Last night I attended my first blogger event in Ocala!
The kind people at Sky Asian Fusion invited a small group of Ocala-based bloggers to attend a private dinner at their restaurant, located at the top of the Holiday Inn hotel.
When Ryan and I first decided to move to Ocala, we did some research into the “must try” restaurants and activities in the area. Time and time again, Sky popped up as a fine dining restaurant that provided delicious food and a fun atmosphere, so I jumped at the chance to try it out.
Our group dined in a private room that you can actually rent for $1,000, which includes the space and a three-course meal for 20 people!
Other bloggers/writers in attendance:
- The World of Deej
- Ocala Food Review
- Diary of a Southern Brunette
- That Something
- Ocala Style
- Susie Blackmon
We were then taken on a tour of the restaurant and it’s very clear that the owner poured his heart into the place and the attention to detail and homage to Asian cultures was very apparent.
The thing that stuck out to me most on the tour was the way the restaurant serves its food.
They intentionally made a small space for the food to rest once it’s ready to serve so the waiters have to grab it quickly and take it to the tables immediately.
Though this means people often do not get their food at the same time, that’s not really a big deal because the food is basically “family style” and everyone shares. They believe it’s important for people to be served food when it’s at its best, hot, flavorful and aromatic. Sharing the dishes is done quite easily at the tables in the restaurant because each table is equipped with a spinning lazy Susan!
Our meal at Sky began with appetizers that include lettuce wraps (my favorite!), pork dumplings and vegetable spring rolls.
I think the appetizer course may have been my favorite of the entire night! Everything was so fresh and flavorful.
Our entrees included Mongolian beef (their number-one seller), General Tao’s chicken (my favorite) and sesame crusted salmon.
This may speak to my inexperience with quality Asian food, but I’ve never had General Tao’s chicken that actually had a ton of chicken in it before. Most General Tao’s chicken dishes I’ve had in the past have been nearly all breading and sauce, so it was fantastic to try the dish where the chicken and sauce both had starring roles.
And then it was time for dessert!
I had a bit of everything and filled my dessert plate twice with the white chocolate bread pudding (unreal) and chocolate mousse cake (fantastic).
It was such a fun and delicious night and I can’t wait to bring Ryan back to try it very soon. I know he’ll be a fan, especially since Mongolian beef is one of his all-time favorite dishes.
Thank you to Sky for such a memorable evening!
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How fun and the place looks amazing! I am know in the mood for Asian food and will be having it for lunch : )
Sounds like a fun night! The meals look amazing 😀
Looks like such a fun night! Joining this group has definitely enabled you to have a lot of great experiences in your new city. I love how you’ve embraced the opportunities you’ve had, even though you weren’t sure how moving away from Orlando would be at first!
That sounds like it was a lot of fun! I love Asian food. The General’s Chicken and the desserts look incredible! 🙂 The space looks beautiful too. What a great opportunity!
That food all looks so great!
I think a lot of people discount small towns for not having fun restaurants and things to do. That’s not always the case – as this post proves! Sometimes you just have to look for the hidden gems. Glad you had fuN!
how were the other bloggers?
very, very nice! i really loved meeting them! they covered a wide range of blogging topics – from food to travel to horses!
thats great!!!! it is awesome that you reached out, takes a lot of courage! something i need to practice
Haha I was thinking the same thing! Didn’t really mention them in your post :p
ha! i couldn’t find their business cards in my purse! apparently i put them in my WALLET. just updated the post.
just updated the post with links to all of their blogs in case you’d like to check them out!
Thanks!! I’m always looking for new blogs to read. love the travel blog!
The sesame salmon and desserts look great!
Sounds delicious! Such pretty colors in all that food. And I love what I can see of your green dress! A fashion post soon? 🙂
that place looks very cool and the food looks good too
The atmosphere of Sky looks really cool! I’m going to have to try it out next time I’m in Ocala. 🙂
That food looks amazing.
And I got Paris Wife for my kindle last night. Looking forward to getting it rolling!
I’m so glad I’m eating Chinese food as I read this..the salmon especially looks fab!
what a FUN evening!! this place looks awesome – the atmosphere, the food, everything. mmm i love asian cuisine… i need more in my life!
Wow, what a cool restaurant!! When I lived in Bahrain we used to go to a Chinese restaurant at one of the big hotels there, and they’d serve all the food on a bit lazy Susan as well. Great idea if you ask me! I’m glad you had a fun time!
What a fun night… looks so fancy!!
The whole meal looks delicious!!! What fun!
this looks like so much fun! I love blogger meetups! 🙂
An awesome evening indeed! Great to have met you and the other bloggers. Thanks for the shout out!:)
I had no idea the Ocala blogging scene was so happening! Next time, let the Orlando crew know and we’ll come say hello.
That looks completely delicious! and I love lettuce wraps, I haven’t had them in ages!
Julie! So great to finally meet you! We need to meet for lunch and maybe have our hubbies join us!
the food looks great! I am glad you found a blogging community in Ocala. They seem like a great group!
Authentic Chinese food is a gastronomic experience! The food at most of the Americanized restaurants /take-out places are definitely very different.
Glad you got to meet some other Ocala bloggers! How fun!
Why’d they not give you all a plus-one options…grr, they probably knew you’d bring along your baseball buddy of fraternity brother, Julie!
Sounds like a fun night. Although I wouldn’t like a restaurant that served food like that, I like the idea of it!
I went through all the other blogger’s sites to see what they had to say about the evening. There was only one other person who blogged about it and the article didn’t even come close to yours. You have a great writing style and it’s so enjoyable to read your blog. Just sayin.