taste slight muddiness in the trout. And the skin is not as crispy as I would like it.
4th course Petit Filet Mignon
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| Melt in your mouth Filet Mignon infused with Foie |
I'm torn between favorites when this dish showed up! The filet mignon melts in your mouth without being greasy. My only complain is I don't taste the foie gras that's infused in the beef. Would be a perfect dish if they had left the foie on the side to go with the beef. And our server told me they just changed that presentation 2 weeks ago. Else the steak would be served with it.. Grrr..
5th course Spiced Satsuma Chiffon Pie
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| Wet orange pie =) |
Unfortunately not my favorite but Bill likes it. I don't like pumpkin and cinnamon growing up so it's a personal preference..
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