The restaurant was located inside one of Universal's Polynesian themed hotels. When we got there, we were amazed by the gigantic bamboo that lined the walkway into the restaurant.
It was really neat to see this growing in person.
Must've been at least 40 feet tall, and made this cool breezy wooden wind chime sound whenever it caught a breeze.
There were also BEAUTIFUL flowers all over the grounds. I'm glad we got there a little early and could walk around and see the beautiful Florida foliage.
Everywhere you looked in Florida you saw color. From bushes to flowers everything was vibrantly colored.
I love the palm trees! Sadly, we heard that coconut trees are very sensitive palms, and many have died because of the frost Florida got last winter. This is not normal for them, and quickly kills the tree.
I loved this flowering bush plant! It was my favorite color, purple, and a really unique shade!
OPI, if you're listening...I'd love a nail polish this color!!!
We walked down this mysterious path and saw...
A sea plane!! I wonder if this plane has ever been to Maine? 
And now it begins... my favorite meal EVER!!! We were there for 3 hours!!
The restaurant was so cool! It had sculptures for lights, walls with moving water, bamboo, and absolutely wonderful ambiance. The lighting of orange and blue was fantastic! Even the bathrooms were decorated!
Our first food was shrimp chips, and the most amazing mystery sauce to dip them in.
Emeril's food was so amazing to me, and here's why. I'm very good at eating food and tasting ingredients that make them up. So much so, that I can usually duplicate recipes easily by taste. At Emeril's everything I ate was a completely new taste that I could never ever replicate. This is amazing to me. I remember looking up some of Emeril's recipes before, and never ended up making one (except a cocktail) because they had millions of ingredients! Now, knowing me, if I say this, there truly are a million, because many ingredients don't scare me. But his were ridiculous. Now, I know why the tastes were indescribable...all those ingredients!
Really, isn't the decor great?!
I love this chandelier!The funny thing was when I called for the reservation, they asked if we were celebrating anything special... I thought about what that meant (special treats, extra nice treatment), and it came to me. We were celebrating our engagement (two months ago, but they didn't need to know) Technically, it was still a relatively new event.
Because of our engagement, we were treated to complimentary champagne, a fancy chef's amuse bouche, and a bit of fancying up on our dessert. Good call!
The restaurant was far eastern mixed with New Orleans. Very unique! Seemed like a good place to sample some sake!
I took pictures of everything. I never want to forget this night.
The restaurant was far eastern mixed with New Orleans. Very unique! Seemed like a good place to sample some sake!
I took pictures of everything. I never want to forget this night.Our first appetizer was miso soup. Delish!
Miso Soup
Scallions, Wakame, Tofu and Udon Noodles
with a Pickled Garlic Chili Sauce
After that we had these wonderfully scrumptious spring rolls!
Scallions, Wakame, Tofu and Udon Noodles
with a Pickled Garlic Chili Sauce
After that we had these wonderfully scrumptious spring rolls!Crispy Kalua Chicken Egg Rolls
Orange-Chile Dipping Sauce
After appetizer round one, we found our taste buds so happy, we didn't want the meal to end too soon, so we had appetizer round two!
Orange-Chile Dipping Sauce
After appetizer round one, we found our taste buds so happy, we didn't want the meal to end too soon, so we had appetizer round two! We got steamed dumplings...
Steamed Pork & Asian Vegetable Dumplings
Sake-Soy Dipping Sauce
And this tasty grilled peach arugula salad that was a special creation that night! Heavenly!
Love it!
This was my meal. I decided to try something that I never make myself, and ended up picking a savory duck dish. I've never had anything like this ever. The meat melted in my mouth, and the sweet potato and stone fruit compote was the perfect accompaniment. It was so good! But, this meal made me really switch gears on becoming a vegetarian, even though I'm having the hardest time about seafood... (more on that after the delicious food photos)
Sake-Soy Dipping Sauce
And this tasty grilled peach arugula salad that was a special creation that night! Heavenly!
Love it!
This was my meal. I decided to try something that I never make myself, and ended up picking a savory duck dish. I've never had anything like this ever. The meat melted in my mouth, and the sweet potato and stone fruit compote was the perfect accompaniment. It was so good! But, this meal made me really switch gears on becoming a vegetarian, even though I'm having the hardest time about seafood... (more on that after the delicious food photos)Pan Roasted Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast
with a Sweet Potato Gratin, Summer Stone Fruit Chutney and Umeboshi Plum Glaze
Robb got this yummy bunch of short ribs. Again, this just melted in your mouth! Bam!
with a Sweet Potato Gratin, Summer Stone Fruit Chutney and Umeboshi Plum Glaze
Robb got this yummy bunch of short ribs. Again, this just melted in your mouth! Bam!Tender Sake Braised Beef Short Ribs
on Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes with Hoisin-Honey Infused Veal Jus
Here's the happy newly engaged couple! ;o)
After dinner, we headed over to the kitchen seats to watch the magic happen. We had our dessert here, and watched the cooks make this beautiful food.
They were really strict. They had this one lady making sure every single creation went out of the kitchen absolutely perfect. It couldn't be messed up at all, or it was sent back! I guess you never know who could be a food critic.
We topped off our meal with a special dessert made only for the evening. It was a mango lychee cake with coconut and cream on top! I love lychees so much, this dessert was really something else! Look how cute the pastry chef was to write congratulations in melted chocolate on our plate!
Thumbs up Emeril! Everything was incredible!
Here we are, full and extremely happy!
on Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes with Hoisin-Honey Infused Veal Jus
Here's the happy newly engaged couple! ;o)
After dinner, we headed over to the kitchen seats to watch the magic happen. We had our dessert here, and watched the cooks make this beautiful food.
They were really strict. They had this one lady making sure every single creation went out of the kitchen absolutely perfect. It couldn't be messed up at all, or it was sent back! I guess you never know who could be a food critic.
We topped off our meal with a special dessert made only for the evening. It was a mango lychee cake with coconut and cream on top! I love lychees so much, this dessert was really something else! Look how cute the pastry chef was to write congratulations in melted chocolate on our plate!
Thumbs up Emeril! Everything was incredible!
Here we are, full and extremely happy! 
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