Then came our captain who brought us the menu, followed by one server who brought a purse stool. The menu offered 3-course prix fixe, daily specials and 6-course seasonal tasting menu. We chose the tasting menu so that we could have the whole dining experience. I ordered a non-alcoholic drink called palm beach, a mixture of raspberry puree, pineapple puree, orange juice and mint -- very refreshing.
Palm beach
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
Canapés. Top: Crisp parmesan basket and Asparagus quiche. Bottom: Heart of palm puree and BBQ eel with soybean puree.
It was followed by the bread service, I chose sweet garlic focaccia and mini French baguette, while my husband chose olive & rosemary roll and French roll. All of them was very good, I like the focaccia the most.
Basket of bread
The first course came very fast, we didn't even have a chance to nibble on the bread yet. We noticed that there were as many servers as guests on a table coming and serving the dish in unison. My husband picked rabbit porchetta with spring vegetables, Orleans mustard cream, frisee and chive oil, served with toasted French baguette. It was flavorful and tasty, the variety of vegetables added complementary texture to the rabbit porchetta.
Rabbit porchetta with spring vegetables
Mine was pistachio crusted duck foie gras terrine with poached rhubarb and lillet gelee, served with toasted crustless brioche. It was wonderful, the foie gras was smooth and the sweetness of rhubarb complimented well, but unfortunately the brioche was not warm (I think Per Se spoiled me for life on this one).
Pistachio crusted duck foie gras terrine
For the second course, my husband had trio of sea scallops which were ceviche with wellfeet oyster and uni, tartar with caviar d'aquitaine, sashimi with yuzu. I'm not a raw food fan, so this dish was not my favorite. I let my husband finished them, he said that they were delicious and not fishy at all.
Trio of sea scallops. Clockwise from top left: Sashimi with yuzu, Ceviche with wellfeet oyster and uni, Tartar with caviar d'aquitaine.
I had Maryland jumbo lump crab with sorrento lemon, Boston lettuce and minted yogurt-cucumber gazpacho. It was excellent, the lettuce added crunchness and the gazpacho added refreshness to the dish.
Maryland jumbo lump crab with sorrento lemon
Next came fennel basil ravioli with littleneck clam emulsion, Baja shrimp, cuttlefish, broccoli rabe and chorizo for my husband. It was fantastic, the ravioli was cooked al dente and the emulsion was rich, so yummy!
Fennel basil ravioli with littleneck clam emulsion
For me, I chose kataifi wrapped langoustines with florida corn, crispy pork belly, kale and bacon jus. It was incredible, the langoustine was tender and crunchy from the kataifi, the pork belly was moist, the bacon jus was not too salty, perfect with the sweetness of the corn.
Kataifi wrapped langoustines with florida corn
For the fish course, my husband picked the flaked Atlantic cod with morels, crushed fingerlings, pickled ramps and green peppercorn which was fabulous. The cod was soft and went hand in hand with the sauce, it was simpler than the other dishes yet delicate.
Flaked atlantic cod with morels
I picked crispy red king salmon with parsley, mousserons, wild asparagus and pee wee potato tempura. It was good, the salmon was firm yet tender, the sauce was tasty and the asparagus added some nice texture to it.
Crispy red king salmon with parsley
Then came the signature dish which was duo of dry aged beef -- red wine braised short ribs with shallot confit, seared rib eye with spinach subric and sauteed porcinis. The presentation was detail-oriented, the taste was awesome -- the meat was very tender and cooked perfectly, the sauce was amazing.
Duo of dry aged beef
My dish was Elysian fields farm lamb chop and tenderloin with anchovy stuffed bulb onions, English peas and sage jus. It was fabulous, the meat was juicy and the sauce was rich. My stomach was starting to get full, so I asked my husband to help me finish it since I planned to save room for desserts :-)
Elysian fields farm lamb chop and tenderloin
We received couple of complimentary desserts that were plated elegantly, side by side with the ones from the tasting menu. In addition to these, I also got a "birthday cake", I guessed my husband told them that it was my birthday. Then came the famous madeleines in a bowl covered with white linen, followed by the mignardises. They were very generous and all came together at the same time, so our table was covered with desserts feast, I love it! :-)
The first dessert was bittersweet chocolate praline cremeux with Amer cocoa sponge cake, caraibe ice cream (from the tasting menu) and raspberry lemon vacherin with Thai basil, meringue, raspberry marshmallows (the complimentary). The chocolate praline dessert was divine, it was very rich, creamy, chocolate-y. The raspberry dessert was excellent -- soft and very light.
Bittersweet chocolate praline cremeux and Raspberry lemon vacherin with Thai basil
The second dessert was chocolate biscuit with Kirsch diplomat, roasted cherries, Kriek beer sorbet (the complimentary) and tasting of mango with roasted sesame, ginger marinated, coulis with cilantro, sorbet with kalamansi (from the tasting menu). The Kirsch dessert was enjoyable -- creamy and sweet. The mango was extraordinary, it was refreshing, nutty, crunchy, sweet yet tart, so yummy!
Chocolate biscuit with kirsch diplomat and Tasting of mango with roasted sesame
For my "birthday cake", they gave me chocolate brownie with mascarpone cream, crispy feuilletine, Ethiopian coffee ice cream. The brownie was moist, the mascarpone was smooth, the feuilletine was crunchy, the ice cream was rich, just delightful.
Chocolate brownie with mascarpone cream
The warm, fluffy, moist and tender madeleines were incredible, the mignardises were very good and flavorful. They were definitely a perfect ending for a fabulous culinary experience.
Madeleines and Petits fours
We had an unforgettable night, the food was spectacular and impressive, it definitely lived up to our high expectations. Although the service was good, the staff was a little bit uptight and stuffy, not as friendly as the staff at Per Se. They were also not that attentive, we had to look for and call them when we needed something. However it was all forgiven once our stomachs were screaming for joy :-) I must say that the sauces at Daniel were amazing -- flavorful and rich. Thank you honey for the fabulous dinner, you have chosen the perfect place to celebrate my birthday, I cannot wait to go back again.
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Daniel
60 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
(212) 288-0033
http://danielnyc.com/daniel/
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My birthday dinner at Daniel
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Desserts at Bouchon Bakery
R, B & W arrived there first and reserved some seats for E, Y, my husband and me as soon as the tables were available. When we arrived, as usual there was a line at the take out counter, but it was not bad. I like to browse their display cases since most of the sweets are always new items that I haven't tasted yet. Since I was the one who would pay, I went to order for everyone while they sat down.
R and B have a chance to see the display before we came so they knew what they wanted, which were strawberry parfait, chocolate macaron and seasonal fruit tart. W came with me to the counter since he didn't know what to order yet as well as to help me carry the trays. E wanted chocolate croissant, while Y asked me to pick for her considering I came here quite often. As usual my husband let me get what I wanted and help me to finish them since he knows that I always buy more than one goodies :-)
After looking at the cases W said that he would like to try the pistachio apricot tart. Now for me (and everyone else who was willing to try what I got), I bought key lime millefeuille, seasonal macarons (peaches & cream, fruit of the forest, yuzu), boston cream donut, strawberry parfait, and last but not least the chocolate tart. As for the drinks, we had some coffee, tea and fruit juice soda.
Assorted pastries
When I placed the orders, the nice and friendly lady behind the counter was looking at me curiously. Beside ordering a lot of desserts (total of 12, in case you are wondering), I also told her that everything was for here instead of to go. As soon as I realized that, I told her that I was not the only one who would eat that. I assured her that there were 6 other people waiting at the table who would help me to finish all of these. She started to smile and said that she was concerned about how I was going to finish everything by myself :-)
I tried a little bit of W's pistachio apricot tart, it was wonderful, the pistachio cake was moist and the apricot filling was not too sweet. The boston cream donut was as fantastic as the last time I tasted it, the donut was moist but dense, the custard was creamy.
Pistachio apricot tart and Boston cream donut
The key lime millefeuille was tart, light and coconuty, it was pretty good but the puff pastry was not crisp anymore, a little bit soggy. There was always different kind of millefeuille everytime I visit, so far my favorite is still mocha millefeuille. It was the first dessert from Bouchon that I've ever tasted 1 year ago, unfortunately I don't see it anymore on my visits.
Key lime and Mocha millefeuille
Regarding the macarons, it was okay, nothing special. The texture was a little bit dry, but definitely better than what I usually got from here. The taste was nice though, the peaches & cream was creamy, the fruit of the forest was sweet (and the only one that had moist texture), the yuzu was chocolatey with a hint of citrus. I guess after tasting Pierre Herme's macarons during his special 2-day class in Chicago last month, other's macarons were disappointing.
Seasonal macarons: yuzu, fruit of the forest, peaches & cream and Chocolate macaron
The chocolate tart was still increadible, the tart was flaky and the filling was smooth and chocolatey. I took the strawberry parfait home since everyone was full already. It was sweet, light and creamy, but the gelatin layer on top was too thick and a little bit too gummy. I didn't try the seasonal fruit tart, chocolate macaron or chocolate croissant, so I couldn't give any comments. However the last time I had their chocolate macaron, it was chocolatey but very dry.
Chocolate tart and Strawberry parfait
Seasonal fruit tart and Chocolate croissant
With a very high sugar rush and after hanging out for almost 2 hours, we decided to go on our separate way. When we arrived downstair we were surprised to see a very heavy rain pouring outside. I guess we were too focused on our conversations before and didn't pay any attention to the thunderstorm. R, B & W decided to take the subway, while the rest of us had to wait. We were thinking to get a taxi to go to our car that was parked few blocks away, unfortunately there was no taxi at all.
While waiting for the rain to stop or at least to die down, Y and I decided to go to Whole Foods since I needed to do some grocery shopping. Almost 30 minutes later finally there was a guy selling giant umbrellas outside. We were happy to see him, especially since not a single store in there sold umbrellas. My husband bought 1 for him, so that he could go to get our car since the rain already started to trickle down.
Finally after my husband came, we all got in the car and heading back home. Along the way, the rain poured heavily again, luckily we were already safe inside the car. We all had a lot of fun that day, what a wonderful weekend...
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Bouchon Bakery
Ten Columbus Circle, Third Floor
New York, NY 10019
(212) 823-9366
http://www.bouchonbakery.com/
Lunch at Highline
We didn't go to the meatpacking district often, if I remember correctly this was the second time we were there. The first time was when we went to Del Posto last year (sorry I didn't write a post about them since I haven't started blogging yet, but here are the photos if you want to see).
We left home around 10:30 am to pick up E and Y before going straight to Manhattan. We were going to meet R, B and W at the restaurant, our reservation was at noon. By the way, we were lucky that we planned for lunch instead of dinner since there was thunderstorm later that day.
As soon as we arrived in Manhattan, we found a parking spot right away, on the same block as the restaurant. When we first saw the spot we thought we couldn't park there since there were orange cones, but soon came a man who moved the cones for us and then stood nearby. We understood right away what he wanted, so E got out of the car and gave him some money since we didn't want to have any problem.
While waiting for W who arrived 15 minutes later, we ordered our drinks. I knew that I wanted Thai iced tea, while my husband who usually like regular tea, that day wanted to try lychee cha dum thai which is an infused Thai black tea with re-hydrated milk and lychee fruit. R and B also ordered the Thai iced tea, while E ordered chrysanthemum tea and guava tea for Y. All the teas were very good, definitely a good start.
Thai iced tea and Lychee cha dum thai
Chrysanthemum and Guava & lemon peel cha dum thai
When everyone had arrived and got a chance to peruse the menu, we were ready to order. Since this was lunch, we were given a complimentary appetizer for each of the entree. Wow, it was a very good deal!
We decided to share everything so that we could taste them all. Here were what we ordered for appetizer:
- 2 orders of chicken lettuce wrap with 10 spices vinaigrette, it was amazing -- very tasty
- 2 orders of shrimp and chicken fritters served with mint and tomato sauce, it was moist and a little bland
- 2 orders of pad thai spring rolls served with tamarind dipping sauce, it was fantastic -- crunchy and flavorful
- 2 orders of caramelized shrimp with dried mushrooms, it was very good
Chicken lettuce wraps and Shrimp & chicken fritters
Pad thai spring rolls and Caramelized shrimp
As for entrees, here they were:
- 2 orders of black rice towel with beef flank and reduced soy (basically pad see ew), it was wonderful, the noodles were soft and the meat was tender
- 2 orders of black and white salmon, it was disappointing -- tasteless
- 1 order of massaman curry with organic chicken breast, peanut and potato, it was delicious, rich and very tasty -- we should have ordered 2 of this dish rather than the salmon
- 1 order of pad garlic with bokchoy and tofu, it was okay, nothing special
- 1 order of roasted duck with pineapple curry and fresh bamboo, it was fantastic, the meat was tender and the sauce was flavorful
- 1 order of green curry with tofu, eggplant and basil, it was pretty good
Black rice towel with beef flank and Black and white salmon
Massaman curry with organic chicken breast and Pad garlic
Roasted duck and Green curry with tofu
Since we planned to go to Bouchon Bakery after this, we didn't order any dessert from here. However when the waiter came bringing the check, he brought cheesecake for each of us, how nice! The cheesecake was creamy and rich, so yummy!
Cheesecake
After paying, we were off to the Time Warner Center for my "main entree" and more chit-chatting :-) Overall we were satisfied with both the food and service. This was a good and inexpensive place (especially lunch) to celebrate a birthday with some good friends.
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Highline
835 Washington St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 243-3339
http://www.nychighline.com
