Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons, Oxford (6th May 2010)

I have long heard about Raymond Blanc’s extravagant mansion/restaurant in Oxford, and having lived in Oxford for almost 20 months, I have not yet visited this 2 star Michelin “palace” as it is not very accessible unless you have a car. Anyhow, I finally had the chance to visit the place thanks to a friend’s birthday where my girlfriend and I were invited for dinner.

We were told that the mansion is quite a place, and would be worth getting there an hour early to have a quick stroll in the beautiful gardens and explore the different varieties of food ingredients that are grown on site. And it was worth it. We were impressed by the range of different vege and herbs that they grow and used for preparing their daily menu (not all the ingredients are home grown of course, but they try their best to use what they have on site)

After touring the gardens, we were invited to chill and snack in the lounge before dinner was served (the cheesy popcorn was tasty). The waiter then led us to the main dining room, which felt very cosy and relaxed. There was just enough distance between tables, which made me feel at ease during the meal. Personally, I really do not like some restaurants that make diners sit elbow to elbow, trying to push for that extra area per customer. Also, this was the first French/Michelin restaurant that I have visited which does not run the usual strict dress code. Having glanced at the menu, we decided to go for the sumptuous 9 course tasting menu – given Raymond Blanc’s reputation, what better way to experience the cooking?

While we were chating, the waiter brought forward a tray and showed us the different varieties of bread – bacon, sun-dried tomato, beer & mash potato, mini- baguettes and many others which I could hardly remember, given the choices. The bread was superb – crunchy on the outside and chewy inside. The bread was so good that we went for the 2^nd and 3^rd round, but contained ourselves given that we still have a feast to come. Below are my comments on the feast in the order that was served:

1^st course: salad of pot-caught Cornish wild crab, mango, Oscietra caviar (8/10) - the crab salad with mango was very refreshing which got the feast on a good start. Sadly, couldn't quite taste the caviar...

2^nd course: confit of “Landais” duck liver, ginger biscuit, citrus marmalade (6/10) - The combination of the liver and citrus marmalade was good but I don't think the duck liver was rich enough. The salad was very cruchy and fresh.

The brioche to go with the pate

3^rd course: plancha-seared hand-dived Scottish scallop, cauliflower puree, curry oil (6/10) - The scallop was overcooked and am not convinced with the cauliflower sauce to go with it. Curry oil probably goes better with the scallops. The little deep-fried meat-stuffed ball was very good however.

4^th course: white loire asparagus, soft fried free-range Bradmoor farm hen’s egg, our garden greens, pancetta bacon (9/10) - superb! the dish captured a varieties of texture, the seasonal white asapragus and other ingredients were finely cooked.

5^th course: slow-cooked wild Cornish line-caught sea bass, bok choy, bonito broth and tapioca pearls (9/10) - at the first look this looked very chinese and made me wonder if all the french chefs have started embracing the oriental touch in their cooking. I had the big doubt before tasting this dish and wasn't really expecting much from it to be honest. But eureka! it was fab! the sea bass was cooked and seasoned to perfection, and so was the pok choi. I don't know if I was homesick or what, but this dish really reminded me of the steamed fish that you would always get in traditional chinese weddings.

6^th course: slow-roasted loin of Limousin veal, new season garlic, Madeira jus (5/10) - I had high expectation for this course, but it was an disappointment. The veal and pork was simply over-cooked.

7^th course: Gariguette strawberry with Szechuan pepper and its own marshmallow, jelly of fresh mint and basil, cream cheese crème glacee (10/10) - Simply the best dessert I have ever had! Each flavour was so distinct to the palate when taken in a big mouthful and everything worked in perfect harmony with each other.

8^th course: exotic fruit “ravioli” with kaffir lime leaf and coconut jus (8/10) - another sublime dessert but shame that this came after the previous one. The sorbet was very light and complements the fruity ravioli. The only shortfall is the texture of the ravioli can be more springy.

9^th course: “Macae” 62% chocolate marquise with Tonda hazelnut and lemon butterscotch sauce (8/10) - Delightful dessert with contrasting textures of the creamy ice cream, crispy butterscotch and the spongy base. The surprising thing was that it was not as dense as expected for such as dish composed of chocolates, cream and butterscotch.

Special/extra course: a theme on “Gariguette” strawberry (8/10) - This we got as a special bonus as the head chef was an acquaintance of my friend and also because it was my friend's birthday. The pastry team apparently won some competition based on this - it was complex : several layers of different strawberry themed pastry with different textures. The surprising thing is the bottom layer was gel based rather than something that is solid.

After the 4hr mega feast, we were given a detailed tour of the kitchen - unfortunately we didn't take photos. The kitchen was much bigger than most of the michelin starred kitchens that I have visited and a lot more staff as well. I dont know if it was over-staffed/inefficient, but at least the kitchen was very organised and everyone seemed to be busy. The unique thing about this kitchen was that it was not noisy at all - no one shouting or arguing. They had their own system where everything is clearly written on a big white board, which served as the medium of communication in their kitchen. Another thing that impressed me was how much they value sustainability and their training programme - apparently each new intake is given the chance to work in different sections of the kitchen on a rotation.

Having finished the kitchen tour, we retreated to the lounge for the petit four over some tea while waiting for our taxi. The waiter then brought us a small gift, which was a brochure of the Maison and hardcopies of the dinner menu(s) sealed in an envelop.

Overall, I think the restaurant deserves its two star accolade and the service was impeccable - truly sets the standard for others to follow. The only thing I would recommend to the restaurant is to improve its main courses, as for me, the puddings totally outshined the mains (which is rare in my experience). To be honest, I was rather dissapointed at the end of the mains as I thought the pre-dessert dishes were only worthy of a 1 star Michelin at best. If only the mains are on the same level as the puds, there is no doubt that Le Manior would be worthy of a 3 star Mich and probably the best restaurant for me.

Parkheuvel, Rotterdam (16 Apr 2010)

Whilst preparing my trip to a conference in Rotterdam, I thought that being once the busiest port in the world (only superseded by Shanghai couple of years back), surely Rotterdam is a hub for haute cuisine since there are plenty of business big spenders who are eager to have their palate fulfilled. Having done a bit of search online, I came across "Parkheuvel" which is a 2 star Michelin restaurant situated in Het Park, next to the bank of River Nieuwe Maas. It is said to be the culinary gem of Rotterdam (Two Dutch young fellas who I came across in the tram were so envious when I told them that I was going there for lunch). The restaurant used to be a 3 star Michelin restaurant before the change of chef in 2006, and under the current chef Erik van Loo, it suffered a big drop in reputation and lost two stars in the subsequent year. The restaurant has since regained one of the lost stars, and seems to be on track in regaining its 3 star status.

Rotterdam is a small city, and without a car, the restaurant itself is not an easy place to reach. Instead of splashing out on a taxi (apparently a starting cost of around 7 euros), I took the combination of the tram and a relaxing stroll along the river bank. One would usually think its a nice idea, I mean, river views usually are pretty good right?.... However, this wasn't exactly the case for Rotterdam - the view was, "modest" shall we say.

Having arrived at the restaurant, I found that my girlfriend had already arrived and ordered a glass of mojito (apparently not very nice) . As I was off alcohol for lunch, I ordered a virgin cocktail which tasted very nice and refreshing. While we were waiting in the lounge, we were presented with some amuse bouche. The combination of snacks were ok, nothing really disastrous nor memorable. We ordered the 3 course lunch menu of the day (quite pricy it has to be said in comparison to the lunch menus offered by restaurants in the same calibre in London).

The waiter first brought us the pre-starter which was a strip of salmon laminated with a layer of crispy toast on top, drizzle with some chili oil. The texture worked well with the contrast between the crispy toast and the tender salmon. A nice start for the meal (7/10).

Next up was the starter - "lobster tail on top of lobster mousse filled cannelloni, lobster mousse filled tomato sorbet and lobster sauce/oil". The lobster was fresh and succulent with the pasta equally good. The combination of tomato sorbet and lobster mousse worked very well for me (8/10). However, my girlfriend found the lobster to be undercooked and said the lobster had the "squid" texture.

The main course was "pan fried bream with seasonal white asparagus, morel mushrooms and peas". The fish was perfect crisp on the outside and tender inside. The veg were all very seasonal and accompanied the fish nicely (9/10).

After the mains was the pre-dessert which was some madeleines - golden crispy crust on the outside and spongy soft the inside. Probably the best madeleines I've tasted - though would be nice if they can a second round of it when we had the tea. (8/10)

For pudding, we were presented white chocolate ice cream served with a combo of mandarin themed dessert which included marinated mandarins, mandarin mousse sandwiched by crispy pastries and a mandarin flavored foamy/spongey cake (or maybe it was a marshmallow). Anyway, i was not a big fan of the dessert, the ice cream was ok, but the mandarin themed plate just was not my cup of tea and I am quite picky on my desserts. (4/10).

To finish off the meal, we ordered some darjeeling tea and was accompanied with more bite-sized sweeties and chocolates.

Overall, I would say the food was good and lived up to its 2 star Michelin accolade, but was let down by the dessert. However, with the lunch menu priced at 50 euros per head, I would say it is slightly overpriced - though I later found that service charge was included in the price shown. One thing I have not mentioned was that the service was excellent which was a plus, and there was comfortable space between adjacent tables which is different to many of the michelin starred restaurants where you are expected to sit elbow to elbow with other customers.