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.