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/
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Desserts at Bouchon Bakery
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
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Late lunch at Spanish Tavern
R and B were already seated since we were 15 minutes late, sorry again guys. They patiently waited, whilst nibbling on the rolls. After we settled, the waiter took our orders. When he came back with our drinks, he and another waiter also brought a big bowl of the complimentary escarole and noodle soup. They doled out the soup tableside and served it to us. The soup was quite tasty. We restrained from asking for refills (which they offered).
Basket of rolls and Escarole & noodle soup
For appetizers, we ordered fried calamari and portobello mushroom to share. The calamari was okay, nothing special, soft but a little bit soggy. However the portobello mushroom was amazing, the perfectly grilled mushroom was covered with crab meat in a flavorful sauce. We liked it so much and decided to order another portion :-)
Fried calamari and Portobello mushroom
For entree, my husband ordered t-bone steak au poivre and for me was langostinos (read about this somewhere). Unfortunately the steak was cooked almost well done eventhough he asked for a medium. The meat was still tender though and the sauce was pretty good, however he didn't like it (I think he was still comparing everything to Peter Luger). The langostinos were excellent, I love it! This giant shrimp was grilled to perfection, still tender with a texture similar to lobster, and slightly spicy.
T-bone steak au poivre and Langostinos
B's entree was a broiled New Zealand lobster tail, it was huge. I was quite excited to try a bite of it, unfortunately it was a major disappointment. It was overcooked which made the texture became too tough and rubbery, it was totally not worth the price of $39.95. On the other hand, R's entree was delicious; it was veal corunesa with wine & brandy sauce and mushrooms. The organic veal was tender and the sauce was wonderful, just a perfect combination.
New Zealand lobster tail and Veal corunesa
Eventhough we were already full, we decided to order 2 desserts to share. No meal is complete without any dessert :-) Both the tartufo (vanilla and chocolate ice cream) and caramel flan was enjoyable but forgettable.
Tartufo and Caramel flan
Just before we left, more people started to come since it was almost dinner time. Overall, the food review was a mix -- half was fantastic, the other half was disappointing. The service was good, the waiter was quite nice. Personally, I don't think that we will go back again soon.
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Spanish Tavern
1239 Rt 22
Mountainside, NJ 07092
(908) 232-2171
http://www.spanishtavern.com/
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Anniversary dinner at Per Se
Per Se is located on the 4th flour at Time Warner Center. After walking across a nice small garden in the front area of the restaurant, we were welcomed by the famous blue double door. My husband noticed that there were sliding doors on each side of the blue double door, but I did not. So I walked to the blue door and tried to open it while he was laughing at me. Luckily the glass door slid opened and I realized my mistake :-)
The interior was spacious, elegant and lovely with enormous windows overlooking the beautiful Central Park. My husband said that it would be nice to see the Fall foliage from up here, wow, he could read my mind :-) The tables were widely spread covered with white tablecloths, there were white floral arrangements and candles on top. By the way, Chef Thomas Keller personally designed the silver pieces and the china that feature houndstooth pattern around the rim.
Since we mentioned that we don't really like to drink alcohol, we asked if they had any non-alcoholic beverages. Luckily there were 3 choices, I chose French sparkling apple cider and my husband chose pinot noir. As for the food, we intially were thinking of having one of each menu - so that we could try everything, but then we remembered that we are meat lovers (and they're priced equally). When our captain came back with our drinks, we told her that we chose the chef's tasting.
French sparkling apple cider and Non-alcoholic pinot noir
The food parade commenced, beginning with the amuse bouche which were Chef Thomas Keller's signature gruyere cheese gougeres followed by salmon cornets. The gougere was good -- warm, fluffy and filled with cream cheese. The salmon cornet was a small black sesame tuile cone filled with red onion creme fraiche, topped with Atlantic salmon tartare and garnished with a single chive. The tuile was crispy and buttery, the creme fraiche was tangy, the salmon was silky and melted in my mouth, just prefect.
Gruyere cheese gougeres and Salmon cornettes
When our first course arrived, the servers walked to our sides, then after pausing for a second as if to synchronize their moves, placed the plates down and simultaneously lifted small ceramic lids to reveal the oysters and pearls, a sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and sterling white sturgeon caviar. Each course followed the same choreographed service. Regarding the food, the sabayon was rich, the tapioca was cooked perfectly, the oyster was tender and the caviar was shockingly unsalty (in a good way). It was divine! By the way, there was a mother-of-pearl spoon that accompanied the plate since we shouldn't eat the caviar using a metal spoon, it would change the flavor of caviar.
Oysters and pearls
Then came the bread service, the selections were mini French baguette, Italian ciabatta, potato sour dough, Alsatian rye bread with duck fat and riesling, sweet brioche roll. I chose the rye bread which was very good -- crispy outside, soft inside. My husband chose the brioche which was sweet and tender. The bread came with 2 types of butter, salted butter with fleur de sel and sweet unsalted butter.
Basket of bread
For the second course, my husband had the non-supplement option which was salad of braised abalone mushroom with heirloom radishes, persian cucumber, petit shiso and goma vinaigrette. I opted for the supplemental one which was torchon of elevages perigord moulard duck foie gras with Sicilian pistachio butter, red wine poached brooks cherries, tokyo turnips and field mizuna. When it came to the foie gras, it was sweet and fatty, served with buttery toasted brioche. They kept bringing out more warm brioche, I literally took one bite from each piece and another fresh slice was delivered right in front of me. When I asked their simple answer was: it's better with warm brioche. I guess the warmth of the brioche was needed to help the foie gras became more spreadable. I'm still amazed up to this day.
Salad of braised abalone mushroom
Torchon of elevages perigord moulard duck foie gras
Our third course was sauteed fillet of Atlantic halibut with confit squid, fennel bulb, holland eggplant, sweet peppers with pattypan squash vinaigrette and pimenton oil. The halibut was firm in texture and delicate in taste with the sauce underneath that complimented it well, yet I felt that this dish was too bland for me.
Sauteed fillet of atlantic halibut
The next course was pan roasted Maine sea scallop with ragout of king richard leeks, yukon gold potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms with meyer lemon mousseline. The scallop was seared perfectly, firm on the outside, soft and sweet inside, it was wonderful.
Pan roasted maine sea scallop
Then came the next dish which was Cavendish farm's caille en crepinette with pickled ramps, applewood smoked bacon lardons, frisee salad with smoked hen egg emulsion and quail jus. The quail was moist and tender, the sauce was tasty and not overpowering, it was superb.
Cavendish farm's caille en crepinette
Next was the degustation of eden hollow farm's spring lamb with gnocchi Parisienne, greenmarket carrots, glazed sunchokes and split english peas with lamb jus. This featured a mini-tasting of seven preparations of lamb on one plate, on the photo from left: breast, shank, tenderloin, rack, sirloin, sausage and shoulder on top right. It was very interesting, but we found some were better than others.
Degustation of eden hollow farm's spring lamb
The cheese course was boerenkaas, slow baked beets with wood sorrel and violet mustard, served with lemon currant bread and walnut rye bread. The boerenkaas, which by definition is a handmade Gouda, had a creamy texture and sharp flavor, the beets added a sweet taste to it.
Boerenkaas
Finally it was time for the sweets, which itself was a production. It began with apricot sorbet, Nyons extra virgin olive oil pate de fruit with tellicherry pepper sable breton. The sorbet was light and refreshing, the olive oil pate de fruit was surprisingly good, the sable breton added some crunch to it, so yummy!
Apricot sorbet
My dessert was caraibe, caraibe meringue mousse, caramel cremeux, devil's food cake, golden pineapple and cashew ice cream. It was creamy, rich, chocolate-y, sweet, just delightful! My husband's dessert was glace a la fraise, strawberry biscuit, almond panna cotta and mint syrup with tristar strawberry ice cream. It was plated beautifuly, but the taste was even better -- soft, light, creamy, sweet, just delicious!
Caraibe and Glace a la fraise
The server brought me a miniature creme brulee, while for my husband was a miniature yogurt pot de creme with blueberry jam. They were creamy and not too sweet, pretty good.
Tahitian vanilla creme brulee and Yogurt pot de creme with blueberry jam
When we finished, another server came bringing a silver tray filled with assorted of chocolates: ginger caramel, rocher, lime, mocha, guanaja dark chocolate, honey thyme, mint, green apple. She asked if we would like to try one of each and we definitely would like to, eventhough our stomachs were already starting to burst.
Chocolates tray
Then came the mignardises: cocoa covered piedmont hazelnut in an off-white porcelain bisque covered bowl; butterscotches, sour cherry almond nougats and truffles (milk chocolate salted caramel, dark chocolate hazelnut cream, white chocolate toasted coconut) in a stunning silver staircase; assorted of housemade mini hard candies (chocolate, licorice, banana, orange, lime, cherry, mint).
Mignardises
We were done and ready to see the "damage", so my husband called one of the servers for the check since we didn't see our captain. Surprisingly when she came back, in addition to the check she also brought us 2 nicely packaged of florentine cookies to take home, how lovely! By the way, the florentine cookies were very good, soft and not too gooey.
Check and Florentine cookies
Our captain came and asked if we would like to see the kitchen, of course I said yes, but since my husband was too full to walk, I went by myself. I was given the grand tour of the kitchen and amazed at its cleanliness. There was a large, flat-screen television with live feed of French Laundry where Chef Thomas Keller spends more time at. They said that French Laundry also had the same thing, I guess this is a way for Chef Thomas Keller to monitor his restaurants. Unfortunately Chef Thomas Keller was not in that night, but I've already had an opportunity to meet him during his demonstration of sous-vide at International Restaurant & Foodservice Show back in March. Chef Jonathan Benno was there though, so I requested to have my picture taken with him, which he graciously allowed :-)
It took about 4 hours for us to complete the 9-course meal extravaganza. They were fantastic -- flawless presentations paired with a perfect combination of texture, scents and seasonings. The staff was very professional and knowledgeable yet very nice, friendly and helpful, attentive yet not intrusive. They were not intimidating at all, they made us felt at home and allowed us to fully appreciate each course without feeling being rushed.
Waiting area
During the dinner, we mentioned to our captain that we were lucky there was a cancellation. She informed us that there are only limited tables for two and they usually hold the tables for bigger parties. I was very surprised and disappointed since most of the time I go to fine dining restaurants only with my husband. However I understood why they do that, it usually takes 3-4 hours per sitting and they will make more money from a group of people rather than a couple.
On the way out, we noticed that there was a guestbook and I couldn't leave without writing something on it. The book was placed on top of a glass table and there was a set of stone blocks with some words engraved on it "one must read everything, observe everything, hear everything, try everything, see everything in order to retain", that's true.
"one must read everything, observe everything, hear everything, try everything, see everything in order to retain"
This was definitely a spectacular and memorable culinary experience, what a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary! We realize that this was the most expensive dinner we've ever had so far, however for those who really enjoy cuisine it is justified. We are looking forward to return, hopefully in the near future.
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10019
(212) 823-9335
http://www.perseny.com/
