The McCrady's Experience (Charleston 12/20/2008)

Some foodies had claimed McCrady's as a top ten restaurant in United States, but to me this was a total let down. McCrady's is situated in downtown Charleston, with its front door hiden in a dark valley. The insdie of McCrady was spacious and antique.

The Front Door of McCrady's

Butter and Olive Oil

Bread
Since it was our first time in McCrady, we went ahead and selected the tasting menu, and was told that we were the first customers who ever tried the menu. The bread was served at room temperature and the butter was cold.

The first course was "Wild Char Roe with Nasturtium, brown butter, and Passion Fruit". The dish did not work for me. The salt and the sweet did not come together. The brown butter powder is gummy insted of crispy.

"Sea Urchin with Cucumber, Ponzu, and Lemon Verbena"

As see you can from the picture, cucumber foam is covering ponzu ice with the sea urchin almost invisible. Taste wise, it is the same. The aroma of cucumber foam, the texture and sweetness of the ponzu ice totally overwhelmed the sea urchin. The chef could substitute the sea urchin with a piece of sea water gelee without me noticing any difference.

"Nantucket Bay Scallops with Cauliflower, Valet and Golden Beet"
The first two courses had tasted like amuse busches rather than main courses. The third course of the night were scallops cooked in sous vide(vacuum bags), complemented by ponzu chips as sauce. The scallops were too soft and got overshadowed by the rigid ponzu chips. The vegetables lost all their characters due to tiny cut size and overcooking.

"Local Grouper with Clams, Sunchokes and Pork Just"

The fish was quite dry, and I wished that the skin was left on.

"Beef with Creamed Ramps, Chanterelles and Smokey Hollandaise"
The beef was very tender and lean. The sea salt on the surface of the beef did not dissolve well, the taste was uneven.

"Banana Puddin"

The banana pudding was quite tasty, with the pudding having banna aroma and texture.

" Soft Chocolate with Toffee Ice Cream and Hazelnuts"

This chocolate mouse was chocolaty and the hazelnuts were crispy, very nice.

Mignardises

Overall, the meal was disappointing, although the desserts are better than the main courses. The characters of ingredients were missing in almost all dishes, and the whole dinner was lacking a theme. I regreted of being the first taster of the 2008 McCrady's tasting menu.

Victoria & Albert (Orlando 12/13/2008)

Victoria & Albert, situated in Disney Grand Floridian Resort, is the crowning restaurant of Disney .
We started our dinner with lobster Amuse Bouche which consisted four items: lobster susage, lobster spring roll, lobster in ghee, and lobster biscue. The lobster susage is creamy, reminds me of boudin blanc from Bouchon. The lobster spring roll is essenced with strong seaseme oil aroma, complemented with crispy springroll skin and spaghatti squash texture stuffings. The lobster in ghee(a sweet indian butter) is very firm. The butter around the lobster is sweet, but the lobster itself is sweeter. Last but not the least, the lobster biscue is very light and briny.


First course, we ordered dungeness crab cannelloni with cavair and mustard greens. The bitter greens are crispy and bitter, which helped to cut through the rich and creamy cavair crab combination.

Second course for me was elk tenderloin. The surface of the meat is nicely chared. The meat has a contained gaminess to it, pairing with bitter brussel sprouts, result in a pleasant surprise.


Their course is scallops with baby corn. When the dish was served infront of me, I was quite disappointted at how small the scallop were. However, they are extremely sweet with a nice firm texture. The baby corn and green broad beans are a bit boring.





For the main course I ordered japanese Wagyu beef lion steak which was accompanied with ox-tail jus, parsnip and carrot, and garlic mashed potato. The mashed potato is of the Robuchon style, i.e. infused with lots of butter. The parsnip and carrot is probably cooked with a sous vide method, so the crispeness and sweetness of the parsnips and carrots were perserved.
The ox-tail just has a higher viscosity than meat jus from other restaurants. A 3 inch sqaure of Wagyu beef is being cut into 3 pieces, with the back of the beef being seasoned with salt & pepper, and nicely charred. The Wagyu beef is not as tender as the Kobe beef I had in Le Bernardin, but is more flavorful due to the crust and burned fat.

For pre-dessert, I was served with whit chocolate gelato with almond shavings. The gelato is very smooth, while the almond shaving add both a nice aroma and texture contrast to the dish.

Last but not the least, the actual dessert is stunning and is the climax of the night. I was served with a trio of chocolate consists of : Tazana chocolate pyramid, Hawaii Kona chocolate souffle, and Godiva chocolate ice cream. The interplay of bitterness versus weetness, creaminess versus crispiness, hot versus cold, even overshadows the Wagyu beef I had and leaves me with a satisfied and calm emotion.

The wine we had was 2005 Sapphir Hill pinot noir, it has a grassy aroma, accompanied with a bit of spiciness. When the wine hit the back of the toungue, there is an overwhelming amount of bitterness, however, a hint of sweetness prevail as the bitterness got swallowed into your throat.
Overall, the quality of this dinner is very close to the meal I had in per se. The flavor is simple yet clear. The inclusion of a bitter element in nearly every dish is rare and ingenious. I enjoyed this dinner very much, and certainly believe that Victoria & Albert is the best restaurant in Orlando, if not the whole Florida.

The Providence Experience 04/17/08

To every foodie, there is an transcendental moment in their life, when they first see and taste the best food in the world. For me, that moment is Providence.

On my first trip to providence there are 3 dishes which shocked my world:
Japanese Kanpachi with Dashi Gelee--The kanpachi shashimi was extremly fresh and tasted clean, to serve with any liquidy sauce would taminate the fish. Therefore, the fish was served with a dashi gelee.



Santa Barbara Sea Urchin Sabayon, and mango ice cream with lime soda.

Greyhound, Gin & Tonic gelee & Mojito - These are basically jello shots with a rubbery ballon like skin while the inside is liquidy bursting with flavors.

From left to right: House-cured Tasmanian Sea Trout, Goat Cheese Hearts of Palm, and Fennel Saffron Shooter

The Urasawa Experience 6/6/2008

Urasawa is the most talked about restaurant in any foodie communities. As a foodie want to be, I feel obliegated to give it a try. What make urasawa so special is: 1. its humble price at $300 a pot, 2. it obtains 2 star michelin statues and is the best japanese/sushi restaurant on the west coast. 3. its sibiling restaurant in NYC recently receives its 3 star michelin rating.

I did not take any photo during the dinner such that I can fully enjoy the interaction with the chef. For photoed reviews please visit:
http://www.feast-blog.com/my_weblog/2008/06/urasawa---los-a.html

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4699639&blogID=401186794

And here is my Urasawa experience:

Urasawa is situated in the second stories of a shopping mall on rodeo drive. The lighting is bright and gentle. The shop isn't big, with only a sushi bar and two small tables.

Hiroyuki Urasawa is a very nice and humble person. With a smile on his face at all time, he truly loves what he does.

1. The dinner started with a Junsai salad - Junsai is known as "water shield" in English, and a summer delicacy in Japan. The plant is a member of the water lily family, and grows in clusters sometimes large enough to cover large bodies of water, hence the name. The most prized part of junsai is the slippery, gelatinous layer that covers young sprouts. Here, it was mixed with summer vegetables, shrimp, vinegar, scallions, and gold flake and was taken as a shot. The junsai had a slimy, yet crispy texture that made the dish slide easily down my throat. Perfect combination of texture and acidity, a great starter.

2. Next, I was served with "Nasu", a grilled japanese eggplant served below room temperature. Teh eggplant is soft with a clean flavor, and the cold temperature made the dish very suitable for the summer. The sweet soy dipping sauce is typical of japanese cuisine.

3. Next was 3 pieces of seared o-toro, topped with a bit of grated radish, a bit of wasabi. 4. Goma tofu, Kyoto-style - Tofu made from sesame seeds, stuffed with sweet Uni (urchin “roe”), topped with freshly grated wasabi and gold leaf, served in a light dashi seasoned with shoyu and mirin.

5. Yamaimo "Chawanmushi" - The egg custard here was served with uni, tai, ebi, eel, and gingko, all topped once again with gold. Though the ingredients are luxurious, it tastes like a typical chawanmush.

6. Tempura with shrimp.

7. A grill is served with beef wrapped vegetables on top, a bit of sake was poured onto the grill to give the dish a steam finish. The beef is very tender, the vegetable gave the dish a nice contrast.

8. The sashimi offering - Spanish o-toro, tuna, red snapper, and uni.

9. Seared fatty tuna - fatty tuna seared on hot stone.

10. Shabu Shabu--Foie gras, sweet shrimp, and Wagyu beef. Becareful to not burn your tongue.

11. pickled ginger

12. Nigiri Sushi: Toro, Seared Toro, Buri (similar to yellowtail), Tai (similar to red snapper), Aji (Spanish mackerel ), Shiitake, Uni, Amaebi (Sweet shrimp ), sea eel....
The nigiri sushi enjoys a perfect proportion of rice and toppings. Almost all sushis were brushed with yuzu and sweet soy. At first, the sweet and sour flavor woke up my palate, but as times gwent on, I got tired of the flavor and couldn't taste the fish.

13. Sesame ice cream with green tea

14. Tamago - Egg custard.

Overall, Urasawa is a good restaurant, and Hiro is a gracious chef. We exchanged lots of interesting conversations. For example, Masa does not like Jean George, and once charged him $8,000 for 5 guest. Hiro thinks the best chef in the world is Joel Robuchon. The food is overly dependent on luxury ingredients, so everything tastes like butter. Maybe because Urasawa is situated in a mall in LA, the connection to a japanese garden and japanese culture in general is lost. Urasawa is a good restaurant, but is limited by its location and customers.

The Joel Robuchon at the Mansion Experience 09/14/08

In September, I attended a friend's wedding in California. Afterwards I stopped by Robuchon's at Vegas.

Entrance

Dining room and its many dwellers.

Since it my first visit, I would like to experience Robuchon to the fullest. I went ahead with the 16 courses tasting menu, it's going to be a long night. Course 1:L'Asperge Blanche The texture of panna cotta is smooth, but the acidity that should have been present was somehow overwhelmed by the accompanying of seasalt. Also, I was wondering where my amuse buche were, which distracted me from tasting the food.

The Second course: La Tomate Since it is just half a tomato seasoned with salt and pepper, I did not take any picture. And it tastes like half of a tomato seasoned with salt and pepper.Le CaviarThis is caviar prepared three ways. Start from your left is Caviar in gelee of green asparagus. The richness of caviar hiden in the jelly totally overpowered the asparagus flavors. In the middle is caviar on top of smooth cauliflower cream, there is better balance between the flavors. However, since the texture of cauliflower cream is similar to that of the asparagus gelee, it is a bit boring. On the right hand side is a sushi made of couscous and caviar, the vingearetter couscous complements the caviar nicely.

The fourth course: eggyolk in spinach ravioli with trumpet mushroomOriginall, this dish is designed to be paired with morels, but I guess morels were not avilable. The pasta is over-cooked, so it is soft and damped. I did not taste the spinach, everything is masked by sea salt and cream.

Fifth course: Scallops RoyalMy favourite dish by far. The use of sea salt is actually approriate here and draws out the sea flavor of the scallops. The buckwheat tuile on top of the cup gives a nice crunch which was missing in previous dishes.

Sixth Course: sea urchin on mashed potato with a hint of coffee. Comparing to the sea urchin royale I had in providence, this sea urchin treatment is stale. The sea salt and cream covers the natural sweetness of the sea urchin. Seventh Course: Truffle langoustine ravioli with chopped cabbage. The langoustine is not as sweet and live as the santa babra variety I had in providence. Also, I couldn't tell the effect of the truffles.The eighth course: coral and ginger perfumed teaIt tastes like soup from a vietnamese restaurant.

The nineth course: Green pea veloute with onion custard. It tastes like green pea soup with onions.

The tenth course:Smoked tuna with curry sauce: The tuna is overpowered by sea salt, and is in desperatly need of some acid. The green curry sauce with rather cold and blank. The cauliflower couscous is great.

The eleventh course: The veal chop. The veal chop is dry

. The twelveth course: Bean sprout risottoThis my favourite dish. The crispy bean sprout adds a nice texture to the so famaliar risotto.

Yougurt sorbet on red fruits granite. The granit taste like raspberry sorbet, the yougurt complements the acid of the red fruit.

Le Caramel: Caramel, dry fuits and chocolate rice all layered together, it is something to die for.

Raspberry Sorbet and Ice CreamMignardises CartJoel Robuchon at the mansion is a bit disappointing.

The Mignardises

The food actually tastes like an older version of the Le Atelier Robuchon. Every course is similarly seasoned with sea salt, butter, and made into a smooth texture.