dinner last night @ st pierre...

...was good to a certain extent but it might just have been a little too avant garde and nouveau cuisine for my somewhat earthy tastes...overall it merits a considered 7-1/2 outta 10 in my book...

it was a degustation menu of 10 smallish courses which still left me stuffed to the gills at the end of the 3 hours of dining...yowzer!


dégustation menu

AMUSES BOUCHE
assorted nibble platter to whet the appetite (foie gras creme brulee, polenta topped with spiced veggies, smoked salmon topped with ikura roe, aged cheese on a tomato gelatin topped with arugula)
*
SAUMON MI-FUME
half-smoked salmon tataki, fresh wasabi infused argan oil, kombu julienne, tarbais beans and raw mushroom dressing scented with roasted piquillos the salmon was half-seared and half-smoked and fantastic to taste...really top-notch!
*
COQUILLE SAINT JACQUES GRILLEE
grilled hokkaido scallops on gold leaf with tomato and oba leaf salsa, caramelised shallots, summer beet cloud and gold spherification the scallops were sweet as sugar and fresh from the sea...what more could one want? perfect!
*
SALADE DE FONDUE DE BOEUF
salad of shabu shabu wagyu beef tenderloin with shavings of gorgonzola, tomato-sesame dressing and organic watercress leaf the wagyu was simply divine and baby's ass-tender...
*
TERRINE DE FOIE GRAS
oak and macha smoked foie gras terrine with caramelised mango, tartine of toasted pain d’epice, mango espuma and basil oil alright i guess, i was not too enamoured of the terrine cos i prefer the actual foie gras itself...the terrine just didn't have a OOOMPH of the real thing and i personally do not like foie gras cold...
*
SORBET
*
EPAULE D’AGNEAU CONFITE
low temperature braised lamb shoulder with citrus zest and organic apricot, warm salad of edamame, piquillos, cauliflower couscous, chorizo and reduced jus infused with argan oil and fresh coriander mrs kona took this..she found it a tad bit on the dry side even though it was braised...the chorizo tasted strangely like otar to me

OR...

THON ET HAMACHI
seared japanese hamachi and blue fin tuna with sushi of tomato confit, mozzarella cheese, romaine leaves, pine nuts salsa, mini bouchon potatoes, lemon tuile, taggia tapenade and bonito granite only 1 word for the fish...stupendous! the pine nut salsa was seriously quite odd though...but the bouchon potatoes more than made up for it...
*
ASSORTIMENT DE DESSERT
campari granite with confit of grapefruit, poached peach with pistachio financier, raspberry with ivory chocolate mousse the granite was refreshingly bitter and the poached peach simply erupted with sweetness...
*
AFTER-EIGHT
classic grandma Stroobant flourless belgian chocolate cake remixed a perfectly chocolately end to a fine meal