Vietnamese, Mexican and Italian (by Biggs)

My friends Amanda and Mike are awesome. About a month ago I made Amanda dinner for her Birthday and tonight she reciprocated in spectacular fashion. Allegedly I recently said my favourite cuisines are Vietnamese, Mexican and Italian. It seems odd that I wouldn't mention Japanese but limiting it to three is hard.

Some people say be careful what you wish for. Those people are wrong.

Course 1: Vietnamese Rice Paper Wraps. Can you beat a good rice paper wrap? No you can not. These were great. The highlight was fresh mint from the garden and a mysterious sauce that came in a bottle labelled "rice paper wrap dipping sauce". Seems legit. Drink pairing: Beerlao....close enough.

Course 2: Mexican Tacos. Can you beat a good taco? No you can not. These were a Jamie Oliver special with pork and beans and an awesome salad with hits of chilli so bold it'll put hairs on your chest then rip them right back off again. Drink pairing: a huge jug of sangria....close enough....let's just be thankful it wasn't tequila.

Course 3: Italian Spaghetti. Can you beat a good pasta dish? No you can not. This was my favourite in a lot of ways. It was so simple but so delicious and featured the magic flavour combo of bacon, olives and garlic. The only downside to this dish is that it was the only one not served on my brand new Birthday Lazy Susan (named Suse). Drink pairing: Australian red wine....close enough. The wine wasn't as frothy as it looks in this photo.

And, the prize goes to the person who can name the animal that featured in all three meals. Winner!