Hainanese-style Chicken (Rice and sauce recipe below)

Today, I would like to share with you a curious method of preparing chicken that at a glance would seem like a case of food poisoning waiting to happen. But, it's been done a gazillion times before by cooks like my maternal grandmother, who is half Hainanese anyway. She got this recipe from her grandmother.

You will never say boiled chicken is boring ever again after you try this recipe. The chicken is perfectly cooked through, soft, luscious and of course, delicious to eat. This is something that my mother would even make on a regular basis for dinner because it's so easy. I am sure all of you would agree that most Chinese cuisine's preparation time is always a drag. Long and tedious. But this is an exception to that. The only catch is you would need to plan this a little bit ahead of time, about 2 hrs ahead of time if your chicken is fresh and defrosted.

I did not make the rice to go with my chicken because I didn't feel like having rice with the meal, strange as it sounds. But the recipe for the rice is below, for those of you who want to try the complete Hainanese-style Chicken Rice meal. Oh and before I forget, the chicken is usually served in room temperature.

So let's get cooking.



Hainanese-style Chicken

1 1.5kg Chicken (cooking time do not vary, this method works with even a larger chicken)
2 cloves
1/2 star anise
8 garlic cloves, crushed slightly
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 sprigs of spring onions, tips cut off and left whole
2 big slices of ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoon of salt

Enough water to cover a whole chicken in a very large pot.

Method:

1. Clean your chicken with running cold water. Make sure to not poke any holes in the skin.
2. Bring a large pot (big enough to hold your chicken) of water to boil. You need enough water to just cover over the chicken. A good way to do this is fill your pot with water with the chicken in it. Once you've got the right amount of water, take the chicken out and proceed.
3. Before water starts to boil, add all the ingredients in.
4. Once the pot starts into a rolling boil, put the chicken into the liquid slowly. The water should stop boiling when you do this. Close the lid of the pot and let it come to a boil again. When your lid starts shaking with huffs of steam angrily spouting from the corner like the picture below:
You are doing good. Now, this is the ridiculous part. Turn off the heat completely and leave the chicken in for 1.5 hours. Do not open the lid, do not stir, do not shake, do nothing. Go read a book or shoot some zombies on your XBOX.
5. After 1.5 hours, your chicken is ready. Prepare a large sink filled with icy cold water. Lift the chicken gently into the cold water, careful to not break the skin as it is very fragile at this stage, hot out of the pot.
I like to give it a cold bath to stop the cooking completely and also to give its skin a very smooth and luscious texture. Cooling the chicken like this makes it easier to handle while you cut it up for serving. I leave it in the cold bath for about 10minutes

To serve, my grandmother usually prepares a yummy sauce filled with herbs to go with this chicken; I will too because I can't get enough of it. It goes extremely well with the chicken and with rice.


Recipe for sauce and authentic Hainanese-style rice below.

Sauce for Hainanese-style Chicken:

2 tablespoon of Oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
2 tablespoon of shallots, minced finely
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped finely
1 sprig of parsley, chopped finely
2 tablespoon of garlic oil and golden garlic bits (minced garlic + enough oil to cover in a small bowl + microwave 2-mins till golden brown)
3 tablespoon of chicken broth (from cooking the chicken)

Method:

1. Mix everything together well.

Hainanese-style rice
Feel free to double or halve the recipe to feed more people.

2 cups of jasmine rice
1 tablespoon of butter
3 cloves of garlic, whole
2 stalk of spring onions, ends trimmed and kept whole
2 slices of ginger
2 Cloves
3 1/4 cups of chicken broth (from earlier)

Method:

1. Rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Strain the liquid as much as possible.
2. In a pan, melt butter and saute garlic until fragrant. Add rice and roast the rice with the butter and garlic. This will add a dimension of nuttiness to the rice when it's cooked.
3. When the rice turns slightly translucent while toasting, transfer it into a rice cooker and add the rest of the ingredients in until cooked.

If you don't have a rice cooker, you can also cook this in a pot. Just make sure you lower the heat to a simmer/low when the rice starts boiling. Cook for 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and turn off the heat completely. Wait 5 minutes before serving the rice.



The left over cooking liquid from the chicken makes a good soup base to go with the meal. Add some carrots, shitake mushrooms, Chinese cabbage and/or other root vegetables you like to eat and it'll be a great accompaniment to the Hainanese-style Chicken Rice meal. :)

Now *that* is a potato.

This gigantic russet potato makes a mammoth amount of mashed potatoes to feed an army of 2 very hungry people and still have enough leftovers to make gnocchi!

The post about Brownies with Walnuts

Dark and delicious brownies were baked at home today. Thanks to Jules from thestonesoup.com. Her brownie picture on Tastespotting tugged at my heartstrings and I knew at first sight, I had to make these brownies.

After mixing through the batter, I knew this was a recipe to keep. The batter was rich and dark, glistening with goodness. I couldn't wait for it to finish baking! And while it was baking, it was sending magical wafts of deliciousness in the air. Again, I just knew, these brownies were going to rock my socks off!

They did. *licks chocolate off fingers*

Even P was completely enamored and was commenting on how good it smelled while it was baking. After the first bite, he had another, and another. And another.

These are possibly the best brownies I have ever eaten in the whole wide world! They are so simple to make, there is no fuss about melting chocolates and what not. Just make sure you use good quality cocoa powder and butter for this recipe, you're all set to make the best ever chocolate brownie. Simplicity for the win.

The recipe is taken off Jules' blog, and she adapted this recipe off Deb of Smitten Kitchen. I used a rather tall 8-inch pie plate as my baking vessel. The only thing I did differently in the recipe was add a 2oz of rum into the batter.

Liquor + Brownies = V.V.V. Good




Brownies with Walnuts, or any kind of nuts you love to eat in a brownie

150g (5oz) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup (255g or 9oz) sugar
3/4 cup (80g or 2 7/8 oz) cocoa powder
pinch salt
1teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature please
1/2 cup (75g or 2 1/2oz) plain flour
2oz Appleton Estate Rum (optional but highly recommended)
1 cup chopped nuts, such as hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts or pecans, optional

Method:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease your pie plate/brownie pan/etc with some butter and dust with flour. Or you can just line it with grease paper like what Jules and Deb did. Set aside until ready to use.

1. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in sugar. It's okay if all the crystals are not dissolved, you just want to wet them in the butter. Add in the cocoa powder in and mix until there are no lumps left.

2. Add eggs, vanilla extract and salt to the batter and mix thoroughly.

3. Gently fold in the flour until it is incorporated into the batter but do not over mix it. You don't want to disturbed the gluten too much. Add the nuts in and 2oz of rum.

4. Pour it into the baking vessel and spread evenly. Bake for 50 minutes. If you are using a smaller baking vessel and want a taller brownie, increase baking time and test every 10 minutes with a skewer, until the skewer comes out clean.



The brownie is really good eaten on its own. This recipe really hits the spot.

A Chinese New Year wish from our resident pet

Chap Chye Th'ng (Nyonya-style mix vegetable soup)

This is not your regular vegetable soup, this was my grandmother's vegetable soup. Made exclusively on Chinese New Year's Eve reunion dinner, among many other things. Chap Chye Th'ng or Nyonya mix vegetable soup is uniquely a Penang dish. The flavor base of this soup is made out of cabbage, jicama bean, carrots, dried cuttlefish, pork bones and fried garlic oil, which gives it an aromatic and rich flavour. My grandmother makes her homemade bak wan/ meatballs to go with this soup. She steams them separately before serving them in the soup so that the meatballs do not lose its flavor or overcooked in the pot. This soup is especially comforting to drink on a cold day in February.

Like most Nyonya cuisine, it is not the most photogenic of foods. It's extremely hard to take pictures of this soup, and to make it look at least presentable for this blog took me about a day. By the time I was done, the soup was stone cold but luckily I have more in my cast iron pot.

Preparation for this soup may take longer than the cooking time. I said "may" because it depends if you want to cut the carrots and jicama bean into nice patterns. The good thing about this vegetable soup with meatballs is that absolutely nothing goes to waste. And you'll see why.



Chap Chye Th'ng with Bak Wan (Nyonya mix vegetable soup with meatballs)

Chap Chye Th'ng:
2 lb pork bones
2 piece of dried cuttlefish, washed and steeped in hot water
2 medium sized carrots, cut into quarter inch slices
1 large jicama bean, sliced
2 onions, cut into quarters
3 cups of cabbage, cut into 2 inch squares
3 slices of ginger
1 teaspoon of whole white peppercorns
10 dried Chinese mushrooms, re-hydrated and halved
2 tablespoon of garlic oil (minced garlic + enough oil to cover in a bowl + microwaved 2mins till golden brown)
soy sauce to taste

While you're preparing your carrots and jicama bean, do not throw away excesses - keep them for the meatballs



Method:

1. In a large pot (with steamer attach would be extremely convenient), fill it with 8 cups of water and bring it to boil with the pork bones, dried cuttlefish, ginger slices, onions and white peppercorns. Let it cook for 30 minutes.
2. Add the jicama bean and mushrooms in, and cook for 15 minutes before adding the cabbage and carrots in.
3. Cook the soup for another 30 minutes and then stir in two tablespoons of ginger oil, lower heat to a low simmer until ready to serve.

Bak Wan (Homemade meatballs)
15 large shrimps
200grams minced pork
2 tablespoons of minced carrots
2 tablespoons of minced jicama bean
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped
3 Chinese mushrooms, re-hydrated and chopped finely
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon garlic oil + fried garlic bits
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 egg

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with your finger tips.

2. Shape the meatballs into large two inch balls and steam them over the top of the soup pot (that comes with a steamer) for 15 minutes.
3. Serve it together with the soup

I remember eating just this over a bowl of rice as a kid. And while I did not appreciate the intricacy of this soup and the effort put into it, I do now. I stood at my kitchen counter for 2 hours chopping and shaping meatball. It was worth it and a most satisfying meal. :)

Szechuan Roasted Chicken with Fennel and Apple Pickle

Bee Yinn of RasaMalaysia.com invited me to guest post for her Chinese New Year roundup on her blog. Why, woman, I thought you'd never ask! :)



I've decided to share a roast chicken dish with her and her readers because roast chicken is a chockful of prosperity goodness to eat on Chinese New Year. This is unlike the traditional Chinese roast chicken fare, I've supped it up with some Szechuan peppers and vanilla. You're going to call me crazy but that vanilla powder I've included in my recipe gives a special savoriness to the roast chicken. It's like all the spices melded together in perfect harmony. On the side, I served my chicken dish with a fennel and apple pickle and cashew nuts.

This Szechuan Roasted Chicken is absolutely wonderful and so simple to make. I won't be going back for Chinese New Year this year but this roast chicken made me feel a bit better. I made it for my family in mind and I know they would love it as much as I know you would too. :)

Happy Chinese New Year guys! For full recipe, visit Rasa Malaysia for the full post of my Szechuan/Sichuan Roasted Chicken Recipe!

DNA Restaurant in Montreal

It is the honest truth when I say the only way to enjoy a restaurant is through their tasting menu.

We've been to DNA restaurant in Montreal twice (three for me) now and we are in love. In love with the food and with the ingenuity of its chef Derek Dammann and his crew. I am going to write this post in the most haphazard manner possible because I cannot remember the different courses I had (it changed the second time i was there) except for the orgasmic swing DNA's food gave me along with the most pleasant service we have had in a while. A shout out to Sebastian, who served us so well and made us feel extremely comfortable in his cute, cheeky and professional, extraordinaire demeanor. This is going to be a post that heralds the restaurant, its chef and the experience more than anything else. Pictures and description are in no particular order.

For the uninitiated, DNA actually stands for Derek and Alex; the two head honchos of the restaurant, chef and sommelier, Remus and Romulus, yin and yang and I could go on and on. Nothing to do with the human genome, thankfully. But we have yet to experience Sommelier Alex's recommendations in both our trips because we are not seasoned wine-drinkers. But we have promised ourselves to give wine-pairing a try in our next trip to the restaurant.

Many restaurants we've been to have accommodated us very well but nothing like how DNA has accommodated us, especially for P's vegetarianism. In this restaurant, we truly felt that the chef wears his passion on his sleeves and that's highly commendable. He has personally told us that his kitchen loves a challenge. And creating a 9-course tasting menu for a vegetarian is a pretty challenging feat for a chef whose stronghold is influenced by Mediterranean/Italian-style meats and seafood.

I heard about DNA a year back when it first opened its doors on Marguerite D'Youville and I am just glad that we finally decided to give it a try after reading and hearing so much good reviews.

Dining both times at DNA was a joyful experience with their 9-course tasting menu and impeccable service. I knew Chef Derek worked under Jamie Oliver before opening DNA and the JO influence were inconspicuous but definitely there. The rotolo stuffed with ricotta and butternut squash with sage butter was a familiar face. P had it as part of his tasting course and it blew him away. How much? Well, get a load of this, even though he was already full to the brim, he left nothing of the rotolo on his plate at the end of the course - ate every morsel on his plate. And I'm just skimming the surface of the 9-course vegetarian tasting menu as the selection offered to P has been nothing less than stellar. Most of the other restaurants' accommodation for P's eating habits feels like a larger portion of a side dish. In DNA, P's main course actually feels like a proper main course. 

While the vegetarian course is outstanding, the non-vegetarian tasting menu was equally mind blowing. I had the pleasure of eating King Manfred's Ravioli the first and second time around and in the ravioli contained all the finest parts of the duck. Duck testicles, anyone? The gonads of a duck, along with its other bits like tongue, foie gras cooked in a meaty brown filling in a ravioli topped with crispy chicken skin. How delectable is that? I never thought I'd say I enjoyed eating duck testicles but I did. It was DELICIOUS first and second time around. I love every plate served to me especially the wild striped seabass and porchetta (in my prev tasting menu, no pic) - they were cooked to perfection - and I apologize for the lack of words to describe Chef Derek's representation of the tasting menu. I am tongue-tied, the food in general was just...divine.

If there was something I dislike at DNA, it would be the Veal Sweetbread in Agro Dolce. I wasn't too crazy about the caper sauce that accompanied it as the flavors did not jive at all. But then again, maybe sweetbread is not for me, it is definitely an acquired taste.

Dessert was amazing, chocolate pot de creme may seem like a heavy ending. It was surprisingly light but rich with chocolate. Our second dessert course varied, I had pig's blood chocolate pudding the first time, which was ...different. It wasn't bad it was just different. It felt like it was inspired by boudin or blood sausages but chocolaty. I loved how they streaked the red raspberry sauce around the pudding that it looked like blood but not in an unappealing way - it was just artistically done. The second time, I had a bay leaf panna cotta. I never thought bay leaf would flavor the panna cotta so beautifully...it was delightful! But the star of the dessert, in my opinion where the lemon tart and the pine nut tart with ginger ice cream..

We finally got to visit the kitchen and pantry that lies in the belly of the restaurant in our second visit. Cured meats hang in rows in the very same room that houses all their wines. I was surprised that there's a chef's table and a private room that seats 12 next to the kitchen. We are definitely getting a spot there next time. Sitting on the chef's table and watching Chef Derek work in the kitchen would be a great experience to have; never mind that the reason for chef's kitchen is sorta like having a cctv camera in the kitchen. Ever watchful, anticipating and serves to ultimately unnerve the kitchen staff. ;)

We've had the pleasure of meeting Chef Derek face to face, and more than once too. He's such a down-to-earth guy who just wants to share his passion in the food he creates. I hope it stays this way. One more thing that makes this restaurant different from the others is that the chef is a frequent face on the dining floor.It is refreshing to see and know that the chef is in, working in his kitchen, cooking your food unlike some restaurants where their chef is almost never around. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

DNA restaurant is definitely a restaurant that's yet-to-be-discover and Chef Derek Dammann is a chef waiting to be discovered.  The food, the ambiance, the service and dare I say, the location(?) of DNA restaurant is like a ticking bomb of awesome. It's all just waiting to explode and before you know it, you're on a 2 month long waiting list for reservation.

A notable thing about DNA Restaurant: Sebastian, our gracious server, explained to us that everything in DNA is created with the environment and sustainability in mind. With that, after watching Food Inc. and watching videos of mistreated animals, I felt a lot better knowing that my piece of meat came from an animal that had the best life it could ever have before fulfilling its duty in the food chain. It makes dining at DNA Restaurant a responsible choice, in my opinion. :)









DNA Charcuterie platter - all cured in-house





Kamouraska lamb carpaccio









Chef's salad created on the fly, according to one of our servers, for the vegetarian on the table





 Lovage spaghetti alla chitarra





Ravioli “al sole” - with the best parts of the duck





Pork cooked in milk until melt in your mouth tender





Duck egg with black trumpet mushrooms on polenta




































DNA Restaurant
355 Marguerite D'Youville
Montréal, QC H2Y 2C4
(514) 287-3362

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Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe, my childhood memory

Thank god for frozen summer berries! Otherwise, there won't be any blueberry sauce on this cheesecake, not that it would make this cheesecake any less delectable. :)

I would like to share with you a cheesecake recipe from my childhood. It's a tried and proven recipe that will always be really, really good to eat - dressed up or otherwise. When I was in my early teens, I got this recipe off my aunt in Penang. It was the first time ever that my baked goods were more than just passable. It was delicious! I baked this cheesecake many times  over, for parties, for neighbors' housewarming, for weekends, for the heck of it and it was always successful. I baked this cheesecake till I memorized the recipe by heart.

The original recipe for this cheesecake called for a cup of sour cream and a 125grams can of reduced cream on top of 500grams of cream cheese. Needless to say, this cheese cake is extremely rich, creamy and can make your thighs look ghastly if eaten on a daily basis. I am not someone who is bothered by the health aspect of food as long as we eat in moderation but even I thought this was a little too crazy. So over time, I've created a lighter version of this cheesecake without compromising the taste or texture.

Here's my recipe.

(Blueberry) Cheesecake Recipe from my childhood
* Note that the "blueberry" part can be exchanged with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, peaches and/or whatever your favorite fruit compote is.




Cheesecake base:
2 cups of crushed graham cracker (I used tea biscuits this time because it was what I had, so I used less sugar because those tea biscuits are sweet)
1/2 cup of softened, room temperature unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
a pinch of salt (if you're using regular butter, you don't need this pinch of salt)

Cheesecake filling:
2x 250grams Philadelphia Cream Cheese

3 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of 2% fat yoghurt

5 eggs, separate 4 egg whites into a different bowl

1 tablespoon lemon rind

1 tablespoon vanilla extract / 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350F or 180C. Grease your 9-inch cake pan with some butter. I used a 9x6-inch tray pan.

1. Make your base first by combining all the cheesecake base ingredients together. Mix it well with your fingers until the biscuit crumbs can form a ball.

2. With that greased pan, press the biscuit crumbs on the base of the pan to form a nice base. Once that's done, let the cheesecake base chill out in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

At this point, I started with my blueberry sauce to get it cooking. Start by adding 2 cups of frozen blueberries into a small pot and 1/4 cup of sugar with juice of half a lemon. When it comes to a boil, bring it down to a simmer and let it cook for until it reduces into a shiny, thick sauce. Let it cool in the fridge until ready to use.

3. Now to make the filling; Using an electric beater or your trusty standmixer, cream the cream cheese, flour and sugar together until it all comes into a thick creamy spread. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl every now and then to ensure even creaming.

You can use a whisk and beat the cream cheese by hand but you will have to make sure the cream cheese is really soft before you do that. Otherwise, you're going to give up at this point and throw a fit on your kitchen floor like Julie Powell.

4. Add the 4 egg yolks + 1 egg, one at a time until it is evenly incorporated. Now I asked for 5 eggs, and I asked you to separate 4 eggs whites out of that. Please don't add the egg whites in here yet - you'll see why. Now you can add the yogurt, lemon zest and vanilla extract/scraped bean in and mix well.

Set this mixture aside while you whisk the egg whites.

The egg whites are an important step because they give your cheesecake a light texture. It's like how souffles work...but it won't be as fluffy as a souffle but it definitely gives a nice fluffier texture than the usual dense cheesecake. This is the *secret* behind all those raves. ;)

5. With your egg whites whisked till stiff, fold it gently into the cheese batter until it is incorporated. Don't worry if there are small lumps, they're the magic.





6. Take the cheesecake base out of the fridge and pour the filling in. IMPORTANT: Bake in a 350F for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 250F / 120F (approx) and continue baking the cheesecake for another 1 hour or until the cheesecake is firm around the sides with a slight wobble in the middle. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool completely before serving.




It is important that you let your cheese cool before topping it with anything. The flavor of this cheesecake improves with time and will continue to "mature" up till 5 days before it starts to get a little stale.





To serve, warm your knife in hot water to get cleaner slices.

Las Vegas: Alex at the Wynn

Dining at Alex at the Wynn summed up our trip to Las Vegas very well. This is the last of the food series in Vegas - and it was also the most memorable one because it was the first true fine dining experience I've ever had! When compared to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Alex's atmosphere is very classy and high end, everything in the restaurant were cover in gold weaves and a large crystal chandelier - it just screams Fine Dining. Although, the food in both food establishments are comparable - both were equally very good. P preferred Alex over L'Atelier and I vice versa. It's not that I don't think food at Alex isn't great, far from that, it's just a little bit too rich for my palate. I enjoyed the conventional pairing of flavors tremendously.
P and I both had tasting menus. As P is vegetarian, the staff printed a new menu just to accommodate him. If that isn't five star service, I don't know what is. The regular tasting menu fare changes from time to time. Thank god for the fact that the good waiter gave me a copy of my menu tied up in a brown ribbon, otherwise I would have forgotten the names.
So, on to the courses.




To start us off, the waiter swooped to our table with two platters and told us that it was from the compliments of the chef. It was an array of amuse bouche that we were told to start from left to right. P had almost the same thing except his was without the beef tartare opening.




Next came the first course from our tasting menu. Mine is Santa Barbara Prawn Carpaccio with Osetra Caviar, Giant Clam and Celery Salad. This is very similar to L'Atelier's langoustine carpaccio but with the caviar, there is a rich and nutty flavor to it, a stark contrast to L'Atelier's fresh and clean flavor.




P's was a savory warm panna cotta, I think it's flavored with Parmesan. Smooth and creamy, just as good as his corn and truffle cream at L'Atelier. :)




My second course was Butter Poached Maine Lobster with Sea Urchin Linguini, Lime Zst and Brussel Sprouts. The linguini was black as it was made with squid ink - it is my first time eating squid ink pasta and I must say, it tastes exactly like any other pasta except that it's black. The whole dish was delicious. I loved how the sea urchin gave the pasta a very butter flavor - as if the poached butter lobster wasn't buttery enough. It was sinfully good.




P's was a gnocchi dish. The gnocchi was so soft and pillowy, it almost melts in the mouth. With the buttery cream sauce over the top, P swore he'd never look at gnocchi the same way again. Oh yea, ricotta was a main ingredient in those gnocchi!




The richness just kept on coming. The next non-vegetarian course was a thick slice of sauteed foie gras. Oh. My. God. It was so rich, when I put a piece in my mouth, I could have swore I ate butter but then this subtle flavor of the dried fruit mostarda cuts through along with the refreshing Hakurei Turnips really made this dish. I won't order foie gras but I would order this foie gras dish.



P's dish was a medley of vegetables - unfortunately, I don't remember what it was anymore but I remembered him enjoying every bite on this plate.:)



Next was Dover Sole with Gem Lettuce, Chanterelles, Oven Dried Tomatoes and Red Wine Reduction. Lovely sole was coated with Parmesan, which gives it a very salty and creamy flavor.



P's course with mine. It was a roasted tomato relish over chives pancake. Simple but effectively good.



Last of the savory course was the Wagyu Beef with Parsnip custar, Bordelaine Sauce and Crispy Bone Marrow Fritter. God this is crazy. That beef was so tender, I don't think I can eat regular beef ever again. Which is a good thing because I don't cook beef at home anyway. The wagyu was beautifully marbled and melts in your mouth with every bite. Notice how everything here melts in your mouth like butter?



P's course was a slice of meaty mushroom. I think it's rabbit's foot but I could be wrong. Now, P is not a big mushroom fan but he Loves truffle...this dish was so good, he couldn't believe it was just straight up mushroom.

Our dessert was the most wonderful of all. We had three desserts and mini cake even though there was only two dessert items on the menu. Compliments from the chef, according to the wait staff - we won't complain. Maybe it was because we were celebrating our anniversary. ;)

However at the end, we were SO full we could no longer take a bite but we trudge on with the first and second dessert.




Coconut Tapioca with Tropical Fruits was the most ridiculous tasting thing we have ever had. How do they expect us to go back to our lives the way it was before after we've tasted this?? This wonderful dessert was a beautiful balance of flavors and so light, but at the same time ...rich? I can't fully explain it without my head getting a bit fuzzy. It was that good.




Second dessert item was the toasted vanilla brioche with butter poached apples and maple ice cream. This is perhaps the weakest link of the dessert. I liked the poached apples but everything else were just okay. And oddly enough, Mr. Sweettooth agreed.




By this time, we were really, really full. We want to just crawl out of this majestic dining room to catch Phantom of the Opera when the waiter swooped by again with two platters of desserts. 5 different options on each plate...AND a miniature cake with a "Happy Anniversary" written on a white chocolate marzipan (forgot to take a picture of that one). Goodness.. we decided to take the desserts away because we really had to go, and quite frankly we didn't want to further test the limit of our stomach. On our way out, we were given a box of macarons courtesy of the reception. Food was delicious but there's only so much deliciousness one can take. The desserts as we attested the next day were delicious, the macarons were te most delightful thing to eat.Ever. Perfect breakfast, imo. Though, I wished we had the time gone back to Tableau for a quick lunch before heading back to Montreal.