Norman's Restaurant

Chef Norman Van Aken was one of the pioneers of fusion cooking who combined ingridents and flavors from latin america into fine dining ever since the 70's. In the 90's, he was one of the first generation of celebrity chefs along with Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, and Mario Batali. Although his fame has been fading away in the new millennium, any discussion of the Orlando's most elite restaurants wouldn't be complete without his namesake restaurant "Norman's" at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando. The octagonal dining room of Norman's was spacious, with high ceilings, enormous windows and marble floors. The tables were covered in linen and lit by oil lamp, and most of them were facing the gorgeous golf course and lakes outside.Appetizer 1: Yuca Stuffed Crispy Shrimp with Sour Orange Mojo, Torn Greens and Habanero Tartar Salsa

The dish was spicy and crispy.

Creamy Cracked Conch Chowder

The dish consisted of much crunchy vegetable and a cream soup with sweet spices. The portion can be smaller.

GRILLED PORK HAVANA Smokey Plantain Crema "21st Century" mole Black Bean-Sweet Corn Salsa Golden Haitian Grits

Despite its pink color, the pork wasn't very juicy. Some fat was definitely needed for the dish.

Pan Cooked Fillet of Key West Yellowtail
Garlicky Mashed Potatoes ~ Asparagus Spears ~ Citrus Butter

The fish was flaky and the side dishes were good, but it lacked charm.

CHEF NORMAN'S SPICE CREAMS™ Cinnamon-Aji Amarillo Chinese Five Spice Cream Ancho Chile-Chocolate on Salted Peanuts

I personally did not like the texture of the creams, they tasted like room temperature ice cream. The spices were nice experimentations, but did not work for me.

Overall, the dinner wasn't on par with that of Victoria & Albert's. The food was seasoned with strong spicy flavors, but lacked in depth and delicacy.

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.

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.

Bay Area Series 6: Manresa(04/15/09)

Manresa was the Michelin two star restaurant situated in Los Gatos, an hour of drive south of San Francisco. Many bloggers had suggested that Manresa was actually the best restaurant in bay area, instead of French Laundry. I made a 8:00pm reservation under a nickname of "David Sun" due to untold reasons. and it turned out "David" was a regular.

Manresa looked like an ordinary house with front porch leading to the door. To fully enjoy the Manresa experience, I went ahead with the 15-courses Spring Garden menu. Chef David Kinch started my dinner with a series of 6 Amuse Bouche, many of which shared striking similarities with the Amuse Bouch at Vetri Ristorante.

Amuse Bouche 1: "Red Pepper-Black Olive"

I couldn't quite taste the Red pepper in the gelee nor black olive in the madeleines. To me, they tasted just like ordinary petit fours at the end of a meal which my brain often tried to filtered out.

Amuse Bouche 2: Crispy Kale and Parmesan Churros

The parmesan churros was crispy and salty. It went perfectly well with the clean and crispy sauvignon blanc I had, though so would a bag of potato chips with cheddar dip .

Amuse Bouche 3: Garden Beignets with Vinegar Powder

Inside the soft Beignet was a mixture of greens such as mustard and kale.

Amuse Bouche 4: Carrot and Mustard Granita
The carrot flavor really jumped out: sweet, sour, and full of spring aroma.

Amuse Bouche 5: Strawberry Gazpacho
The granary salad on the right is composed of the traditional gazpacho ingreidients: onions, garlic, and tomatoes, while surrounding by acidic strawberry soup.
This was my favourite amuse .

Amuse Bouche 6: Aprege Farm Egg

The egg was topped with sherry vinaigrette and maple syrup, followed by the warm runniness of the egg yolk. Though delicious, the aprege egg failed to shine against the Sabayon from Providence or August restaurant.
Course 1: Shellfish in Crab Both
Clams, razor clams, scallops, and octupus(when did octupus grow shells) were floating on cold crab both. The crispy and chewy texture of the shellfish fully brought out the briness of the sea.
This was the best course of the night.
Course 2: Delta Asparagus with Bonito Butter, Toasted Seeds

Thinly sliced Asparagus submerged in a bonito broth with melted butter.

Course 3: Into the Vegetable Garden

The salad was composed of variety of greens from Love Apple Farm where the "black dirt" on right was made of seeds. The foam was generated from vegetable's natural juices. I did not like the dish, the vegetables were chewy and flavors did not match together. The salad at Chez Panisse was much superior.

Course 4: Spring Tidal Pool
The pool consisted of Abalone, Sea Urchin, Foie Gras, Shellfish, Mushroom and foie gras. The broth base was bonito stock with ponzu. It was tasty, but ordinary if one was famaliar with Japanese food. Course 5: Black Cod with Onions and Chervil, Sweet Onion-Marrow Broth

The cod was nicely pan fried with a crispy skin. As the herb butter slowly melt away in the marrow broth, a layer of richness and moisture was added to the fish.

Course 6: Suckling Kid goat with Curds and Whey

In this dish, the kid goat was slow cooked to a texture of pulled pork, while the curds and whey acted lik skin and fat. An interesting combination, but I preferred pulled pork with skin and fat.

Spring lamb, season's first ramps with peas

This dish was ordinary, tasted like sliced beef with spring garlic.

Dessert : Citrus and Fennel Compote, Olive Oil With Arugula
The olive oil ice cream was interesting, exhibiting a different consistency against milk based ice cream due to difference in fat content. The Arugula leave was a better garnish choice than mint leave.

Petit Four: Straberry & Chocolate
Overall, the experience at Manresa was better thanFrench Laundry, but worse than Chez Panisse. At manresa, the seasonal produce took central stage. At Chez Panisse, the seasonal produce played a complementing role with sauces and vingarette in orchestrating a relaxed and satisfiying meal.