Tuesday 8 May 2012

Robuchon A Galera (now Robuchon au Dôme)


Reservation Date: November 16, 2010 at 12pm
Chef: Francky Semblat
Duration: ~2 hours
Address: 43/F, Grand Lisboa, Macau, China
Phone: 853 8803 7878
Tasting Cost: 638 HKD

Accolades:





Alinea


Reservation Date: December 21, 2008 at 9pm
Chef: Grant Achatz
Duration: ~3 hours
Address: 1723 North Halsted, Chicago Illinois 60614, United States
Phone: +1 312 867 0110
Tasting Cost: 145 USD

Accolades:
Menu
Trout Roe - parsnip + licorice + ginger
Cauliflower - five coatings + three gels + cider
Wild Striped Bass - chamomile + shellfish + celery
Alaskan King Crab - popcorn + butter + curry
Hot Potato - cold potato + black truffle + butter
Lamb - lemon + fennel + coffee + aroma
Chestnut - quince + chocolate + baked potato
Eggnog - encapsulated
Sweet Potato - bourbon + brown sugar + smoldering cinnamon
Bacon - butterscotch + apple + thyme
Spice Cake - persimmon + rum + carrot
Chocolate - prune + olive + pine
Candy Cane - frozen and chewy




Oud Sluis


Reservation Date: January 15, 2012 at 12pm
Chef: Sergio Herman
Duration: ~4 hours
Address: Beestenmarkt 2, 4524 EA, Sluis, Netherlands
Phone: +31 117 46 12 69
Tasting Cost: 195 Euros

Accolades:

Oud Sluis is located in a small town in Netherlands. We took the 42 bus from Bruges in Belgium since Sluis was just 40 minutes away from there. We arrived minutes early for our reservation so the restaurant was still closed, but the hostess kindly seated us anyway. The service was impeccable as can be expected in this kind of restaurant. The food was excellent and definitely exceeded my expectations (especially for the seafood...yum!!! I'm a seafood lover :D). The seafood was very fresh and I think all were locally sourced. I can't nitpick on any of the food since I genuinely enjoyed each dish. The only criticism I have is that they use a lot of similar ingredient combinations so you will taste familiar flavours for a couple of the dishes, rather than having an entirely unique experience for each dish. Also, some of the plating could have been improved but this is just really aesthetics.

Hands down, Oud Sluis is one of the best and most memorable meals I've ever had! If you have money to splurge and loves food, you should add this to your eat list.

Menu
Tofu and mushrooms to lick
Balinese boemboe, cucumber, white radish
Queen scallop, seaweed, kamut, mandarin, creme cru
Creme of black pudding from my friend Steven - sorbet of green apple, sweet onion, just of smoked bbq celeriac
Egg, oxtail, wild mushrooms, chicory and artichoke
Marinated and pickled atlantic cod with bergamot
Zealand terroir, sea and land
Scallop in the shell roasted on pine - chorizo, parsley root, little mushrooms and spices
Flat Zealand oyster - airy buttermilk pancake, winter herbs, miso-lime and oyster structures
Seabass - refreshing marinated winter vegetables, chlorophyll juice, pottage and lemon
Steenvoorde pigeon BBQ - red bittersweet salad, lentil yoghurt, hazelnut ganache and saus royal
Desserts:
-Stones, chocolate and barley malt
-Apple, mint and buddha's hand
-Rice, berries, agerdolc sergio and beetroot







El Celler de Can Roca

Reservation Date: January 17, 2012 at 9pm
Chefs: The Roca Brothers (Joan, Josep and Jordi)
Duration: ~4 hours
Address: Can Sunyer, 48 17007 Girona, Spain
Phone: +34 972 22 21 57
Tasting Cost: 175 Euros

Accolades:
Welcome to the world of El Celler Can Roca! The right picture shows the entrance of the restaurant from the outside. The left picture shows the unveiling of the first amuse-bouche called The World - Mexic, Peru, Lebanon, Morocco, and Korea.


We arrived at El Celler promptly at 9pm and found ourselves to be one of the early patrons so we took our sweet time taking photos of the venue. Our expectations were extremely high for this restaurant knowing that it was the 2nd World's Best restaurant. El Celler did not disappoint. If this is your first molecular gastronomy experience, prepare to be blown out of your mind. This was actually my 3rd experience (having been to Alinea and Colborne Lane) but I was still wow'ed by the creativity of some of the dishes. It really like a Disney World for your taste buds and other senses. My favorite was the king prawn dish and also the amuse-bouches that just explode with strong flavours in your mouth. The downside for me was dessert. I didn't find any of the desserts particularly memorable especially compared to other fine-dining restaurants.

The menu is pricey since the tasting involves 13+ dishes (including the amuse-bouche). However, if you compare the price to tasting menus at other restaurants, this is an absolute steal considering the calibre and status of this restaurant. I've heard from friends that reservations here are extremely hard to come by so be sure you reserve early! For our trip, we lucked out since it was winter so it was a low season. I reserved just a month and a half in advance and was able to secure a spot with no problem. 

Menu
The world: Mexic, Lebanon, Morocco, and Korea
Caramelized Olive
Truffled bombon
Ring calamar adapted
Campari bombon
Zucchini omelette
Truffled brioche
Green salad - Avocado, lime, melon, cucumber, Chartreuse, sorrel, green shiso, tarragon, rocket, oxalis
Autumn salad - Sea urchin, pumpkin, sweet potato, quince, kaki, tangerine, boletus, edulis, distilled sand, sand of boletus, edulis, sand of pumpkin seeds, sand of walnuts
Oyster with Palo Cortado and white and black garlic
A whole king prawn - Charcoal-grilled king prawn, king-prawn sand, ink rocks, fried logs, head juice and king-prawn essence
Charcoal-grilled sole meuniere - Milk skin, black butter, lemon, capers, flower and citrus peel
Salt-cod brandade - Braised salt-cod tripe, salt-cod foam, olive-oil soup, shallots and honey, thyme and chili pepper
Iberian suckling pig blanquette with Riesling
Mango and summer - truffle terrine, beet, garlic, orange concentrate and saffron pistil
Red mullet cooked at a low temperature - stuffed with red-mullet pate and aniseed-flavoured herb, orange and saffron pistil
Steak tartare with mustard ice cream
Spiced tomato, caper and lemon compote, hazelnut praline, bearnaise sauce, Oloroso-sherry raisin, chive butter, Sichuan pepper, Pimenton de la Vera smoked paprika and curry, small scoops of mustard ice cream, mustard leaves, baby onions with vinegar
Lamb with charcoal-grilled sweet pepper and tomato
Wood-pigeon liver with onion, caramelised hazelnuts with curry, juniper berries, orange skin and herbs
Orange colourology - Orange, tangerine, egg yolks, fruit passion and carrot
Milk desserts - Milk caramel, sheep's milk ice cream, sheep's milk curd-cheese foam, sheep's milk yoghurt and milk cloud
Understory - Beetroot, chocolate, tangerine, tonka bean, cocoa and shiso