Meeting up with Miss CL for our monthly get together we decided on Robuchon as our dinner destination. Since she had only ever dined inside Le Jardin, I suggested that we reserve at L'Atelier so she could experience Robuchon in a different fashion
Our menu that night was composed by the manager as usual and since I had been craving for some dishes that I have had previously there was a mix of new and old items for us to try and enjoy~
Even before our amuse bouche arrived, we were served a platter of thinly sliced jambon. However this was no ordinary jambon. Aged for 81 months, with certificates to show for it, there are only 100 legs of jambon like this in the world and two of them are secured by Robuchon. Looking like a mosaic of lean meat and fat marbling, it was not as chewy as I expected. I also liked how it was not too salty as most cured meats tend to be, and the richness from the melting of the fat was really quite indulgent. To cut the richness, there was an accompanying side of tomato bruschetta where the tartness of the tomato and pungent aroma of garlic oil helped cleanse the palate. This is something worth trying~
Amuse bouche that night from L-R fois gras custard with quince jelly and artichoke veloute with brocolli cream. Their veloutes are always creamy, but I found the brocolli cream to overpower the artichoke flavour. I had no complaints about the fois gras custard, always smooth with the quince lending a light sweetness to the overall flavour. I am so glad to see its return~
Le truffe blanche, or in english white truffles. This is in season presently and we had this showered over fois gras rolls and ratte potatoes. When served, please remember to inhale the heavenly truffle scent before starting on this delicate dish. Smooth luscious curls of decadent fois gras coupled with the honest flavour of marquise shaped buttered potatoes.. this was really amazing~ Definitely recommended.
Soup was next. Corn veloute to be exact. We had the option of requesting it hot or cold, I chose hot, Miss CL went with cold after hearing that it was originally supposed to be a cold soup. And yes she chose correctly. Le caviar arrived as a generous golden lake with a floating island of sour cream and caviar with a wobbly mass of beef jelly. Previously I found their corn veloute to be too sweet, but this time they must have added stock to tone down the sweetness. I loved how the coldness of the soup made the texture creamily thick and coupled with the additional richness of sour cream and slight saltiness of the caviar it was just perfect. The beef jelly was there to add an additional savoury element to the veloute if desired, but both Miss. CL and I were not particularly fond of it. When compared with my hot version of the veloute, I can not say it was bad, but the heat made the texture more thin and it seemed saltier than the cold one.
This was something I requested as I had been craving it. La langoustine. Plump white fleshed scampi enveloped in a ravioli skin with a creamy fois gras sauce. Still as good as before~
Our first main dish arrived soon after. Something new on the menu Le ris de veau or veal sweetbread was suggested to me as I had never had this before. I know that this was an offal dish or more exactly the pancreas of the veal and since I neither hate nor love offal I did not mind trying it while Miss CL adamantly refused hahaha.. The sweetbread was pan fried with a bay leaf till golden brown accompanied by a creamed leaf of romaine lettuce and a small pot of veal jus for drizzling if needed. It had an unusual creamy and spongy texture, but was actually quite tasty, while the side of creamy lettuce was a perfect foil for when the veal jus became too overpowering on the palate. I do not know if I would order this again, but it did not hurt to try.
While I had the sweetbread, Miss. CL had the beef tartare. I do not think I need to repeat my positive comments on this, but Miss. CL enjoyed it thoroughly.
Before our next main dish arrived, we were served another request of mine Le Burger. Whenever I see this, it always brings a smile to the face because it is so cute~ Do not let the size fool you, as it really packs a punch in the flavour department. Smear a little of the homemade ketchup on the burger and the tanginess coupled with the richness of the fois gras and juicy wagyu beef made for an oh so sinful mouthful. I really really missed this, and of course it was more than satisfying
Something to note about the service, the burger is originally served with fries, but since Miss CL already had fries with her beef tartare, the manager replaced our fries with truffled mash instead. Very thoughtful~
Our final mains of the night. Pork is in season right now, so I had Le Porc Iberique while I suggested Miss. CL try their signature Le Black Cod. I quite liked the rustic presentation of the dish with four lean slices of roasted pork loin and a jumbled side of roasted vegetables. The pork was cooked to a delicate pale pink colour where the natural flavour was pleasant, but some parts were not very tender and I found it to be a little dry. What I found interesting was the creamy smear of parsnip and quince puree, so light in texture with a floral undertone, it was delicately fragrant and surprisingly complimented the pork quite well.
Le Black Cod is always good, moist and well marinated in the sweet miso. Miss. CL seemed very happy with this as did I from the few forkfuls that I had
Even after so many dishes, there was still dessert to come~
Miss. CL chose the La Sphere, which was a different flavour this time. Coconut milk mousse encased in a delicate sugar sphere with an assortment of exotic fruits and pineapple sorbet. It was very pretty to look at, but to be honest, I was not a fan of this dessert, maybe because I am not fond of coconut flavoured things. Miss. CL had no qualms about this, and judging by her clean plate I am sure the problem lies with me hahaha..
I mentioned to the manager that I had an overwhelming desire to have something tart-like for my dessert, (preferably with ice-cream
) and very soon I was presented with this~
Six balls of sorbet and ice-cream with two of my favourite tarts~ From top L-R: Pear, cassis (blackcurrant), vanilla, raspberry, chocolate and apple. Their sorbets were very good, really fruity and smooth with no icy texture at all, but my favourite was still their ice-cream. So creamy and rich, I loved both the vanilla and chocolate most, one so pure and innocent, the other so dark and decadent, both polar opposites, but just as dreamy in their own way... The tarts of course did not fail to please either. Firm, buttery short-crust pastry holding a tangy filling of lemon curd and rich chocolate ganache. I was very happy with my dessert~
Thank you
Since we were on sugar high already, why not finish with their petite fours and of course my piggy latte~
開飯熱話
。。。是次我最想說說是甜品，自稱「甜品魔」的我被這裡的甜品更助長成熟！坦白說 ，我對 macaron 的認識不太深，較常吃只有 ladurée 所售賣的馬卡龍，其他很多店舖也沒嚐過呢；但我絕到覺得這兒的馬卡龍比 ladurée 來得更優勝！
一見到草莓味馬卡龍的賣相，已感...
Le Banane - Smooth banana cream with caramel chips and coconut sorbet. The caramel crunch at the button was a surprise, giving the dish an extra crunch texture. Shame that the coconut flavour of the sorbet was covered by the banana cream. 
