For Food Sake Ireland Movie Night

Last night was date night and my turn to pick the evening's entertainment. I was looking for something a little different and came across the excellent movie night at the Sugar Club being held by For Food Sake Ireland. For Food Sake holds bi-monthly events at the Sugar Club based around all sorts of different foodie topics ranging from debates on the state of the food industry in Ireland to these fun foodie film evenings where they screen a film, loosely based around food, and cook up some delicious dishes inspired by the movie. I had already read about their first movie night, where they screened the movie Big Night, and was intrigued by the concept. This was the perfect excuse to experience it for myself.

We had a really great time. The night got off to a slightly shaky start when we turned up at about ten to seven for an event that was advertised to start at seven. There was no sign of anyone and the staff at the Sugar Club didn't seem to know much of anything (but they never really do!) so we decided to have a quick drink next door before re-investigating. It was a bit odd that the place seemed so deserted ten minutes before the event was due to start but our patience was rewarded and by 7.30 the evening was in full swing.

There were about 50 people there and the atmosphere was great. We were in time enough to get a table to ourselves so we grabbed that and then headed straight out to the beer garden where the food was set out. The chefs for the evening were from the China Sichuan restaurant in Sandyford and the food smelled delicious. (This is a restaurant I've heard much about and have long been meaning to try. What a happy coincidence!) There was a starter, 2 mains and a desert to choose from. You could have two courses for ten euro or the main on it's own was seven. We went for the two courses. Tom got a starter and a main and I got a main and desert. (Always a good idea to bring a date to one of these things - allows you to cover all the bases!) We both agreed the main was delicious. It was shredded pork in ginger and garlic sauce with rice. There was a tofu option as the other main but due to my deeply in-bedded fear of tofu I stayed well clear of that. I was a little disappointed by the other courses but this was probably more to do with not liking the flavours than the quality of the food. The starter was a cold chicken salad in a peanut sauce which was ok and the desert was a coconut and green tea panna cotta which really didn't do it for me. The texture was a little too like mousse and I wasn't mad on the flavours. But for ten euro we were definitely happy. The portions were a good size and it was great to get a taste of all three courses even if we didn't love them all. And the smell of all that Chinese cooking definitely set the scene for the film that was to follow.

Unfortunately due to our hasty ordering at the bar we missed out on the great value wine deal (10 euro a bottle). We should have realised something was up when we sat down with our dirty big pints and noticed everyone else sipping away elegantly on glasses of dark red. I presumed they were all just more sophisticated than me.

Anyway with the food out of the way the movie could start, so with pint in hand and lights dimmed, we settled in. It's a great venue to watch a movie and the fact that it wasn't stuffed to the gills meant that everyone was comfortable, had a seat and most importantly could see. The film was great. I really loved it. It's a very endearing tale of an old Taiwanese chef trying to deal with his three daughters as they finally prepare to flee the nest. The opening scene is a highlight and shows the father cooking his epic Sunday dinner for his family, preparing about 15 classic Taiwanese dishes. Each more elaborate than the next. Well worth a watch, even if you never see the rest of the movie.

So that was pretty much the evening. I'd give it a very high recommendation for anyone looking for something a little different. It was good value, 5 euro for the movie, 10 for food and had we been wise 10 for a bottle of wine. Can't go wrong with that. So I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on For Food Sake's blog for upcoming events as well as venturing out to the China Sechuan restaurant for a slap up meal sometime in the very near future.

This post has been composed as part of the groupon.ie blogging competition. Check out Groupon Ireland's new blog at blog.groupon.ie.