Ting's Thai Restaurant brings fresh cuisine to Hidden Valley
Written by Beth Rudiger
Tuesday, 04 March 2008
Ting and Charlie McFarling opened their restaurant in Hidden Valley Lake last July. Courtesy photo.
HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE – Behind the unassuming exterior of the strip mall beside Hardester’s Market in Hidden Valley Lake, lies Lake County’s newest dining jewel, Ting’s Thai Restaurant.
Step through the standard commercial glass door into an unexpected haven from hunger and stress. The restaurant soothes you with its highly polished dark wood tables with padded chairs, rich golden ochre tile floor, and violet walls set off by pale tan wainscoting. Original oil paintings of scenes showing Thai culture adorn the walls along with other traditional Thai ornaments.
The restaurant’s symbol, the elephant, which is revered in Thailand as a companion working animal, is featured throughout the restaurant. A great, handsome elephant head hand-carved of warm, dark wood is a focal point as you enter.
Ting along with her husband, Charlie McFarling, have finally realized Ting’s long-held dream of opening a Thai restaurant and they are glad to do so in Lake County.
Because Ting and Charlie wanted to serve a small number of customers as they eased into their new business, they made no advertising effort before their opening.
To their surprise, on their first night, Friday, July 23, Ting’s Restaurant saw a deluge of area residents who filled every chair in the 72-seat restaurant. These customers left very satisfied and have spread the word. In addition to the busy restaurant, Ting’s runs a take-out business and a catering business.
All of the dishes served at Ting’s are traditional Thai cuisine made to order with the freshest, most authentic ingredients available. Ting and Charlie make frequent trips to Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and even San Francisco to procure the special ingredients for dishes like Pa Nang salmon which features a lightly sautéed salmon filet in a creamy coconut milk-based red curry with carrots, green beans, bell pepper and kafir lime leaves.
Diners may also feast on roasted duck prepared in one of three ways: in a curry sauce with fresh basil, in a Thai noodle soup with shiitake mushrooms or in a delicious salad with lemongrass, cilantro, and mint and dressed with a light lime dressing.
Whatever you order, you know it will be fresh and healthy as Ting does not use an inordinate amount of fat in her cooking. The sweet and sour, for example, has all the delicious taste of the traditional sauce with no artificial colors and no deep-fried breading on the meat.
In addition to such Thai favorites as spring rolls, chicken Satay, Pad Thai and sticky rice with mango, Ting’s serves wine and Thai beer.
Ting’s restaurant is located in the Hidden Valley Lake Hardester’s shopping center on Hartmann Road off Highway 29.
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lunch specials are served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
You may call ahead to have your order ready for takeout or to dine in: 987-1063.
Shannon Ridge selects Wine Warehouse as California distributor
Written by Editor
Monday, 03 March 2008
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery has appointed Wine Warehouse, based in Los Angeles, as distributor for the entire state of California, effective March 1.
Wine Warehouse will handle statewide wholesale distribution for the Shannon Ridge wines.
“This is an exciting step for us as we continue to grow the Shannon Ridge wine brand,” noted John Girty, vice president of sales and marketing at Shannon Ridge. “We are expanding our brand and entering new markets and we’re looking forward to partnering with Wine Warehouse to introduce the Shannon Ridge wine portfolio to consumers throughout California.”
Earlier this year Shannon Ridge also made headlines in California at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition where six of the wineries 2006 wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache, Wrangler Red, Zinfandel, and Barbera) received gold medals, and the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon received a double gold medal.
For more information, visit www.shannonridge.com or call 707-998-9656.
Shannon Ridge Vineyards to hold pruning demonstration March 15
Written by Editor
Saturday, 01 March 2008
Clay Shannon, owner of Shannon Ridge Winery, and vineyard manager Celestino Castaņeda. Courtesy photo.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Bring your pruning shears (or borrow a pair from Shannon Ridge) and join them up at the ranch to participate in an "in the vineyard pruning demonstration," plus tastings of our 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.
Then join in an informal barbecue hamburger and hot dog lunch including marshmallow roast in the picnic area with views of spectacular High Valley.
The fun is scheduled to start in the vineyards on Saturday, March 15 at 11 a.m. and the barbecue will last until 2 p.m. Pruning techniques will be taught by Tony Rose and Luis Fajardo.
At the end of the pruning demonstration everyone will get a chance to prune one of the vines right in the vineyard.
"We feel that this outdoor classroom will give everybody a good idea as to what's involved with growing and maintaining a vineyard. This is a great way to learn about the vine," said Clay Shannon, owner of Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery.
At noon all attendees will be invited to join the Shannon family for a barbecue, music and tasting of the ranch's Cabernet, which won a double gold in the S.F. Chronicle Wine Competition, as well as their just-as-famous Sauvignon Blanc wines.
Shannon Ridge Wine Club members event cost is $10 each. Underage teens can attend for $5. The nonmember cost is $15 each and kids under 12 can come for free.
For reservations, please contact the winery at 998-9656 or email them the number in your party to
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.
Direction to the vineyards: Take Highway 20 to Morine Ranch Road in Clearlake Oaks, follow the signs up to the event site.
CLEARLAKE – The Dragonfly Cafe, owned by Krissy Thornton, will host the first Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce mixer of the year at 6 p.m. Friday, March 7.
The Dragonfly Café is located at 8030 Lake St. in Lower Lake overlooking Cache Creek.
This is a business mixer so please bring plenty of business cards to network.
For more information about the mixer or chamber events please call 994-3600. For information about the Dragonfly Café please call 995-0559.
KELSEYVILLE – With continuing pressure on sellers to be more realistic in their pricing, and lower interest rates, Lake County home buyers are in a situation that few would have even dreamed of just a year ago.
"These are the good old days that buyers will be talking about for years to come," said Phil Smoley, broker owner of CPS Country Air Properties.
Increased inventory and more motivated sellers have created a bargain rich environment for buyers, yet many are still sitting on the sidelines.
Home sales decreased 14.9 percent in January in Lake County compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 22 percent according to information gathered from the Lake County Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
"Financing issues have dogged entry-level buyers since early 2007, but they spilled over into the middle and upper-tier markets in the last few months," said California Association Of Realtors (CAR) President William E. Brown. "The decline in sales at the upper end of the market contributed to a significant decline in the statewide median price as even well-qualified borrowers had difficulty securing financing. While it is normal for sales to decline at this time of year, regional sales fell more steeply than usual because of the ongoing liquidity crunch and tighter underwriting standards," he concluded.
Closed escrow sales of homes in Lake County totaled 40 in January according to information gathered from the MLS. This is a loss of 23 percent from December's 52 closed escrow sales; however home sales decreased 14.89 percent from the 47 sales pace recorded in January 2006.
The median price of an existing, single-family home in Lake County during January 2008 was $195,000, a 22-percent decrease from the $250,000 median for January 2007, the MLS reported. The January 2008 median price decreased 18.58 percent from December's $239,500 median price and 15.58 percent from November's $231,000.
"While the number of sales is down, prices seem to be stabilizing, which could mark the beginning of a return to a more balanced market,” said Smoley. “November and December actually showed a rise in the median price over October in Lake County. However, the rest of the state is not doing so well. Home sales decreased 33.4 percent in January in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 16.5 percent, according to CAR.”
"We expect further weakness in sales over the next few months as the liquidity crisis plays out," said CAR Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "Both the state and national economies remain fundamentally sound at this time, despite recent developments in the housing market. While there have been mixed signals in recent months, economic growth is expected to continue into 2008. "It will take some time for the Federal Reserve Bank's recent reduction of the federal funds rate to have an effect on the housing market, but should result in more favorable real estate finance rates as we move through the year.”
Highlights Lake County's housing figures for January 2008:
Lake County's Unsold Inventory Index for homes in January 2008 was 24 months, compared with 21 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 6.10 percent during January 2008, compared with 6.14 percent in January 2007, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.50 percent in January 2008 compared with 5.45 percent in January 2007.
The average number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 207 days in January 2008, compared with 176 days for the same period a year ago.
Thus while it appears that it will continue to be a buyers market for the coming months, there are signs of stability and increased buyer interest, which bodes well for sellers.
"Spring will be a tell tale measure of whether the honeymoon for buyers is over or not. But for now, it's a buyer's bonanza, and it's silly to be watching on the sidelines while so many bargains are available at great rates," Smoley concluded.
Ray Perry is a real estate agent with CPS Country Air's Kelseyville office. Visit his Web site at www.move2lakecounty.com/.
