This Michelin 1-star restaurant is located in Soho, a Parisian bistro featuring French cuisine prepared by Chef Daniel Calvert, in a nice cozy ambiance, with soft lighting, and a bar in the background. However, the tables and chairs are of the bistro style so is not too comfortable and spacious compared with more formal French fine-dining restaurants. The mood and atmosphere though was more friendly and easy on the other hand.
The staff are all very attentive and offers us a good explanation on the menu and the individual dishes. We ended up going for the Selection de Luxe ($1,688 each) in which the dishes are selected by the chef, showcasing the more premium ingredients. The Naturally Leavened Bread with Salted Brittany Butter was very nice, with a crunchy crust on the outside, soft and chewy interior, freshly baked out of oven, and the butter also was rich and flavorful. A good start and raising my expectation to the dishes to come.
The Saucisson de Bigorre was a type of pork sausage from Bigorre, in southwest France in the region of Gascony, made from the famous black pigs. The peppers and slight smoky note made the sausages a great appetizer to pair with the Le Guishu Assemblage ($158), an interesting wine from Camargue, made from a blend of rice and grape wine.
Next came the Cod Tarama with Karasumi and Mitsuba. The tarama is the salted and cured roe of cod, and then adding the salted mullet roe, karasumi, which is commonly seen in Taiwan as a delicacy, with some mitsuba, or Japanese parsley on top. The savory notes are very appealing, with the two types of roes harmonious in taste. The creamy tarama and the solids from the karasumi are contrasting in texture to give an interesting mouthfeel too. This is my favorite among the hors d'oeuvres on the night.
Continuing we had Crispy Shirako with Sauce Gribiche. I was surprised in the previous dish on the choice of Japanese ingredients, but more so for this one. The shirako is in fact fish milt, baked to a crispy surface and then paired with the gribiche sauce, a mayonnaise-like cold egg sauce. The creamy shirako reminded me of melted cheese without the cheesy flavors. This one can be a pleasant surprise for everyone coming to the restaurant.
Next was Cep Mushroom Barbajuans. The barbajuans are sort of fritters, with the stuffing being the cep mushroom and some cheese. The meaty flavored mushroom was finely chopped, with a nice bite and nicely seasoned. Surprisingly I found the barbajuans to be chewy and unlike the crunchy fritters I would be expecting, though on the taste they were good.
The last hors d'oeuvres was Oyster Tartare. This one was the signature of the restaurant, with the oyster cut into small pieces, adding some aioli and small croutons on top, followed by some caviar. The oyster was fresh and rich in taste, with the sauce and caviar offering a perfect harmony of flavors among the ingredients and truly wonderful. And by cutting into small bites I think it also would make it less intimidating for those people who might not eat raw oyster. A must try in my opinion.
Coming to the entrees the first one was Sanma 'Nicoise'. Sanma is the Japanese name for Pacific Saury, the silvery fish that is right in season. Unlike serving in sushi restaurant, the skin of the fish was not removed, leaving a chewy bite which I found quite interesting. The meat was firm and not mushy, another proof of the freshness of the fish. Very rich in taste, the Nicoise sauce poured on top provided a nice acidity from the tomatoes making it refreshing and also helped to neutralize any fishy note. A dish I also enjoyed very much. The wine paired was a Michel Redde et Fils La Moynerie Pouilly Fume 2018 ($168).
Then we had Salade Gourmande au Foie Gras, a very beautifully prepared dish, with the foie gras at the bottom, on top having a layer of fig jam (?) providing a refreshing sweetness to balance the rich and intense flavors from the foie gras. There are some salad around. The staff also provided us with a piece of brioche to eat with, and the buttery, freshly baked brioche on its own was already very delicious.
Next was Drunken Pigeon with Celtuce and Sorrel. This one was another creative dish, featuring many Chinese elements. The drunken pigeon was really tasty, and truly reminding me of the same flavors from the Shanghai cuisine. However, the pigeon was much more tender in this one. The celtuce, or asparagus lettuce, was also a type of vegetable found in many Shanghai dishes, cooked nicely to the right softness in texture. The wine paired was a Cotes du Jura ($248) which was great in matching with the pigeon.
Going to the plats we had Australian Quail with Wilted Pea Leaves and Sauce Perigourdine. The quail was very nicely done, extremely tender and flavorful. But the true beauty I would say came from the sauce. It is made with chopped black truffle and reduced with brown stock and jus from the quail, so rich in flavors and complexity, that I could not help but to use a piece of bread to scoop up any single drop remaining on the dish. The wine paired was Domaine Louis Boillot & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin ($338), perfect to match with the gamey flavors.
Turning to dessert we had Preserved Pear Millefeuille. The layers of puff pastry was very crunchy, and in between them there were the preserved pear which got a nice contrast in texture as well as a lighter note in taste to make the whole dessert less heavy and balanced. The wine paired was Farnito Vin Santo del Chianti ($278).
The last course was another dessert, Mont Blanc, made with chestnut puree, on top with some whipped cream. The chef had a twist here by putting three chestnut puffs, which were very tasty and again, highlighting the seasonal ingredient to the extreme. A great finale to the whole meal.
The overall experience was very good, with both the food and ambiance nice, true to the Parisian bistro style. My biggest comment was the price. The bill on the night was $5,269 which was too expensive in my opinion. I thought the wines were too over-priced, especially these by-glass wines. Still, seeing the restaurant full on a typical Wednesday evening, under the current gloomy political environment, the restaurant did attract customers. And I hope many of the restaurants that I have seen struggling recently can soon be back to normal business.
沒有留言:
張貼留言