Restaurant Review: Per Se NY

  Chef Thomas Keller changed me as a cook.    Cooking from the pages of his French Laundry Cookbook , he taught me to  choose only the best, sustainable and organic ingredients.  He also taught me to be patient --    that the best dishes do not come from a    box or can but from the freshest ingredients that must be simmered and  reduced for hours, strained multiple times and prepared for days.     After many, many failed attempts, we were beyond ecstatic when  we finally got a table at one of his restaurants at Per Se NY.  It was a foodie pilgrimage two years in the making, perfectly timed to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! (Shoutout to my good friend Normie for making it happen!)    We were razzle dazzled the minute we came in -- from the very nice surprise  of having our own personalized menu, to the 16-course tasting and a visit to the kitchen,  each minute was an experience worth remembering.     In the end, after the final 12th course was served -- not counting the petite four mignardises and several  amuse bouches here and there, one thing was clear: Chef Thomas Keller changed me as a foodie.  
 

      What I liked best from the World's 6th Best: 

• Our reservation was timed perfectly at dusk so we had a nice view of Central Park as it slowly got dark.  I thought it was very romantic.
• We got a very private table, looking at everyone else and away from most of the foot traffic.
•  The caviar supplement was worth every penny! 
• The brioche is taken away even if it's only half-eaten to make sure guests always have the 'optimal' temperature for the foie gras! Yes, it's excessive and yes, you'll feel a bit guilty for such indulgence.
• The foie gras with volcanic salt is the best we've ever had. Ever!
• The steak will be my last meal before I die, given a choice.
• The private tour of the kitchen was such a nice touch.

    
     What can be improved:

• I thought the the service at Eleven Madison Park is slightly better and friendlier.
• Please serve the langoustine dish a la Le Bernardin!  
• Please make a truffle dish like Guy Savoy but don't make it a supplement.
• Please let each guest bring home the leftover mignardises and chocolate selection.   It's a one small request considering I had to give up shopping for two pairs of Louboutins to have this dinner. 

  
     Some tips:

• Forget about Open Table for reservation.  Use a concierge service or know someone that has access to one! 
• It's dressier than Eleven Madison Park or Le Bernardin.  Ladies wearing cocktail dresses will fit just right in.  
• Experiment with the foie gras.  We had ours eaten by itself, with the brioche, with the different salts,  with the brioche and salt.   Then at the end, we each picked a favorite and told our server about it.
• Ask for the salt not to be taken away and try it with the steak.  One word of caution: mind blowing!
• Research your preferred wine pairings using their own iPad app, it's fun!  I enjoyed that better than talking to the snooty sommelier. 
• If you're friendly to the servers, they will explain with much more gusto about each course and how its prepared.  It was way better than listening to their standard scripted spiel.
• Relax and enjoy the food!  I can't help but notice a few diners that night that were too stiff as if they were acting in a period drama.
• We should have waited to eat here after we've been through most of the other Michelin-starred restaurant.   Now, everywhere else we go seemed fast food-ish in comparison.   Our foodie future is doomed, and the only redemption would be to go back.

 

                                                                   On Me:  Escada LBD, tweed jacket, Trina Turk for Banana Republic clutch  

                                                                    On Him: Burberry suit, MICHAEL Michael Kors tie

 

Restaurant Review: Guy Savoy, Paris

I was nervous, giddy and excited all at the same time when we went for lunch at Guy Savoy. And considering it's got 3 Michelin stars and consistently get rave reviews among the foodie community, I had very high expectations!

We were the first ones to arrive and felt like a royalty as the entire staff welcomed us at the reception area! Everyone was so warm and nice and made sure we were comfortable being this as our first dining experience at a 3 Michelin star restaurant!

Out came a serious of amuse-bouches beginning with this foie gras terrine and toast on a stick...



Then, we were served another amuse-bouche of lentil and truffle ragout. I thought this was really, really good... such intense flavor!



Lifting the cup was another surprise amuse-bouche of lentil spring roll.



We were already so amused with the amuse-bouches served so far long before the meal officially started.

To officially kick off the meal, I had the artichoke and black truffle soup for starters. It was so rich and oh so flavorful, I really don't mind eating this every single day!!




Brioche with truffle butter...



For his starters, the hubz picked terrine of foie gras and cannard in black truffle sauce


Midway through, a bread cart came in loaded with some artisan bread!
I passed on these carbilicous goodness which to this day, I still regret!




Then came the main course. I had the red mullet with liver sauce and some pickled herb that was supposedly marinated for over 6 months!


...The hubz had sea bass (scales included!) with vanilla-infused stock.


Shortly after, we were served a pre-dessert of lemon/pineapple meringue, grapes with rice pudding (weird but good!) and apple infused with something that was really good but forgot what!


For dessert, hubz had what the menu says "apple" which was really layers of apple compote, apple sorbet, apple granita, apple crisps and juice of can you guess what?? Yes, apple... what else? :D

He calls it a very expensive applesauce. :D



Meanwhile, I had dark chocolate biscuit and dark chocolate ganache topped with dark chocolate sorbet! It was served with black pepper. Yes, black pepper, I'm serious!



Just when we thought it's over after the 2nd dessert, out came this "chariot of sorbet"!


I picked a vanilla sorbet, caramel custard, chocolate macarons and 2 of the best tasting marshmallows I had in my life!



The hubz picked strawberry and vanilla bean rice pudding and sorbet!



After all that gourmet goodness, the final dish was this prune sorbet which was a perfect palate cleanser!


And that ends our 2 1/2 hours gastronomic adventure which we will both remember for a long, long time!

Restaurant Review: Figueira Rubaiyat

We flew to Sao Paulo to celebrate my birthday but with no idea how. For once, my usual plan-to-the-very-last-detail self took a backseat to make way for the spontaneous side that I didn't know existed.

We had about 1 night to do some research and immediately zeroed in on the legendary "Figueira Rubaiyat" -- a place a lot of food blogs are raving about. We were so lucky to get reservations on such a short notice!

The restaurant is so unique as it is named after and built around a massive 130-yr old fig tree!







The food and wine surely didn't disappoint.





...But the highlight of the entire night has gotta be this!
For the first time, we got to try this perfectly marbled and perfectly grilled kobe beef!




The tag says "Tropical Kobe Beef - point of origin tracked and screened".



Here's a little secret: I actually saved the red tag at the end of the meal because who's to say I'll ever get a chance again to eat a 14oz steak priced as a pair of designer shoes!





And here's what I wore...


-- pink crochet wrap top from Portman's in Aus -- Anne Klein swimsuit -- Lucky Brand jeans --
-- Louboutin "Picador" slingbacks -- hubby's belt --