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.

Las Vegas: Breakfast and Brunch at Tableau

One of the nicest, most memorable experience we had in Las Vegas was having brunch at Tableau. This establishment is located at the Wynn, and serves only breakfasts/brunch and lunch; each with a slightly different menu selections. What makes this place special is the 5-star treatment you get despite looking like the worse mother-hangover in the morning. Not that we were hung over or anything, maybe a bit giddy after L'Atelier. The food was unworldly delicious, everything on the menu was made in-house, from sausages, to their danishes, breads and even their ketchup!

While P and I poured through their one page breakfast menu, we had a hard time choosing what to eat. So many things to try and in the end we settled on two choices; for her, the Tableau Breakfast and for him, a White Chocolate and Orange Bread French Toast.

That morning we were in a silent and content mode, after L'Atelier the night before. Our conversations were peppered with previous night's meal when our our extremely proper and appeasing waiter, Peter, arrived with my basket of hot breads and three breakfast condiments. Instantly, we knew it was going to be a very good morning. The basket had three types of confections, all freshly made that morning and jams were strawberry, and marmalade and freshly whipped butter.


When our main meals arrived, our eyes glued to P's White Chocolate and Orange Bread French Toast. It was a sight to behold, I tell you. Thick golden bread with crispy edges, powdered with icing sugar sends wafts of orange flower perfumes over to my end of the table. I almost fainted with delight.



And my plate was a very typical breakfast fare of homemade sausages, eggs over easy and potato cakes with some wheat toast. Not the prettiest, but definitely hearty. I don't really like sweet foods for my mornings except for my coffee.

I did try a bite of the French toasts and it was really as good as it looks. Peter did say we can never find this served anywhere else but here.

Peter was an excellent waiter, he had a regal to him that makes you feel like he's your personal butler. Every conversation ended with a prim and proper nod, "sir", "ma'am", "very well, sir", "wonderful choice, ma'am", "an excellent pick, sir" and so on. And he served us so well, we felt pampered. The beautiful English-style decor was a little intimidating at first because of it's grandness but after a while, it grows on you and it becomes as comfortable as sitting on your grandparents' table having breakfast; rich grandparents.

We loved Tableau so much we went back a second time. This time it wasn't Peter who served us but a nonchalant waiter who did not tell us that huckleberries were not in season and our pancake came with blueberries instead.

And next, proper pictures for Alex, by Chef Alessandro Stratta.


Read about my other dining experience at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon.