Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 1

1. Arugula Almond Pastry with Olive Oil Gel and Chive Blossom





This amuse bouche tasted a little Asian-inspired. A savory pastry - it was good but not amazing.




2. Tomato Water Martini with Caper Berry, Tom Olive and Basil Oil




This was the highlight of the whole meal! Imagine juices from a tomato strained to clear and add basil oil emulsion. It tastes like tomato and basil but in liquid form. Impressive.

















3. Albacore Tuna Sashimi with Chives
Having just had the Uni sashimi platter, this was more of the same. Still very nice though.











4. Winterpoint Oysters with hisbiscus Jus

The oysters look like they are going to tip over any second and tip over they did. One of my oysters fell off as it came to the table. The hisbiscus jus had a nice vinegary flavor but I thought it masked the subtle taste of the oyster a little.

Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 2

Second Half of the Menu

5. Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese

At this point, I was hoping for some hot food. Nonetheless, the marinated watermelon with balsalmic vinegar was the highlight of this dish.





6. Sweetcorn soup with Coconut Custard and Jalapeno

This one was good! The corn soup was warm and comforting with the
jalapeno giving a contrasting kick. The cococut custard cake was Asian-inspired and went so well with the soup.







7. Lobster Tail with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Didn't quite catch what was in the foam but the lobster tail was cooked beautifully - almost a little undercooked which I actually prefer.









8. Spring Lamb Belly with Wild Onions, Peas and Chamomile

The meat-eaters liked this one! Very well-cooked - the lamb was not gamey at all










9. Strawberry Confetti Dessert

This is a signature dessert at Clio. I thought there were too many appetizer-like dishes in the tasting menu and would have liked a cheese interlude before the dessert. It was still very nice though with beautiful presentation - a streak of strawberry confetti on a huge white plate.

Sashimi at Uni

Paul's Birthday Dinner Part 1 - The Appetizer

Ok, this one along with Part 2 is an epic. For Paul's birthday, we went to Uni and Clio - the two Ken Oringer eateries in The Eliot Hotel. We decided to start with this platter of sashimi at Uni. It was incredible - the fish was very fresh and we opted for the "dressed" version as opposed to "traditional". The chef had topped the sashimi with various herbs, sauces, barley beads, sweetened taro, goji berries and so on. With this amazing dish to start - we moved across to the next restaurant, Clio...

Red Velvet Cake

Since Paul bought me a Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer for my birthday (the pink Susan G. Komen version no less), baking has become a little easier. I still find it tricky especially with an oven that runs 150 degrees hotter than what it states but I get by with an oven thermometer. The trick for me is very precise measurements in the recipe. Unfortunately, US recipes are all about "1 cup of this, 1 cup of that". What is that about?! I bought cup measurements but 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar seems very different to me. Luckily, I found Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network does utilize precise measurements. I really don't mind getting the scales out to ensure a successful cake. For Paul's birthday this year, I made a red velvet cake. A couple of weeks ago, I made a practice cake which failed as the baking powder was too old and didn't react. I switched it out with baking soda and voila! Not bad for second attempt.

Le Timbre, Paris

This tiny little restaurant - named "The Stamp" due to its postage - stamp size - was a real find in the Montparnasse area. An English chef decides to open up a small restaurant cooking traditional French food in Paris! It has been getting rave reviews from NY times, Guardian etc. There are just two staff - the chef working out of his tiny open kitchen and one waitress who spoke excellent English and French. At most, the restaurant can only seat 20 and you sit side by side with other diners. Tables have to be moved in and out when you leave. Menu changes daily due to what is available. I started with escargots in a luscious tomato-based sauce and Paul went for the day's special, squid cooked with tiny cubes of pancetta which added punches of salty flavor. The squid was excellent - really fresh and cooked very well. For entree, the duck was a stand-out atop leeks (I can imagine Rachel salivating at the picture of pink duck with a good layer of fat). And the best dessert goes to the house Millefeuille - rich vanilla cold custard layered within three crunchy, flaky and sweet pastry. Very nice combination. All in all, this was our best meal in Paris. The portions were not huge but we felt comfortably full and satisfied after the 3 course prix fixe.

La Coupole, Paris

This brasserie in Montaparnasse has been going since 1927 and was frequented by Picasso, Hemingway etc. It is also famous for its interior - murals painted by artists such as Marc Chagall. We secured a good corner table at the back of the restaurant where we could watch all the hustle and bustle as the brasserie filled up. People tend to eat late - we had no problem getting a table at 7pm but would probably not have been so lucky at 8.30pm or 9pm. The food was good although not outstandingly special. Our first taste of the outstanding French butter! I'm so annoyed with tasteless American butter and so one of the objectives of the vacation was to eat as much French butter as possible. Luckily, they gave us 2 large servings so we are off to a fine start. I had a salmon dish atop mashed potatoes swimming in butter which needed a little more acid. Paul was brave and went for the steak tartare with frites and salad. The steak tartare was good - mixed with capers and onions but the portion was far too big. Dessert included a floating island - very soft meringue floating in a vanilla cream topped with almonds.

Afternoon Tea at The Orangery, London

One of the best things about living in Devon is that you can have a clotted cream tea anytime. And the clotted cream in Devon is the absolute best! I really did not appreciate this when I lived there....having said that, perhaps that is a good thing. Otherwise, I would have had a cream tea every week and my thighs would be even bigger than they are now. I've since found that clotted cream does not travel well. That is why, you never find it in countries outside of US. I bought a jar once in Hong Kong but my stomach felt terrible afterwards...it spoils very easily. In fact, clotted cream is so rich, it would be labelled a "butter" in US! So when in London, afternoon tea was an absolute given. After some research, I settled on The Orangery in Kensington Palace. The venue did not disappoint - beautiful garden outside and a large stately tearoom with high ceilings and a mini orange tree on every table. A great place to take the parents. The tea sandwiches were good and the tea - a rooibos blend with orange peel was excellent. Although, the clotted cream was tasty, it was a little too thin by Devon standards. Good but not fabulous by Devon standards. The moral of the story here: when in Devon, enjoy your cream tea!

Le Petit Cler, Paris

Finally, we are in Paris! Armed with a fistful of Euros and numerous restaurant recommendations, we attempt to eat our way around Paris. On the way to Tour Eiffel, we walk down rue Dominique and find rue Cler. We are pretty famished and although there are some famous eateries in the area - were not up to finding them. We did find a fairly popular cafe that looked nice and a good number of customers enjoying some Parisian sun with a coffee and cigarettes. I'm so thankful that restaurants banned smoking but even walking along the sidewalks in Paris feels like a toxic respiratory attack. Le Petit Cler was a super little cafe with standard cafe menu. I had the croque monsieur on granary bread - the gruyere cheese was thick and luscious. Paul had the day's special, canard parmentier. We had no idea what it was except that it would have duck in it. Luckily, it turned out to be delicious, duck confit with carrot on a bed of mashed potato. Later, I find out parmentier is a French shepherd's pie - typically made with minced beef, not lamb as in the English version. I also only found out later that rue Cler has been championed by Rick Steve (an English chef/food writer) as a street with individual food stalls for everything - a cheese shop, bakery, butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer etc. etc. Now I wish I was paying more attention when I walked down the street!

The Harwood Arms, London

This gastropub in Fulham has been awarded one Michelin star. Although, the surroundings are unassuming and casual, don't be fooled. The food was good...very good. You do have to bear with the pub-like atmosphere and noise but hey, it's a pub. Albeit, one that does posh nosh. When we arrived around 7-ish, we were not given menus. They were still printing them up! All the food we had - such as a Cornish crab salad with apple and pickled sea purlane or the rhubarb donuts with sour cream were great but award for the most succcessful dish of the evening has to go to Paul's roe deer served 3 ways. Observe chops, crispy shoulder and Cumberland sausage of roe deer served with pickled red cabbage/field mushrooms and garlic mushrooms. There is also a little pot of mustard. Apparently, the owner chef goes hunting for the deer himself. A rustic meat and potato lover's dish!

The English Pig, London

Perhaps it was high expectations but the food at The English Pig was just bearable for the price. The 21 hour pork belly sounded amazing and did not disappoint. However, the starters were hit and miss - the sardines were over-salted to the level of inedible. My theory was that they were seasoned twice by mistake. At first, I thought my seabass was over-salted too but my first bite must have contained all the sea salt crystals. The rest of the fish was fine and went well with the roasted fennel. If you work in the Barbican area, by all means, pop in for a working lunch or a bite after work. But it's not a destination restaurant.

Beard Papa custard puffs

For those that know my culinary tastes, you would know that I am very partial to beard papa's vanilla custard puffs. This franchise started in Japan but they have since expanded to Hong Kong, other Asian countries and even New York and San Francisco. There was a small store in Boston for a period of time - unfortunately, it closed. My favorite is their vanilla custard puff - the custard is injected into the pastry shell when order so that it stays crisp while the custard stays cold. They seem popular in Hong Kong since the overall puff is only light on the sugar. There were some new flavors in Hong Kong this time - vanilla custard with mango, green tea custard puff and the tiramisu puff (latter two pictured). The tiramisu was surprisingly good - the custard had a slight alcoholic aftertaste and the crunchy chocolate bits added more sweetness to the pastry shell.

Jean Paul Hevin Macaroons

Was walking through TST and couldn't resist picking up a box of macaroons from French chocolatier Jean Paul Hevin. They were all displayed like jewels in a case - green, pink, blue, gold - a myriad of enticing colors and flavors. Picking out 6 was hard but I finally went for mango coriander, pistachio, raspberry, fig, bergemot tea and creme brulee. Here they are displayed in all their boxed glory.

Dim Sum at Ming Court

Wondering how dim sum at a 2-star Michelin restaurant will taste, I took Mum to Ming Court in Mongkok's Langham Place Hotel today. The XO sauce with dried scallop was a perfect accompaniment for the shrimp dumplings (har gaw) and pork dumplings with whole shrimp (siu mai). We also had the shanghai soup dumplings (perfect flavoring although the skin was not as thin as Crystal Jade's) but the best dish goes to Ming Court's salty egg yolk custard bun. Run your fork through it and watch the beautiful golden yellow liquid run out....fragrant, sweet, salty - perfect.

B&G Oysters

Perhaps my expectations were too high - in any case, our wedding anniversary dinner at B&G oysters was more basic than expected. The oyster selection was impressive but at $3 an oyster or littleneck clam, it should be. We were given an amuse bouche - yellowtail tartare and beet (pictured). Paul had the lobster dish (pictured) with spinach and parsnip with cauliflower. I had a tasty lobster pasta dish - a special for that day. Our pistachio creme brulee was a disaster though - straight from the fridge. Even with the sugar caramelized with a blowtorch, the brulee was lukewarm but the bottom of the ceramic dish was still cold. We asked the kitchen for another warmer version but was told it was not possible so ended up ordering the caramel sundae. Snow and -5 degrees celsius outside and B&G Oysters had no warm desserts!!!