... of the country's (maybe world's) top restaurants, lunch carts, and everywhere in between.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

NY Series 2: Daniel (7/2008)

Daniel in NYC was a michelin 2 stars restaurant best known for its celebrity chef owner Daniel Boulud and clintie such as: Jay Z and Zhang Ziyi. It was the farewell dinner for Dweeb and his lovely girlfriend as they were leaving US, and what a better place to celebrate such occasion than restaurant Daniel. As we entered the dining room, our breath were taken away by the sumptuous Venetian Renaissance style dining room.




Dinner started with a two-tiered tray of canapés:
- Crisp parmesan basket with goat cheese and pine nut: crispy and creamy
- Asparagus quiche: melt in your mouth
- Heart of palm puree: very smooth
- BBQ eel with soybean puree: tender and tasty,
Appetizer 1: Mosaic of Foie Gras and Black Angus Beef Cheek, Satur Farms Beets, Wagyu Carpaccio, Peppercress
The foie gras and beef cheek terrine was exquisite, the foie is dense and melting while the cheek portion of terrine tasted like cooked daikon raddish.



Appetizer 2: Duo of Striped Bass
Sashimi with Sorrel Sabayon
Tartare with North Star Caviar, Cucumber Coulis
The fish tasted suprisingly clean.

Appetizer 3: Kataifi Wrapped Langoustines with Corn Ragout
Roasted Pork Belly, Kale, Bacon Jus
The langoustine was a bit oversalted, though qunchy and succulant, it's not the strongest appetizers. The corn ragout played a sweet complementary role.




Main dish 1: Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Chop and Tenderloin
Anchovy Stuffed Bulb Onions, English Peas, Sage Jus

Main dish 2: Duo of Dry Aged Beef:Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Shallot Confit
Seared Rib Eye with Spinach Subric, Sauteed Porcinis

Crispy Calf's Head Ballotine with Orleans Mustard
Twice Backed Yukon Golds, Gherkin-Herb Jus
While the lamb and beef dish was ordinary, the Ballotine was one of the better dishes I had in 2008, it's calf's head cooked in boiling water, deboned, then rolled into terrines. Before serving, the Ballotine was dipped in bread crumbs and pan fried. All the gelatine danced around the Bordelaise Sauce, slowly tempering my paletes. It was amazing something so humble can be so sublime.
Hazelnut Mousse with Gianduja Biscuit
Milk Chocolate, Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Bittersweet Chocolate-Praline Cremeux
Amer Cocoa Sponge Cake, Caraibe Ice Cream

Crunchy Succes with Coconut Madras Curry
Poached Pineapple, Passion Fruit Chilboust, Lychee Sorbet

Tasting of Mango with Roasted Sesame
Ginger Marinated, Coulis with Cilantro, Sorbet with Kalamansi
Frankly, I couldn't remember much about the desert except that they were very good.
Overall, Daniel was a wonderful dining experience. The service was top notch, and the waiters were able to predict what the diner's needs. The matri' D came to make chat as we eagerly waiting for the next course, and introduced us to the Boulud Bar in case we were still hungry after dinner. Though with all the acclaims and celebrities frequenting Daniel, it was the classic french food with a mordern presentation which drew people back.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

New York Series 1: Per Se

Per Se restaurant in NYC, sister restaurant of French Laundry, was one of the only six michelin three stars restaurant in US. Since opening, the price of a tasting menu at the restaurant has skyrocketed from $150 to $275 as of 2008. In order to save a little money for the future, we felt the urge to dine now. The reservation at per se was much easier to come by than the French Laundry. Log onto opentable. com, you could find a dozen of per se reservations in the next two month, and we booked a saturaday lunch for a party of four just like that. On the day of lunch, the reservationist called us for possibilities for our party to arrive early, as there was a private party that evening, and we agreed to the offer. As we entered the escalators of Time Warner Center, mimicking our ritual at any mall in america. Little did we know, we were on the stairway to heaven.

Table setting of Per Se restaurant


View of the little golden man in Central Park


Upon arrival, we were led to a semi-private dining room at the end of the hallway facing the gold statue in Central Park, which makes one feels on top of New York City, or even the world. The room orginally sat six, and it was probably given to us as a complement for rushing our reservation.

Canapé 1: Gougères
The lunch started with the usual suspect, These savory puffs were made with Gruyère cheese and a sauce Monet.
Canapé 2: Scottish Salmon Coronets
The salmon coronet of Per Se was quite different from a tuna coronet of Spago. First, the salmon is grated into a daikon puree consistency one always found in a tempura sauce. Seond, the cone itself is creamy and buttery. Last but not the least, is the complement of crème fraîche in the cone.

1: "Oysters and Pearls"
"Saayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar
"Oysters" refered to the Beau Soleil Oysters, and "Pearls" were composed of Tapioca balls and White Sturgeon Caviar. The slimy tapioca balls, the warm sabayon sauce, and the briny caviar orchestrated a sensual experience.
Breads

2. Sauteed Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras (Picture Missing)
Braised Rhubarb, Glazed Sunchokes, and Garden Mache with Rhubarb "Mignonnette"

The Foie did not have a crust like the ones I had in Jean & George or The Modern, but it seemed to have a higher fat content resulting in a disappering in your mouth sensation.

3. Pan Roasted Filet of Sablefish
Russian Banana FingerlingPotatoes, Compressed Cucumber, and Dill "Creme Fraiche"

4. Scottish Langoustines "A La Plancha"
Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Fava Beans, and Mustar Cress with Whole Grain Mustard Emulsion
The langoustine meat was tight with a briny sea water taste to it. A La Plancha was spanish for grill on metal plate(the kind one find in a diner), I was hoping for some sizzling action.



5a"Tripa Oreganato"
Honeycomb Tripe and San Marzano Tomatoes with Oregano Breadcrumbs
This was the best dish of the lunch, though Mr.Keller might have stolen the recipe from Mr. Batali. The beef stomach melted in one's mouth, without a trace of unpleasant smell.


5b "Aiguillette" of Liberty Farm's Peking Duck Breast
Slow Baked Young Beets. White Wine Poached Lady Apples and "Cresson Rouge" with "Sauce Perigourdine"
Aiguillette meant a kind of fish in french, yet I didn't see any apparent connection between the duck breast and the fish. The sous vide duck was very tender, but I wasn't able to notice any truffle flavor as sauce perigourdine suggested.
6 Elysian Fields Farm's Lamb Chop Roasted Whole (pic missing)
"Petit Sale", Herb-Scented Panisse, Eggplant "Batons", Violet Artichokes and Fresno Pepper Coulis
The lamb was also sous vide, resulting in a very tender piece of meat. The "petit sale", also known as salted pork, gave the lamb its much needed impact. Panisse was a baked mixture of bean flour, water, and oil, and was pan fried before serving.
Selles Sur Cher
Selles-sur-Cher is a French goat's-milk cheese made in the central region of France. Its name is derived from the commune of Selles-sur-Cher in the Loir-et-Cher department where it was first made in the 19th century. The pairing of the creamy goat cheese with endive and grape fruit was wonderful.


"Shirley Temple" with ginger sherbet, grenadine "Confetti", Michigan Sour Cherry "Bread Pudding", and Tonic Water Foam
The dessert was a desconstruction of the famous cocktail Shirley Temple which consisted of ginger ale, grenadine, and sometimes orange juice.

Pain Perdu

Mignardises

The food at Per Se was very Nouvelle cuisine; i.e. all the proteins and vegetables were cooked sous vide while accompanied by updated versions of classical sauces such as burre blanc and bordelais. Though well controlled, the downfall of that approach was a lack of temperature and aroma in all dishes. Babbo ristorante owned by Mario Batali would be the anti-thesis to Per Se, where all produces were cooked to a nearly burned state and was accompanied by a generous serving of pan juice. Food aside, the service at Per Se was the best I had seen; it was very attentative to details yet not pretentious. Our server Justin used to be a sous chef at oceania, and we were told that nearly all captains at per se had a degree in curlinary arts. After the lunch, our server led us to a tour of the kitchen. To my suprise, there were no sweats, no pans, and no dirty dishes. Everything was well organised like a research lab.
Overall, Per Se was the top three dining experience in my life so far. The food was elegant and concise, the service top notch, and the little gold man just pushed the experience over the top.

About Me 关于作者

Well, It's should be more of a "About Us". Afterall, This blog is a combined effort of a group of foodie's attempt at partially capturing their experiences of exploring the dining cultures of various culture and cuisine. Our Team are as follows:

Trading Dweeb - A self-proclaimed bastard-ish trader who's interest in food often outshine work.
势利小人 - 职业股票操作者,也就是广东人口里的“扑街”。对食物的热情往往比工作要炽热。

Dr.T - A student of food.

TechMoGeek – An explorer of culinary delights who’s love for food is the sole motivation to be employed.
TechMoGeek -一個只愛美食,不愛江山的老饕