We were a party of four-- Ma, Steph (silent H), Cookie Monster and me. This is a good-sized group for tasting most of the dishes being offered by the ridiculously good-looking Pengson couple. All of us ordered the Express Menu because the Signature Menu was kind of scary with the sheer amount of food listed on it. Even with the Express, we had to doggy-bag one of the desserts.
Since all the other bloggers out there start with the starters, let's be different and start with the mains. The 24-hour Steak was out of this world. Seriously. It's now on my Top 5 Best Steaks list of the moment. Nay, my Top 3.
Our server explained that this steak was cooked en sous-vide for-- you guessed it-- 24 hours and then seared in a pan before serving. That's why you can't request a level of doneness. It's already "done" as is. Actually, it came out medium. Apparently, Chef Rob Pengson is a gadget boy.
From Wikipedia: "Sous-vide, French for 'under vacuum', is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F)."
The result was a glorious piece of meat that had the texture of tender but springy baby veal, and the full-bodied flavor of a top-grade sirloin. I like beef that tastes like beef, don't you?
The Roasted Scallop was a winner for Ma. Perfectly cooked, plump, juicy, and served with caviar. Can never have too much caviar.
For dessert, the Baked Camembert Bread Pudding was comfort food with a luxe twist. The use of Camembert was genius. I am thinking of making this dessert at home. I mean, it's a bread pudding! Stale bread, milk, eggs. Then top with Camembert. Wow.
Our other dessert was the Yogurt Parfait. I was expecting the normal creamy yogurt, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I tasted this. It was a yogurt FOAM. Light and tart, it cut through all the rich food that we'd already eaten, somewhat like a palate cleanser, except it was the end of the meal.
The other stuff we ate that night were the Foie Cone, Prosciutto Brie Macaroon, Potato Glass, Truffle Puff, Pea and Edamame Soup, Beet Garden Salad, Eggs Benedict and Caviar Surprise-- all of which have been analyzed to death by hordes of food bloggers. It all tasted very, very good. Cannot complain about any of the flavors and textures. And fun to eat! It was whimsical but witty.
This was the menu on 4 May 2010. They change some of the items periodically, so one MUST go back periodically. Click to enlarge:
The Express Menu is the best deal. Everything else does not make much sense, pricing-wise.
Er, Chef, I know you're a busy guy, but maybe you can do something about your menu? Suggest you get a piece of cardboard, cover it with faux leather, punch some holes on those four sheets of paper, thread a ribbon through it all, et voila!
Oh, and your restaurant is too dark, man. Your food is too pretty. We want to take pictures without using the flash. I managed a few so-so photos.
Note to self: Food pictures look so much better in natural sunlight. See previous entry. Does this mean we should eat lunch out more often instead of dinner? For the sake of better photographs? Can you say "obsession"?
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