The 8, still one of my favourite places for dim sum!

A weekend trip to Macau means a morning ferry ride and arriving just on time for lunch~ And where is lunch? Why, The 8 of course 🙂

The elegant decor of the restaurant is as always stunning with the glamorous crystal hanging ball and the striking goldfish motif.

They have a great selection of dishes from their huge a la carte menu, but today is all about dim sum~

Starting with their amuse bouche

XO fried pork in a crispy nest and an individual baby abalone on a slick of yuzu jelly. Loved the freshness of the jelly paired with the tender abalone.

Signature goldfish prawn dumplings. Cute as always and so delicately detailed with their gaping fishy mouths. The skin is nicely chewy with a bouncy textured fresh prawn.

Scallop and prawn dumpling wrapped in a spinach tinted skin with a touch of truffle. Very moist with a lingering aftertaste of truffle.

These porcupine buns are possibly my favourite item here. A bbq pork and preserved vegetable filling enveloped in a perfectly steamed soft bun with a crunchy pan-fried bottom.

These crab shaped pastry puff tarts are also adorable. A fragrant Portuguese curry crab filling paired with the slightly sweet tart shell leaves the tastebuds wanting more.

A whole prawn encased in a light batter and fried to a nice crisp. Not too oily and the mayo/sweet hoi sin sauce (although no too pretty) were a nice accompaniment.

Deep fried custard mochi. Piping hot with a flowing custard filling, I wasn’t expecting it to have a katalfi like exterior, but it added more texture to the dessert.

I was looking forward to the usual petit fours of mini Portuguese tarts, but instead it had been replaced with black and white sesame roll. Soft and chewy, they packed a burst of toasted sesame flavour. Not bad, but I still miss their Portuguese tarts…

As always the petit fours are accompanied with their famous milk tea, super strong, super creamy, super sweet.

I am already looking forward to my next visit 🙂

Address:

The 8, Grand Lisboa 2nd floor

Quintessence. A little bit of Tokyo in Macau~

I have heard that a lot of hard work goes into securing a table at Quintessence in Tokyo. A two month booking in advance where you can only call within two 1.5 hour periods throughout the day and provided you can actually get through the line, there is still the possibility of your preferred date being booked out.

So when hearing Chef Kishida and his team would be flying in to hold a 2 night Gala dinner at The Kitchen in Macau, Mr. C thought it most worthwhile to reserve a table for the first night 😀

My loves bread and butter~ Slices of freshly baked country loaf accompanied by The Kitchen’s famous mango butter. Oh my god, the still hot crusty slice soaking up the salty sweet mango studded creaminess… Combined both of us went through four slices of the butter just because we could.

And then it began~

A perfect slice of shiitake mushroom atop a cepe biscuit. The typical foamy texture of the mushroom filled the mouth with its perfume and paired well with the herby buttery biscuit.

Baked onion soup served chilled. The temperature struck me a little odd, but I shouldn’t have had any doubts. Being chilled, it concentrated the essence of the onions enhancing the intensity and it was just so sweet~

This was a signature dish of Quintessence. A delicate goats cheese bavarois with the most heavenly texture. Think thick and full like Greek yoghurt, but whipped till it was almost cloud-like, then drizzled with Chef’s favourite olive oil and sprinkled lightly with sea salt. If angels ate food… this would be it.

The scallop tartare was most refreshing, a little herby pairing well with the zesty marinated tomatoes and of course the caviar. Most delightful, I polished this off in no time while Mr. C was still halfway through slowly enjoying his favourite seafood.

Sea urchin is always a favourite and it was featured here as a savoury clafoutis with ginkgo nuts all arranged on top of a mushroom. Being baked the sea urchin gave a stronger briny flavour while being just as creamy and I loved how big the ginkgo nuts were ihere with its signature gummy chew.

The most flavoursome dish would have to be the socca of blue lobster and prawns. Left slightly undercooked the prawns were tender and sweet, while those brown cubes you see had a crunchy crust melting easily in the mouth and leaving behind the most concentrated essence of the lobster. Just amazing.

The first of the main dishes was fish. Kinme-dai with sauce of passion fruit. A most generous slice with the skin fried to a thin crisp. The fish itself was lovely, flaked easily, but the middle was too undercooked for me and eating a mouthful of solid raw fish was not too appealing…

Pigeon was the meat dish for the evening, slowly cooked for two hours the blushing meat retained all it’s juices and was so soft. Pleasantly gamey paired with roasted potatoes and a hearty savoury sauce, if I hadn’t been so full I would have enjoyed it even more.

The savoury dishes were pretty amazing, but the desserts were even more so. Don’t be fooled by how simple they looked as the taste of them were anything but…

Looking like a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Mr. C was puzzled by it when he came back to the table and saw this staring up at him :p In fact it was a most silky panacotta, so smooth and creamy you just don’t want to think about how thick a cream was used to whip this up. Tasting lightly of coconuts, it paired surprisingly well with the much bolder shot of bitter espresso and the heady pistachio oil. This dessert alone deserves three stars and I could hear the diners at the next table murmuring their pleasure too.

Freshly baked pastries always taste good and the savarin served to us was no different. Just a simple slice a hard crunchy crust protecting its soft inside of frangipani goodness. The tart pieces of apricot were a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cake, if only it was paired with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream…

Not to be disappointed, we did have ice-cream to end our meal. Not vanilla flavoured, but meringue. I have never tasted meringue in ice-cream form, but the flavour was absolutely spot on. Even the slight tang could be felt on the tongue as an afterthought. What made this dessert special though was the sea water that Chef Kishida sprayed over the ice-cream prior to serving playing up the welcome concept of sweet and salty. No wonder this is yet another signature dish.

Accompanying us all night was this bottle of Pinot noir.

I’m not a big drinker nor a wine connoiseur, I’m one of those people whose faces become swollen and tomato red after a few sips, but Pinot I like and this was deep with fruity notes, a slight sour tang mixed with the sweetness.

We had finished our dessert by the time Chef Kishida came around to greet us and at 39 years of age he looked so young and so humble too even for all his accomplishments. Hopefully we will have a chance to visit his restaurant in Tokyo as there had been murmurings that the dinner here was only about 70% of his actual ability so imagine what 100% would be like!

Black Truffle Gala(ore)~

‘Tuber Melanosporum’ or just simply black truffles. Some say they smell musky, dirty, like old socks, sex and even old American dollar bills. To me, none of those come to mind, but they do have the most intoxicating and seductive scent, one sniff and everything just tingles…~

So I could say I was more than a little excited about the Gala dinner this year especially when the feature of the menu was black truffle and of course since Monsier Robuchon and his team would be there working their magic *happy dance*

A new addition to the bread basket, a petite truffle scroll all buttery and flaky, but unfortunately for that evening only.

To start, a truffled crumbed ball rolled in puffed rice hiding a layer of gorgonzola cheese, cow’s milk cheese and at the centre a small sphere of shaped black truffle. This was one of my favourites of the evening, rich and cheesy a variety of textures. Crunchy, mushy with the funny sensation of the truffle ball rolling along the tongue as you attempt to bite it. And the best thing? There were two of them.

The lobster dish, delicate spoonfuls of what seemed like lobster salad tossed in truffled creamy dressing sandwiched between floppy circles of celery with a most delicate arrangement of truffle matchsticks. A cold dish, light and refreshing.

A single scallop, perfectly seared sitting on a puree of truffle ringed with pumpkin. Those black circles you see were tubes of truffle pierced inside adding a little decadence to the dish. You can’t really go wrong with scallops, so although good it wasn’t special.

The hand made gnocchi had a nice chew to it, a pleasant surprise to the stodgy stickiness I have encountered elsewhere. Accompanied by thinly sliced fried potatoes and covered in a chestnut emulsion, the flavours were savoury and comforting. And the truffles? Cut into big chunks, ‘bricks’ was the term used with a texture like soft cartilage while a faint alcoholic flavour filled the senses as you chewed.

The next dish was quite interesting, a big ravioli hugging a cabbage wrapped bundle with a pepper infused chicken broth poured over it. The cabbage bundle was in fact a millefeuille layered with truffles, foie gras and vegetables, just the effort required in constructing it was pretty admirable. Simple flavours with the foie gras adding a hint of richness and the mild pepperiness of the savoury chicken broth was just stomach warming.

The main dish of the night was pork. A combination of different parts of the pig wrapped in layers of truffle, seared and then roasted. It was almost like eating a slice of sausage, but with more of a bouncy texture. Laid on a bed of truffled lentils ringed with an onion confit, this was a hearty dish, a more luxurious version of something that wouldn’t be out of place in a French bistro.

After such heavy dishes, dessert inclined towards the nature of light and fruity.

Tropical fruits were the theme. Cubes of malibu simmered pineapple, piped almond cream and a lovely pistachio ice-cream. I was quite smitten with the striking leopard printed chocolate as not only was it pretty, the dark chocolate belayed a very subtle peppermint flavour a play on the traditional mint and pineapple combination.

I was a little disappointed that La Mangue was served as although it was presented differently, the combination of ingredients were very similar to the original dessert served on the normal menu. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, sweet juicy mango layered with salted caramel, passionfruit mousse and topped with a tuile, it just wasn’t ‘wow’ enough for a gala dinner.

And a special petit four of coffee sabayon to end, almost like inhaling an intense mocha in a breath.

I think I have had enough truffles to last me till the end of this year :p

Three Michelin stars for 2014~

A little late, but big congratulations to the three Hong Kong restaurants for maintaining their prestigious three Michelin stars~

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (please click for reviews here, here, here, here and gala dinner)

Curls of foie gras on Ratte potatoes with shaved white truffles

Lung King Heen

Honey BBQ pork

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo

Peach and Almond panacotta

In Macau- Robuchon au Dome~

Sea urchin trio

And for the new comers~!

Bo Innovation (shocked they became three stars, I still think their tastes are more tuned for foreigners)

Tomato trio

Sushi Shikon (somewhere to try)

In Macau- The Eight (one of my favourite Chinese restaurants, so happy they got it!)

Portugese crab tart and pan fried BBQ pork bun

A little disappointed that Caprice has been downgraded to two stars, but that is to be expected since they are in the transition of chefs.

Well done well done!

Gala Dinner June 2013~ @ L’ Atelier de Joel Robuchon

I have dined at L’Atelier numerous times already, but each experience still makes me just as excited as though it was my first and this time even more so since it was their Gala dinner~! Held annually in Hong Kong, Monsieur Robuchon and his team fly in just to prepare the menu and dishes for this particular evening, so it just makes everything all that more special 🙂

There is no a la carte that evening, just one set menu and guests are greeted by their own Joel Robuchon signed copy of the evening’s menu tied with their signature red ribbon.

And so it begins~

Their version of an amuse bouche, strawberry gazpacho. French strawberries blended into a chilled soup with a ricotta cheese sherbet made as an espuma and then flash frozen by a burst of nitrogen gas. This was then spooned into the gazpacho as it was served. A lovely dusky rose pink, the gazpacho was velvety in texture and mixing in the ricotta sherbet resulted in the slightly tart and subtly sweet flavours taking on a pleasantly mild creaminess. A wonderful start to the evening~

First course, asparagus adorned with Sologne Imperial caviar accompanied by assorted vegetables lain over a shallow layer of clear tomato jelly. This was a visual delight to the eyes, like a ready-to-eat vegetable garden all on a plate~ The asparagus was juicily fleshy with the soft caviar adding a brininess to the fresh green flavour. The tomato jelly was the highlight for me, intense tomato flavour filled the senses edged with a sour tinge pairing very well with the rest of the vegetables. It was so good, the gentleman two seats down from me could not keep murmuring his pleasure while swiping his plate clean with the tail end of his baguette :p

A softly boiled egg resting in a puree of spinach and an aged Comte cheese mousse was served next. Looking so simple, the flavours were anything but… Gorgeously oozy on the inside, it paired wonderfully with the spinach puree while the 18 month Comte cheese added a stronger flavour with an edge of saltiness.

Those that love sea urchin would have swooned over this dish. A Hokkaido sea urchin royale, essentially a custard, layered with a veloute of cauliflower. Creamily smooth with a thick body, the custard had an intense sea flavour from the sea urchin, but that was not all. As you gradually eat, I could taste a slight curry spice mingled within which gradually built up a pleasant heat on the palate. Interesting.

The sea main course used lobster as the main ingredient. Roasted rock lobster from Australia accompanied by French green peas served with a Chateau Chalon sauce. Two generously portioned pieces of bouncy lobster flesh fragrant from the roasting process was delightful with the wonderful savoury sauce and I loved how the green peas popped happily with a burst of sweetness 🙂

The last savoury dish was grilled French baby pork cutlets with white beans accompanied with a lettuce wrapped pork pluma and mushroom ball and a cannelloni of chorizo topped with a disc of beef bone marrow. This dish blew.me.away. Rustic, homely flavours, the pork was so tender with a richness from the slight trim of fat and paired perfectly with the heady, yet surprisingly spicy flavour of the white bean sauce. The cannelloni was al dente while the bone marrow was fragrant from its own fatty oils. I also really enjoyed the cabbage ball which had stronger salty flavours and tasted like a sausage meatball with occasional bouncy cubes of mushroom adding to the texture~

As I finished with my main course, my server of the evening thoughtfully asked whether I needed a break prior to my dessert. It is just little touches like these that make all the difference to ones dining experience 🙂

When I was ready, my first dessert was brought to me. Apricot compote and mousse with a ‘lulo’ sorbet. What is a ‘lulo’ sorbet you may ask? It is a Colombian mountain fruit with a citrusy flavour involving hints of pineapple and cherries. This centre of tangy sorbet paired nicely with its counterparts of chunky apricot pieces covered in a luscious blanket of apricot mousse. Those that are partial to sour flavours in their desserts would enjoy this.

The final dessert was a show stopper. A 3D cherry panacotta with a layer of almond sponge cake and cherries soaked in kirsch, encased in a layer of thin white chocolate. So so cute~ I could hear many diners cooing over this as it was placed in front of them. Very creamy, with the flavour similar to Black Forest, the tart cherries made sure that the overall dessert was not too heavy. Stunning~

And to end. Something different from their usual petit fours~ A butter sable with a dab of lemon curd decorated with a ring of French strawberries. Cute and sweet finish 🙂

The dinner was amazing~! So many elements that varied from their usual way of preparing dishes, from the nitrogen frozen ricotta sherbet, to the surprisingly spicy touches in the sea urchin royale and sauce of the pork cutlets while the undeniably cute cherry dessert captured many hearts that evening. Aside from the food, I really admired the decoration on the plates itself where each stroke and colour used were well thought out to be unique and subtly in sync with the overall presentation of each dish. I am sure every diner had their enjoyable moments and of course the ever personable Monsier Robuchon made himself available to take pictures with every guest and ensured everybody received a copy of the photo with a personal signature from himself. Tres bon!

Dinner @ 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana

Originally I was not expecting this dinner to occur as the only time they had available was for quite a late seating, but the night before our appointed date, 8 1/2 contacted Mr. C to inform him that they were able to organise a table for an earlier time, so lucky us~

This was my second time dining at this 3-star establishment and since I was not wowed by my previous experience, I was hoping I would be more impressed this time around.

As we were seated, we were greeted with a glass of bubbly, which was a very kind gesture *thank you* and after looking through the menu we decided to go a la carte ordering dishes to share rather than have their full degustation menu.

By the time we had finished ordering, I was already really hungry since someone was a little indecisive in choosing whether to take a detour before dinner *ahem* so when the bread basket arrived, my eyes lit up and I must admit I did over indulge on the bread :p Their bread basket was quite rustic with the combination of wood-fired sour dough, olive bread, grissini and sun-dried tomato and cheese foccacia. I loved their olive bread which tore off with a crunchy shatter and the fluffy insides was ideal for soaking up the thick fragrant olive oil~

Amuse bouche was a tiny cube of ocean trout with a puree of granny smith apple and ctiron foam. Quite ordinary.

Our first appetiser was the roast octopus and roast artichoke. This was amazingly good~ Simply presented, the octopus was cut to the perfect thickness and very tender while the artichoke was softly crunchy with a pleasant flavour that can only be achieved in an oven. Seasoning was very light and from the taste only salt was used, but it was enough to bring out the sweetness of the octopus. This was my favourite dish of the night!

Whenever there is soup on the menu, we always tend to order it. So the 8 1/2 seafood soup was our second appetiser. The soup was quite thin, but very rich in flavour with, what I think, an underlying tomato base. The fish, scallops and squid were fresh and cut into bite-sized pieces which were perfect for spooning up.

Dining at an Italian restaurant one must of course order some sort of carbohydrate whether it be pasta or risotto. We chose a lighter option since we were planning to have a heavier meat course and picked the vegetarian burrata cheese ravioli with tomato and eggplant sauce. As half a portion, I counted six neatly  folded triangular parcels and slicing one in half revealed an oozy, stretchy filling of snow-white burrata cheese. The sauce was fresh and lightly sweet, quite a perfect accompaniment with the ravioli. Very good.

For our meat course, Mr. C suggested I try the veal chop as it is one of 8 1/2’s signature dishes. So trusting him I agreed and we ordered a serving for one to share. The veal chop was presented as a schnitzel and was served and cut up at the table. The methodical crunch that sounded as the knife sliced through the breading actually made me anticipate eating it even more. The server recommended we give a generous squeeze of lemon over the veal chop before eating it, and he was right as when eaten plain, it was quite dry and tasteless, but with the addition of lemon juice the zestiness lifted the overall flavour immediately. Do remember to eat the side of sliced cherry tomatoes they provide on the side as they were just so sweet~

I was actually quite sated at this point, so was not particularly in the mood for dessert. Mr. C had the strawberry panacotta all to himself and seemed to enjoy it, claiming that the strawberries were very sweet.

Petite fours, a trio of pistachio nougat, milk chocolate pieces and shortbread cookies. They did not look especially appealing so we just left it at that.

For a restaurant that has earned three stars and has recently been placed at Number. 39 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurant List it certainly has its admirers. The prices were very reasonable and service although a little haphazard at times was attentive. However maybe because I am not that enamoured with Italian fine dining, I found the food to be reasonably well done, but still not as spectacular as what others claim it to be. That aside, it is an accomplished restaurant and is worthy of a visit.

Something seasonal~@ L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

I always look forward to the change in seasons, not because of the erratic drop or rise in the temperature gauge, but rather the imaginative dishes restaurants conjure up with the use of newly arrived seasonal produce~ At Robuchon, they are always right on track when updating their menu to incorporate the freshest items available and my visit this time was no different 🙂

Amuse bouche was a chilled asparagus veloute with ricotta foam and a stack of chargrilled eggplant and zucchini topped with a chunk of mozzarella cheese. The veloute was smooth as usual with an intense asparagus flavour where the ricotta foam contributed a creamy undertone. The chargrilled vegetables were nicely soft and filled the palate with a smokey aroma.

My first course was the tomato millefueille and it was just so beautiful to look at~ An elegant structure of layers, alternating with ox heart tomatoes and a combination of shredded crab meat, diced avocado and granny smith apple sitting in a pool of tomato coulis. All the components worked perfectly together from the rich tangy flavour of the tomato to the sweetness of the fresh crab meat, the avocado was more subtle in flavour, but added a creamy texture, while the granny smith apples gave a pleasant sweet sour crunch. Such a refreshing summer dish, it was perfect to start the meal with~

Morel mushrooms are now in season and they serve it as a risotto dish. It arrived as a sizeable portion with a glass bowl covering the top, and as the cover was lifted, the most mouthwatering aroma of mushroom and chicken jus wafted to meet me… A generous scatter of morel mushrooms adorned the top of the risotto with a few shavings of cheese and gold foil. I savoured each spoonful, creamy with an al dente bite, it was not overly salty, and the pungent aroma of mushrooms lingered on the palate. I adored this dish, it is definitely a must try!

Something new on their dessert menu Le Foret Noir, this was their version of the traditional black forest. A dark chocolate mousse topped with Morello cherries and fresh almond cream, mini quenelles of vanilla bean speckled ice-cream accompanied this dessert and it was capped off with an artistically decorated dome of dark chocolate. The chocolate mousse was seductively smooth while the juicy cherries imparted quite a strong flavour of kirsch on the tongue. However, to achieve the perfect balance it is best to eat it together with the cream and ice-cream, otherwise it may veer towards being too rich.

And to finish, a soothing cup of camomile tea 🙂

It may seem like I did not eat as much compared to my previous visits, but it was more than enough and extremely satisfying~ The seasonal dishes are definitely worth coming for so do not miss out~!

Hello again Monsieur Robuchon~@ L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

Back again on Sunday night, just in time to catch Monsieur Robuchon as it was his last evening in HK~

I was not expecting to have a heavy meal that night, but as usual it is always difficult to stop when you are presented with such high quality and beautifully plated dishes…

To start the evening was their amuse bouche: From L to R, bacon mousse with a layer of port wine reduction and bacon foam and the other was a potato and leek mousse. The potato and leek mousse was light and creamy, gently waking the tastebuds for the meal to come, while the bacon mousse was really quite smokey in terms of flavour.

My first course was a salad of burrata cheese, served with slices of avocado, tomatoes and a healthy shaving of black truffles. I have had this a couple of times before, but I can definitely say this was the best version I have tasted! The burrata was gorgeously creamy, with a delicate stretchy texture while the avocados were perfectly ripe with a buttery softness and the tomatoes were juicily tart, offsetting the heaviness of the other components.

I always seem to want to order soup as part of my meal and it was no exception that night. The daikon soup was recommended to me and I admit I did have some qualms about daikon soup as I was picturing it to be quite watery similar to Chinese style soups. Luckily I was wrong, as a creamy off-white liquid was served with three sliced circles of beetroot, daikon and black truffle. I was instructed to spoon down to the bottom where I discovered to my delight more shavings of truffles. A lot more. The daikon soup was purreed so finely, light and creamy to taste while the truffles added its own earthy fragrant dimension to this dish.

The next dish was something brand new that had just been created earlier that day so I felt extremely lucky that I was able to try it. As it was set in front of me, it reminded me unerringly of a traditional Chinese dessert of sesame soup and almond tea. In reality, it was a poached egg sitting in the centre of a ying yang pattern of cauliflower puree and black truffle puree. The egg was softly poached at 63 degree heat leading to its runny centre and barely set egg whites, both purees were wonderfully smooth with the the subtlness of cauliflower contrasting with the stronger aroma of truffles. As if that was not luxurious enough, crowned on top of the poached egg were sizable pieces of chopped truffles, which I have to admit made me a little speechless when I finally figured out what I was looking at :p

For main course I remained ever faithful to my slow cooked-lamb cutlets. Never disappointed with the delicate tenderness of blushing pink lamb rolled in truffle dust with a mixed herb salad dressed in a tangy vinagrette.

Dessert was something special as the manager kindly requested the dessert chef from Paris to create something for me. A cool quenelle of strawberry sorbet on a bed of vanilla speckled cream and chopped strawberries with a delicate fan of Japanese strawberries. Using Japanese strawberries, they were so so sweet and the alluring perfume of the fruit lingered on the palate long after the dessert was finished. Definitely a more high-class version of the traditional favourite of strawberries and cream~

And to finish? Of course petite fours and skim decaf latte~

It is definitely worth going to try the ‘Robuchon Experience’ when Monsieur Robuchon is here as you can really sense the energy and excitement resonating throughout the whole restaurant whether it be from the staff or patrons. He is personable, friendly, and more than willing to pose with guests for photos which are then printed and gifted as a souvenir with his signature. Despite having taken one with him on a previous dinner, I was still excited when he took one with me despite my worrying that I would have truffle in my teeth when I smiled, but upon checking later, thankfully not :p

One Month Anniversary Dinner~ @ Caprice

I know it sounds a little cliched, ok a lot, but time really flies when you are enjoying yourself especially when you are spending the time with someone who is dear to you and very soon it had reached the one month mark 🙂

Knowing that I had always wanted to try dinner at this restaurant, Mr. C very sweetly reserved a table at Caprice to mark our special occasion~

Last time I was here for lunch, I was seated by the window and I was happy to find that we were once again allocated a window table offering peaceful night views of the ocean. In the daytime, the natural daylight illuminates the restaurant offering a bright, cheerful environment for a business or special lunch occasion, while in the evening it is dimly lit with a yellowish toned lighting enhancing the elegance of the dining room.

When perusing the a la carte menu, I discovered a lot of the dishes I had wanted to order was on the degustation so I was quite happy to agree with Mr. C’s suggestion of ordering the ‘Taste of Caprice’.

The amuse bouche of the evening came as three bite-sized items. From L-R, smoked salmon on a flaky biscuit, daikon puree atop thinly toasted bread and the spoon held a cylinder of fresh prawn wrapped in thin slices of daikon with a citrusy dressing.

A server then came around with a bread basket with a selection of four different types of bread. I remember thoroughly enjoying the breads they offered at lunch last time and the croissant-like sesame scroll and baguette I picked this time was just as good. The scroll had a slightly firmer texture than a typical croissant, but its crust was slightly flaky with the fragrance of sesame seeds, while the baguette was nicely crunchy with a thin crust and pillowy insides.

The first course of the evening was a langoustine cannelloni, wrapped in thin slices of marinated salmon dotted with Sologne caviar lain on a bed of lobster jelly. The individual ingredients were definitely fresh, but I found the langoustine to be quite hard to cut through which alerted us to its slightly too chewy texture. The jelly was bland on its own with a faint whisper of lobster flavour, but coupled with the more salty cannelloni it helped balance out the sodium level.

Our soup course was next, presented very simply with a bowl of chestnut veloute with an accompanying truffled Iberico ham tartine. The flavour of the veloute was quite good, sweet and nutty, punctuated by the smokey, saltiness of the diced pork cubes hidden inside. I would have liked this even more if the texture was thicker as I found it too thin for my liking. The tartine was pleasant, a crunchy toasted base topped with thickly sliced truffles with shaved slices of fatty Iberico ham. The combination of earthy truffles and the oils released from the melting fat really made a gorgeous mouthful.

I was really looking forward to the coming dish of foie gras as I am quite fond of this delicacy and the way they served it here was steamed (like the one in Spoon) enveloped in slices of pink lady apple with dots of coriander puree. By steaming the foie gras, the texture is a lot firmer with a creamier finish and the subtle sweetness of the apple was a perfect complement to it.

The last course before our mains showcased Mr. C’s favourite item:of scallops. This was served gueridon style, with the scallops wrapped in a plastic bag to absorb the truffle smoke for four minutes before being plated on top of a bed of buttered Savory cabbage and crosnes. There was nothing wrong with this dish, good simple flavours, but nothing too special. The scallops were cooked thoroughly, but I would have preferred them to be a little more raw inside to maintain the buttery softeness.

And then to our mains. There was a choice between lamb and suckling pig, since I had expressed my want to eat lamb that night, Mr. C chose the suckling pig so we could try both. My lamb arrived as a sum of three parts, lamb cutlet, lamb shoulder pastille and a roulade of lamb with a side of artichokes. All of the lamb was gorgeously tender, but the overall dish had no wow-factor.

Mr. C’s so-called suckling pig did not resemble the suckling pig that I had envisioned. Lacking a crunchy skin, it was presented in a style akin to roast pork accompanied with curried green lentils, a small slice of boudin noir and drizzled with sausage sauce. From the slice I had, it did have a pleasant pork flavour, but was slightly too tough making it quite chewy. I think Mr. C was quite non-committal to this dish.

Normally the end of the main course would signify desserts, but before that we had a selection of cheeses to look forward too~ Caprice is renowned for their cheese room and we were fortunate enough to be allowed to have a little peek inside. The manager of Caprice is a cheese aficiando and from the manner he was describing the cheeses to us you could feel his passion in this field. He asked us for our preference in textures and flavour and then cut a selection for us to try. I tend to favour cheese that are oozy and soft, while Mr. C asked to try some firmer textured cheese. They were all gorgeous~ and surprisingly I quite liked the mimolette (the two orange cheeses), both pasterurised and unpasteruised, he cut for Mr. C to try.

After the cheese course, it signaled the time for dessert~ First to arrive were the petit fours, I quite liked the mini strawberry macaron even though it reminded me a little of my lip balm :p and the caramel apple tart-like chocolate was enjoyable too, but the green item of lime and pea mousse was a little too interesting for my taste buds.

The first dessert was light and fruity, a pomegranate and raspberry cremeux tart, accompanied with a peach sorbet. I am a big fan of pastry and the tart base was crisp and buttery, perfect with the sweet creamy filling, but the sorbert seemed a bit too sour for something that was labelled as peach.

The second dessert was definitely a contrast as it was richer and stronger in flavour than the previous one. A piped line of malt mousse and accompanying sorbet with a scattering of caramelised peanuts. Sadly I was not partial to this dessert as I found the malt alcohol flavour too strong and bitter for me, but I did like the crunchy sweetness of the peanuts.

And to end, a decent latte with assorted fudge.

Although the food that evening was good, it was not extraordinary, but the service was friendly and attentive and the ambience and surroundings were perfect for a romantic evening. Happy one month Anniversary~ 🙂

Dinner for two~ @ Le Jardin

There is no doubt that having dinner at a highly acclaimed three star restaurant is a special experience, but what makes it even more enjoyable is the company that you are sharing the experience with. Being able to dine there with Mr. C, let’s just say it was more than a little interesting 😉

The menu for the evening was set by the chef and of course before the meal started, their always pleasing bread basket was brought around for our choosing pleasure. The first course was brought out soon after, I had my requested fois gras terrine, delectably smooth as always spread on thin toasted bread with the sweetness of the fig jam, it was a pleasure to eat~

Mr. C had Le Homard, maine lobster with tofu, lemon olive oil and a bright green smear of avocado coulis. I tried some of his tofu, which was pointed out to me as being organic and it was pleasantly smooth with a nutty flavour. I thought the zestiness from the oil went very well with the dish making it extremely refreshing. A perfect appetiser to start off the evening.

Our next course starred L’Oursin or sea urchin, was presented elegantly as three small items. We were suggested to start with the radish wrapped cylinder encasing a filling of fresh crab meat with a citrus dressing topped with fresh tongues of sea urchin. This was pleasantly light on the palate and it is best to eat this in one go as from observing Mr. C’s efforts it was quite messy to cut. Next, on the left was a shallow bowl of sea urchin custard with crab meat hidden inside. This was gorgeously creamy with subtle hints of brininess from the sea urchin used. And lastly was their signature sea urchin dish with lobster jelly spread with a thin layer of cauliflower cream. I have had this before and the quality of this dish is always unwavering. The taste of lobster in the jelly is quite concentrated and with the addition of sea urchin it adds an intense shock of flavour to the palate. For lobster lovers, this is definitely a dish for you.

I was so happy to be served the next course of their current seasonal dish of La Truffe Noire. A signature dish of perfectly shaved black truffle slices with a mixture of pearl onion confit and smoked bacon layered on a crispy base and drizzled with goose liver oil. The aroma from this dish was absolutely amazing, heady and rich you could already feel that this was going to be something special. The truffle slices were shaved thicker than usual so I could feel its slightly rough texture and I loved the delicate shatter from the flaky base. This is something that really needs to be tried~

The evening seemed to be filled with truffles as our soup course featured black truffles in a chicken broth, La Soupe aux Truffles. The soup was covered with a crispy net which we were advised to break into the soup. This was so so good. Very rich, the soup was creamy, infused with a significant amount of truffles. The crunchiness of the crispy net was softened by the soup making it easier to eat, and hidden at the bottom of the bowl were small parcels of perfectly al dente ravioli with a melted centre of Comte cheese. Very sinful~
Accompanying the soup was a toasted sandwich with slices of truffle inside, very crunchy, but I did prefer their previous version where it was spread with a mixture of truffle and cheese.

The fish course of the evening was grilled sea bass slices with parmesan cheese foam and artichoke puree. The sea bass was cut into thin steaks and I could feel the texutre was more meaty than usual. I actually really enjoyed this as it was quite light, but wholesome.

Our last savoury dish of the evening featured baby lamb cutlets for me and wagyu tenderloin for Mr. C. My dish arrived as a serving of five delicately petite cutlets, each one bite-sized and juicily tender. This was amazingly good and what made it even better was the accompanying side of truffled mash potatoes… buttery and flawlessly smooth, the addition of truffles just made it that much more indulgent~

Mr. C’s tenderloin was presented with two generous portions of foie gras sandwiched in between with a bright orange smear of kumquat sauce. Unable to resist his offer of foie gras, it was wonderfully fatty and just melted in the mouth  Despite not trying the tenderloin, from its appearance, it was cooked to a perfect medium rare and its tenderness evident from the way the Mr. C’s knife glided through the meat.

I was actually quite looking forward to dessert as they had just changed the menu to include their version of the egg souffle which I had really enjoyed at Robuchon au Dome last time~ But before the main event, I was presented with another new addition to their set menu. A raspberry dome of mascarpone cheese with a bottom layer of lychee jelly and a drizzling of black fruits coulis. The mascapone was very creamy, with light raspberry flavour and it concealed a centre of sponge-like cake. Not only did it taste good, it was visually very pretty, shaped into a blossoming flower and coloured a bright lipstick red. Very appealing~

And then my egg souffle was served~ Perfectly risen, it was light and fluffy with a sweet vanilla flavour. Digging deeper, I found the souffle became more moist and soon revealed the liquid egg yolk on the bottom. Eaten together, the golden yolk added a richness to the overall souffle and alternate with a spoonful of creamy vanilla ice-cream to stimulate the palate with the change from warm to cold. Recommended~

Of course, a meal at Robuchon can not end without petit fours and my latte~ Not drawn by the usual person, but it was just as appreciated 🙂