Posts Tagged Restaurant
Review – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, England
This was the place to go. With three Michelin Stars, we were looking forward to this dinner as the highlight of our trip. But having 24 restaurants around the world and TV shows, could quality be compromised? Moreover, his restaurant at Claridge’s lost it’s only star in 2010. Nevertheless, we stuck by our reservation and thankfully so, the small restaurant seats only 45.
The amuse-bouche was a shrimp and lobster mixed with avocado in a bite sized cone. Very similar to the one we had at French Laundry in Napa. A very good start. But wait, there was more…a mozzarella cheese with pesto followed. Hold on…were those amuse-bouches? Another one was a duck & mushroom ravioli in pumpkin soup. Nice, but the shrimp and lobster cone was the best.
The sommelier was very nice. Although he did say the 1996 Chateau Palmer was much more ready than the 1995 that we ordered. A bit late…should have told us earlier! Once he knew we were from Hong Kong, he expressed his desire to move to our city. Very soon too, and he wasn’t at all discreet about it. Maybe “Hell’s Kitchen” is taking its toll on the staff.
Naturally, we went all out with the tasting menu again. Their Menu Prestige contained seven courses for £120/US$182. Not bad for a three star restaurant. For one of the courses, R stuck with the ravioli of lobster, langoustine and salmon with tomato chutney that was on the menu. This was very good…until he tried C’s dish. She substituted hers with a linguine with truffles, lots of truffles (for an additional supplement). I’m sure R had serious regrets after having a bite. They were so generous with all that truffle.
Then it came to the lamb and pigeon where R got his revenge. R’s roasted Bresse pigeon was very tender and made C’s Cornish lamb suddenly seem relatively less attractive.
The pre-dessert was crème brûlée, but without hesitation C immediately swapped it for the cheese…yummy yummy. And thankfully so, as we found a new favorite – l’Ami du Chambertin. This lovely creamy soft cheese knocked the Epoisses that we had at Gary Danko in San Francisco into second place. The main dessert was the apple tarte tartin, which we expected to be the thin type…but this was humongous, but nice, just humongous! To finish, the petit fours included a chocolate “tree” that was very artistic and strawberries dipped in white chocolate to end a very satisfying dinner.
All in all, the head chef Clare Smyth did not disappoint. Did it justify the three Michelin stars? Yes and no, maybe 2½. Overall, everything was very good although some dishes were better than others.
– 17.5/20
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road
London SW3 4HP
England
T: +44 (020) 7352 4441
E: royalhospitalroad@gordonramsay.com
W: www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Menu cover
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Shrimp & lobster mixed w/ avocado
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Mozzarella cheese w/ pesto
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We’re in print – HK Golfer Feb/Mar 2010 issue
We are delighted to be a contributor to the HK Golfer magazine, which is the official publication of the Hong Kong Golf Association. Our part is for the 19th Hole and talks about food. The first write-up was for the French Window and debuted in the February/March 2010 issue. Click the thumbnail to view the PDF of the article. This is a bimonthly publication, so the next one will be in April/May.
201002 HK Golfer Feb/Mar 2010 - French Window
Review – La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon, London, England
This was the first stop on our London gastronomic fest. As Hong Kong already has a L’Atelier, we decided to try La Cuisine here instead. There’s also a L’Atelier in the same building as well as the Salon Bar. La Cuisine employs a traditional restaurant seating surrounding the open plan kitchen. This made us feel like dining inside the kitchen, in contrast to L’Atelier, where the counter seating surrounds the kitchen.
We immediately went for the Menu Découverte for £125/US$190. The dinner with matching wines was £165/US$250, but we upgraded to the prestige matching wines for £205/US$312. We didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot.
We started with a Parmesan cappuccino. The strong fragrance of the cheese went well with the bits of foie gras mixed in. Next was a huge tin of Oscietra caviar. Reminded us of the “caviar” from the Krug Room. But this time, it was the real thing. And underneath was a crabmeat mix. Yummy. C must have liked it as it was gone in an instant.
While we were still savoring the aftertaste from the caviar, the next dish delivered thinly shaved foie gras with winter truffle on a bed of marinated potatoes. All these strong beautiful flavors kept our mouths busy.
More truffles followed next in the form of mushroom and black truffle croutons on top of a quail egg for the Jerusalem artichoke soup…forget about all the cholesterol. The remaining courses were done very well, but nothing special – caramelized scallop, sea bass and free range quail stuffed with foie gras.
A fun dessert was the mandarin sorbet lollipop covered in white chocolate with a flower on top. However, it was a bit too sweet for our taste. The finale was the Chocolate Tendance, which was chocolate with chocolate and chocolate. Sinful…very sinful…
Joël Robuchon never ceases to impress and this is no exception.
– 17.5/20
La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street
London WC2H 9NE
England
T: +44 (0207) 010 8600
W: www.joel-robuchon.com
100215 La Cuisine - Stairs leading up to the 1st floor
100215 La Cuisine - View of the open kitchen
100215 La Cuisine - The kitchen surrounds the restaurant
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Review – The Grove, Hertfordshire, England
We stayed at this hotel, golf and spa resort as a middle stop before our drive up to Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxford. Having played the Old Course in Scotland, we had hopes of playing their championship golf course, The Grove, which was host to the WGC-American Express Championship in 2006 (won by Tiger Woods). Unfortunately, the British weather set in…cold, damp and raining. Oh well, maybe we’ll just enjoy a nice brunch and take a peek around the course.
We stayed in a Deluxe Room in the West Wing, which was a good 365 ft2 (24 m2). The room even came with a huge 42″ LCD TV!!! There were also nice design touches everywhere, from “Hee Haw”, the stuffed donkey, on the desk to the transparent tables in the hallways stuffed with all sorts of things – feathers, rubber ducks, chicks, you name it. Very chic. In one corridor, even the internal piping were “framed” as artwork.
The Sequoia Spa was a relaxing break for R while waiting for C to arrive from Hong Kong. He was lucky to get an empty slot as it was the Valentine’s weekend. Don’t know if it is as busy on normal days, but we would definitely book ahead next time to avoid disappointment.
We were pushing our luck with the weather. It was the same if not worse the next day. We asked the attendant at the pro shop and he kindly let us walk the back nine before the early players made the turn. The course was very well manicured and it was a shame that we weren’t able to play. We’ll definitely have to come back one day. Their signature hole is the Par 3 13th. Although with the elevated teeing ground, the hole plays longer than it seems and with bunkers protecting the green, par would be a good score here.
Brunch was at The Stables Restaurant, so named as the space was actually horses’ stables under the previous owner. We ordered the Stables fish & chips and an Eggs Royale (Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon). Being in England we had to have fish & chips, but this was HUGE! We thought we were in the States… There was some water probably due to condensation that made the bottom a bit soggy. The Eggs Royale however, were superb – runny, just the way we like them. Paired with salmon, it was a perfect match. We could tell as C wolfed it down in an instant.
We’ll be back soon, hopefully in milder weather.
– 18/20
The Grove
Chandler’s Cross
Hertfordshire
WD3 4TG
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 1923 807807
E: reservations@thegrove.co.uk or tee.time@thegrove.co.uk
W: www.thegrove.co.uk
100213 The Grove - West Wing Deluxe Room
100213 The Grove - "Butterfly" artwork in the room
100213 The Grove - West Wing Deluxe Room
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Review – The Seafood Restaurant, St Andrews, Scotland
We arrived at St Andrews, Scotland today and we were surprised to see fairly calm skies, just cloudy. No rain or snow here in February? Maybe it’ll be sunny enough to play some golf? Dream on… Well we headed out to one of The Seafood Restaurants – the one at St Andrews naturally (they have another one in St Monans). We came across this place from Home of Golf TV and the setting looked spectacular.
It turned out that it is just located behind the British Golf Museum, which is just next to the Old Course at St Andrews! Perched on top of a small cliff, there are stunning views of the West Sands beach. Unfortunately, the car park next to the museum blocked some of the natural scenery. Nevertheless, the restaurant setting was very clean and simple with large windows to “soak up” the expansive St Andrews coastline, even on such a cloudy afternoon.
The restaurant emphasizes sustainability of the seas and makes every effort to source sustainably caught fish. That’s why every dish on the menu lists the origin of the seafood.
We were highly recommended the Winter Menu, which was a bargain at GBP14.95 for three courses. First on was a Smoked Haddock Rarebit (from the North Sea) – the crust was very crispy, definitely not the dry and hard type. A tad salty, but nothing the Chardonnay couldn’t fix. The fish was very soft and moist, confirming its freshness.
Our main course was the Salmon (Farmed on Loch Duart) – we normally don’t go for salmon because it’s always overcooked and dry. But this was highly recommended by the waiter and he wasn’t kidding. Very juicy with the skin cooked to perfection. The risotto that accompanied the dish was very al dente, which was nice. The garlic butter added a lot of fragrance to the dish. We felt that there was just a tad too many peas in the risotto, but that’s just a small blemish in an otherwise great dish.
Then the surprise for the day. The Black Forrest Gateau – this was to die for. And boy we didn’t expect this. And in Scotland? Definitely not your typical Black Forrest cake! This was no doubt an updated and enhanced version. The brandied cherries and dark chocolate took it to a new dimension. That hit the spot dead on.
The location couldn’t have been better. With the Museum, Old Course and numerous souvenir shops nearby, there was plenty to do after lunch. Maybe you can even walk over to play the Old Course!
– 17.5/20
The Seafood Restaurant
The Scores
St Andrews, KY16 9AB
Scotland
T: +44 (0) 1334 479475
E: info@theseafoodrestaurant.com
W: www.theseafoodrestaurant.com
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Views of the West Sands
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Open kitchen
100208 The Seafood Restaurant - Salt & pepper
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