Well I am all Toque-ered out! And what a night it was! For lack of time, I'm going to jump right in to what we had last night, and let your imagination carry you away.
We walked in, they seated us in the corner, next to a window at the front. It was empty, so they were at our beck and call. To start, they offered us aperitifs. I chose their special cocktail of the evening, which was raspberry, vermouth, and I can't remember whether it was Cointreau/Kir Royal/Crown Royal...In any case, it tastes like wild berries and was quite strong. A great way to kick off the event!
My dining partner opted for the two glasses of champagne, which they explain so you can compare. Delish!
Next they brought bread, so we tried to restrain ourselves to save room for the "tasting menu", which we both ended up taking. We chose this seven-course tasting menu because they ask you specifically what you don't eat! I was allowed to say I don't like raw onions, and they adapt for me! I took the option to try five different wines and my partner took the five Prestige wines, so we could try both.
The amuse-bouche was a puffy bread-like pastry with Gruyere cheese lightly baked into it. Yum.
So, dish number one: Mollusks with a peanut, coriander and ginger garnish, with soya sauce and oil, served in a shell of some kind. You are supposed to take out the food from the shell and put it into the bowl to mix with the oil and sauce. This dish was amazing! My partner had asked to avoid certain types of seafood, so his was served with a white fish, of which I can't remember the name. This came with two delicious white wines.
The next dish, also served with white wines, was a Monkfish liver mousse/pate with gelee. It was surrounded by very finely chopped garlic, cucumber, and something deliciously crunchy, with a Sake dressing. My god how I loved this rich but oh-so-light dish. The crunchy stuff really went amazingly with the smooth gelee.
Dish No. 3 was a plate of four scallops (Halibut in my partner's case, though I almost preferred the halibut because the skin had such an incredible flavour), in a pea mousse, with a raspberry caramel and some sort of creamy mousse. It also had crunchy (as in fried) sprouts of some sort, which again was an amazing touch. This dish was one of my favourites. Again, served with another white wine.
Dish No. 4: This was a heavier plate, with a generally smokey taste. It had a piece of Quail, some ham, some delicious sausage and blood pudding in my case, and not in my partner's. Some sort of light but crunchy vegetable that looked a bit like white radish was there to neutralize the overpowering smokey flavours. This was soooo delicious, and the blood pudding was something new for me (along with mollusk). This was of course served with a delicious red wine.
Dish No. 5: A tiny bowl with delicious and so tender deer meat. It had green onions in it, which I removed :) It also had some leafy garnish, like coriander, and lots of garlic, which is just wonderful in my books! This was served with our final glass of red wine.
Dessert, which my partner accompanied with a dessert wine, and myself with a coffee (I was drunk and needed to wake up), was the most unique I've ever seen, and so, so delicate. It was essentially a bowl: In the bottom was a strawberry mousse. This mousse was hidden beneath an array of crunchy flakes (dark chocolate, white chocolate and raspberry flakes). This alone made it really colourful and fun. On top of that was a spoonful of strawberry sorbet. All together, it was a fine, delicate and scrumptious dessert!
The sommelier was incredible. He told us the stories behind the people who made all our wines, and that made the evening that much more fun. All in all this was an incredible experience for me, since I have never been to a place where the food is art. I truly appreciated every single little bite. And I behaved, unlike the people beside us who busted out the big camera to take photos of every dish (which I considered doing but restrained myself ha!)
Alright, munch on that for today...
1 comment:
I'm so jealous.
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