I was given a cell number to make a reservation. It turned out I was messaging Anna Soenen, the wife of the Chef and owner of the restaurant - Cyrille Soenen. While I was messaging Anna for the reservation I asked if they could accommodate a special request: Steak Tartare. After consulting with the Chef, she replied that it would be no problem to make a special order of Steak Tartare. I was quite impressed and happy about this. Not many restaurants would do this.
For starters, we ordered a total of 4 appetizers plus the additional "special" order of Steak Tartare. We ordered the ff:
Sardines
Marinated in Fresh Herbs, Goat Cheese on Warm Farmer’s Bread, Tapenade and Fresh Herbs
Tomato
On a Crispy Puff Pastry, Eggplant Caviar, Mozzarella and Parmesan Shavings
Tuna Belly
Seasoned Confit on Romaine Salad, Crispy Vegetables
Foie Gras
Duck Liver Sautéed with Confit Pomelos
I tried a small portions of the appetizers but was fixated by the Steak Tartare. Although I have to highlight the sardines were very fresh and went perfectly well with the goat cheese. As for the Steak Tartare - it was excellent. Just the right amount of spice. Ive noticed some recipes tend to use a lot of anchovies/capers / Tabasco etc.. and this tends to overpower the taste of the meat. Chef Cyrilles was just right. No need to add any more extra ingredients. I do intend to come back and try it again since it was very well prepared.
For the main course, I had the Pork (Kurobota US)Slow Braised Caramelized Belly, Duo of Apples and Potatoes and Ria had the Lamb (Australia)Roasted Filet Coated with Herbs and Braised Shoulder, Oriental Style in Ravioli.
The Pork Belly was excellent. Very tender and was probably 'cooked' for many hours to reach that oh so tender state. The apple was gave it a good contrast. Its only the 2nd time I taste Pork Kurobota and in both instances I enjoyed it. The Lamb of Ria was also exceptionally good. It had a 'crust' of herbs which gave the dish depth and the oriental style ravioli is what gave it good contrast. Presentation of the plates were ok - my pork was presented very simple but really there is not really much you can do to present this dish better.
For Dessert, I had the cheese prepared by the Chef. The cheese was like a slice of cake. Two layers of Brie I think and in the middle, a layer of strong mix of cheese with blue cheese. Another dessert worth mentioning was the Mango (Caramelized, Fresh and Sherbet, Passion and Basil Sauce).
For the wine, I brought a bottle of 2003 Tourelles de Longueville, which we drank with the appetizers. For the Pork Kurobota dish, I paired it with a 2006 Petalos from Bierzo (The Bierzo Denominación de Origen (DO) is in the northeast of the province of Leon (Castilla y Leon in Spain). Not a big wine but intense and soft tannins. I think it went perfectly well with the my pork and the Lamb.
Over all I was happy with the food/service and do plan to return there again. Only 2 comments ...its quite hard to park (but they offer a valet service for 100 pesos) and I think their corkage charge is quite excessive(1,000 per bottle). But I do recommend this restaurant. Chef Cyrille and Anna are very attentive to the customers and service is good and fast and their prices are very reasonable.
Posts
