Set Menu for my mothers birthday

[alexandrarowan]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am currently on Day 8 of my first whole 30, and I am just starting to feel better!

 

It's my mothers birthday this coming Sunday, which will be Day 14, and we are going to a new Asian restaurant that she really wants to try.

 

Due to the number of people going, we have to have the set menu at the restaurant.

 

I have asked for a gluten free, dairy free and soy free menu option if possible.

 

Should this be ok?!?!?! I don't want to ruin my progress!

[ShannonM816]

Gluten free, dairy free, soy free is only part of it. There could still be sugar, they could serve you something mixed with rice, they could include corn or peas in a dish.

 

Can you call the restaurant beforehand and talk to them to get a little more detail? Or can you eat before you go and just have iced tea or coffee while everyone else eats? 

[GFChris]

MSG would also be something to be wary of in Asian cuisine.

[alexandrarowan]

Thanks for the replies!

 

This is quite an upmarket/fancy restaurant, so I would be surprised if  MSG was an issue, however I will ask. I did give the restaurant a call and asked about the menu, there is no pea or corn used and rice is served on the side.  I also asked if I could have the menu peanut free too.

 

The only issue will be added sugar.

 

I really, really don't want to have to eat before hand, as participating in a family outing is very important to me..... I guess I will just have to give it a good think over, and see whether the risk of having something non-compliant is worth it.

 

I should add in Australia, it is not socially acceptable to bring your own food to a restaurant, and in some council areas can be illegal!! 

[praxisproject]

It depends a lot on the restaurant and the style of Asian food.

 

I do quite well with Thai food but I find I need to be specific about no rice, no sugar and checking what kind of coconut cream/milk they use (additives).

Vietnamese is pretty good too, with most things made from scratch, so if the restaurant is flexible, compliance is quite easy (beware a lot of standard dipping sauces and salad dressings are loaded with sugar). I'd sadly allergic to Vietnamese mint and Thai basil though, so I need to be careful of both of these and they're sometimes premixed into salads or curries.

 

I have a lot of trouble with Chinese food as so many sauces in use are non-compliant either by traditional recipe or modern manufacture. There's a lot of red bean, other beans, honey, corn flour, thickeners, other sweeteners, MSG, stocks full of weird things (often poured over steamed veggies), oyster sauce. Some of the sauces only have Chinese labelling and their labelling laws are different to Australia (some gluten is labelled simply as "starch"), so I have learned to be wary of places that use things in bottles as they can try very hard but if the bottle isn't clear, they can't really tell. Beware the "clear" soups, these often have an MSG based stock.

 

They're rare, but Chinese/Vietnamese places are great, Chinese style cooking with Vietnamese ingredients (very few to no bottles, all fresh stuff).

[alexandrarowan]

Thanks PraxisProject, turns out the restaurant is fully booked, so it looks like Italian now, which will be much easier to navigate.

[praxisproject]

For Italian, I ask for just meat, vegetables and for it to be cooked in olive oil. Some do some lovely fish with capers (I ask for olive oil instead of butter).

 

As long as they make their own stuff, it usually isn't a problem (although one place I couldn't have *any* tomato sauces as they added gluten to their base. Crazy!)

Watch out for dressings on side salads though, they're sometimes dairy or have added sugar, but they can usually do you a safe one if you ask.

[alexandrarowan]

I've looked over the menu and decided that this will probably be my best option 

 

Squisita  Salad: lettuce, rock melon, avruga caviar, salmon roe, blood orange juice, banana prawns cooked in Aperol soda

 

With these modifications:

- The prawns cooked in olive oil

- No avruga caviar. From my research it looks like most contain corn starch

- Dressing on the side (if there is any)

- Potentially no salmon roe, it is generally cured in brine, may have added sugar?

 

Thanks for your help so far!

[praxisproject]

I just ask for a balsamic and oil dressing. Caviar here is often safe, so I'd ask them to check if you like it.

 

If you call ahead, they can probably tell you what you need to know so you don't need to ask a lot of questions at the table.

 

Italian places will often tweak things to suit you as their ingredients and recipes tend to be a bit more flexible

They'll probably have Pellegrino mineral water too  I ask for it with lemon or lime slices, if they have any (they usually do).

[ultrarunnergirl]

Yes, please do call ahead -- do not rely on what "looks safe" on the menu. It really tells you nothing. Gluten, soy and sugar are hiding in so, so many things. If you call ahead and ask to work with the Chef on something that would be relatively easy to make to your specifications, they will truly be happy to help.