Three of us tried Cepage tonight for the first time after her opening more than a year ago. Why? Perhaps it's because of her location; and average reviews from friends.
I was very impressed by the service and the ambience, and especially stunned by the outstanding selection of fine wines. I must say the wine list is the BEST among all top end restaurants in Hong Kong.
As for the food, there are plenty to choose from both the a-la-carte and tasting menu. The appetizer I chose was Pigeon Salad . . . not impressive at all. My second course, which was Angel Hair with Alaska King Crab was too rich and tasted like Chinese oyster sauce. I choose Kobe Beef, rare, for my main course ($850!!!!) . . . just mediocre and over-priced. Me and my friends agreed that side-dishes were much over emphasised. Cheese selection was again mediocre. My decaff. espresso was just warm. Petit 4 were also not impressive. The spending per head below excludes drinks and wine.

Never been more disappointed. Meal was ~$3500 for two.
2 soups, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, and a bottle of red.

Only consolation was that the assistant sommelier was cool and absolutely knew his wines well.

2 soups.
First was supposedly chicken consomme (ravioli) -> tasted like wontons in beef broth.
Second was mushroom cappuccino -> tasted like Campbell's mushroom soup.

Foie Gras.
Foie Gras at a fine dining premium price. Okay, will let this slide. As they say, 'Willing to eat the salty fish...willing to endure the thirst'. But still a sick price for average seared foie.

2 entrees. Crazy Expensive.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Grilled fish -> tasted like grilled fish. Asked for more lemon to blockout the dryness of it.
Veal cheek in blah blah blah sauce -> tasted like the local beef stew.

Wine.
This was the only good part so will let it slide. But again, it was at a sick premium.

Go for the wine to impress business clients. But don't take your friends or significant others for the food.

As a foodie, I've ultimately never needed to write a review before, so you could only imagine how far off that this place did not meet expectations.

Overall: Foodwise, this place is the epitome of the Emperor's New Clothes.

Heard about this restaurant and wanted to give it a try today while it's been a dull rainy day. Needed something to spice up my day.

Upon arrival, noted the reception was decorated as hotel reception or check-in counter. This is really cool. The restaurant actually has 3 stories. The ground floor has a bars area for those that arrived ealrier and wanted some drinks before their meal or any party hosted upstairs.

We were served at the 2nd floor. It had about 8 tables and 1 room. High ceiling and very nice decor. It's extremely quiet and it's filled with 6 tables while we visited.

Being the first time visitor, we ordered the tasting menu and the 4-course set dinner (HKD888 excluding service charge). We also ordered the lobster dish.

Before any starter, it came with some canape, the fresh salmon stuffed in a crispy cone.
1) The first course was green apple, lobster and caviar. It came with a very fresh green apple jelly and lobster with great testure.
2) The second course was fish and truffle - the taste and testure of the fish was not impressive as we wanted.
3) The third course was pigeon - the texture was perfect - very tender and juicy.
4) the fourth course was dessert - chocolate cake with few pieces of orange and icecream.

For the lobster we ordered, it came with foie gras. The testure was perfect. The foie gras was a bit cold.

To finish the meal, we were served with lemon cakes, chocolates and coffee. A very fulfilling dinner. The services was great - the waiters were very attentive and informative in introducing their dishes.

終於試了位於星街小區內的Cépage，這可是評價十分之高的頂尖法國餐廳。在這裡吃晚餐動輒過仟，所以我還是選了午市為第一次嘗試。

前菜是 'Taiyouran' organic egg confit, truffled oxtail gelee, lomo Iberico, croutons。半熟蛋煮得恰到好處，伴著風乾火腿絲、黑松露菌絲、雞湯啫喱等令整道菜變得矜貴。把材料拌起來同吃，好味到不得了。

主菜點了Pyrenean milk-fed lamb rack, eggplant, cherry tomato, pearl onions, green beans。整道菜的賣相很好。羊架的肉質非常鮮嫩，有羊的香味但又不會羶。伴碟的小洋葱、茄子等都細心煮過，入口感覺清新。

甜品試了Champagne & elderflower soup with fresh berries。酸酸的雜莓很新鮮，跟清香的champagne在味道上配搭得很好。是一個不錯的甜品。

享受一頓高級法國餐只是數佰元，實在物超所值。

噚晚同朋友同埋佢BOYFRIEND嚟試吓, 我未試過, 但係個朋友之前以經嚟食過,仲話幾正!!　廢話唔講啦.

老實講，環境真係麻麻, 不過樓低都算高，但枱與枱既距離好近，我個人覺得唔係好掂.

坐低之後，　WAITRESS 推介48months Joselito Jamon, OK, 我自己同朋友都好, 點一份 (25grams $200) SHARE. 跟手WAITRESS 攞多份 DRIED LAMB SAUSAGE and Home Made 薯片, 送的.

基本上自己同朋友都唔係好有胃口，所以無人點TASTING MENU. 我個朋友直頭乜都唔食，淨係要杯COCKTAIL. 咁我同佢BOYFRIEND就點左 CHAMPAGNE LIME RISOTTO and OVER ROASTED CROISE DUCK IN TWO WAYS,兩樣嘢都係比人SHARE，SERVE MINIMUM TWO PERSON.

點好之後, WAITRESS 送上STANDARD餐前小食, 好似超MINI ICE CREAM CONE, WITH SALMON ON TOP. 幾得意，不過掛住傾，　無乜特別留意個味.

跟住WAITRESS送上是日 AMUSE BOUCHE, 炸鵪鶉蛋，低下有啲MASHED 綠色物體, 我自己冇食，因為怕怕膽固醇, 所以朋友個BOYFRIEND幫手食埋. 佢地都話好好味

好！主菜上場!! 先上個RISOTTO, 真係幾新穎, 一啲都唔HEAVY,LEMON味BALANCE 得好好, 整體味道幾COMPLEX, 同一般ITALIAN STYLE 既RISOTTO 好唔同, 感覺好清新, 配料有數大片HOKKAIDO SCALLOP and CRAB ROE SPRINKLE ON TOP. 仲有一啲UNKNOWN既植物 (LEMON BALM) 撈埋喺啲飯入面, 唯一美中不足既係CHEF落喺啲SCALLOP 上面既鹽略為多左小小, 不過如果撈勻啲飯都OK. 整體嚟講都係幾新鮮同特別.

跟主上OVER ROASTED CROISE DUCK IN TWO WAYS，　WAITRESS先成隻鴨攞上嚟比我哋睇，　跟住先番入去再做下一步.

FIRST WAY: 碟中間係鴨胸，左邊SERVE 一啲BRAISED RED CABBAGE, 酸酸甜甜，　上面舖左兩塊烤蘋果，右面係CELERIAC MASH, 可以選擇要唔要DUCK GRAVY on TOP. BRAISED RED CABBAGE AND GRILLED APPLE 同 鴨胸配得好好, 酸甜味BALANCE番鴨胸既油膩, CELERIAC MASH 甘甘地，texture好滑, 同ROBUCHON個薯蓉有得FIGHT. 鴨烤得很恰當　好香，皮夠脆，肉唔乾，有肉汁.

SECOND WAY: 鴨腿, 舖低係炒雜菇 and 日本粟米, and 有一兜仔GREEN SALAD, 兜GREEN SALAD朋友處理左．如果大家唔怕肥，我覺得單論舊肉，鴨腿比鴨胸正，不過整體配搭，FIRST WAY比較複雜D, SECOND WAY既味道比較單一，不過DMUSHROOM, 特別舊CORN,都幾正.

食完之後，好飽，好滿意.

CHOCOLATE AND PETIT FOUR, 我唔係專家，亦唔好，所以不適合評論.

值得一讚既係，HOUSE WINE BY GLASS挑選得好好, CEPAGE WINE LIST 出名就唔在講，估唔到HOUSE WINE BY GLASS 一樣咁出色!!

當日精選白酒 - DOMAINE LEFLAIVE MACON VERZE 2005, 紅酒 - PIRIE "SIGMA" PINOT NOIR TASMANIA 2005

非常滿意的一餐，　服務水平亦算恰當有禮. 價錢就............真係不菲, 肉都赤埋......不過下次有機會，有彈藥，一定會再嚟!!

Cépage 跟被英國飲食權威雜誌 "餐廳" 選為2009年全球第60名的餐廳 - 新加坡的 Les Amis 來自同一集團， 來頭當然不少。

餐廳裝飾跟新加坡店差不多但比較細小， Dining room 只得五、六張枱。 午膳餐單並不豐富， 頭盤、 主菜只有數個選擇。

食神選擇了一頓全海鮮餐， 頭盤先來一個三文魚刺身伴白蘆筍。 三文魚很新鮮但白蘆筍較酸， 這個組合不甚匹配。 主菜是來自北海道的燒帶子， 大大的帶子配以蕃茄忌廉汁， 非常滋味。 啫哩人則點了意大利雲吞湯和燒羊扒， 意大利雲吞加入鵝肝為餡， 令普通的雲吞顯得特別吸引， 燒羊扒就較為普通。

值得讚的有兩點， 一是餐廳的氣氛， 餐廳雖小但環境雅緻舒適。 第二是餐廳無論在餐具和食物的擺設花的心思， 餐廳用的餐具、 碟、 乘牛油的器盎等都非常講究， 食物出色的 presentation 也為食客添了一份驚喜。

Today is our 11th wedding annivery. Have heard a lot of raving reviews on this restaurant so decided to give it a try. Interior decor was decent, as with one would expect. We were greeted warmly by the Maitre' D and we were seated at the main dining area. (Originally we were assigned to one of the 3 small tables next to the elevator but they moved us into the main hall since there was a cancellation. )

I ordered the 4 course tasting menu (salmon confit/alaskan crab with rice pilaf/ Kagoshima steak/cherry dessert) while my husband ordered Alaskan crab wtih angel hair/ roast pigeon. The steak and the alaskan crab with angel hair were both superb while the pigeon is very allright (we were quite full after the free hors d'œuvre (risotto with truflles and tuna tartar) and the nice bread !! Since I mentioned it was our wedding anniversary when I made my booking, the restaurant was thoughtful enough to give us a free chocolate cake with wordings on it and presented to us with a lit candle. It was extremely nice and considerate of them. The cake was awesome too.

Overall the experience is very pleasant. Service was excellent, food was very good. OK this restaurant is not cheap but wiht that kind of service, we will definitley go back again. I would strongly recommend the 4 course tasting menu (HKD 880) since it is pretty much food for value. 7 course tasting menu is at HKD 1380 - but think that would suit men more than ladies. We were soo full that we couldnt finish the petit fours...and they even packed that for us to take home together with the freshly baked madeline!

好多謝食友嘅邀請, jul 09, 08,10人嚟lunch.............佢哋好有策略...........因有2款menu,以我哋鍾意試嘅心態,就每2人1組,咁就可以2款menu都叫晒,10人共叫咗6個set menu + 4個gourmand menu :

1) bread basket (免費)
-當日有3款包,有1款有提子乾..........咁緊喺唔揀啦........但聽食友講,嗰款都好唔錯吓,小小甜甜哋
-好彩我最近突破咗食黑橄欖,所以先食呢款
-小小嘅正方形,漲卜卜,外脆,內裡質地帶煙韌
-入口暖熱,呢個包就微微嘅鹹鹹哋
-再伴以由法國嚟嘅牛油食,不錯
-之後就最試埋比較穩健嘅白法包片............3款最比較平凡嘅1款

2) amuse bouche, ie welcome appetizer/ snack (免費)
-好小巧嘅小吃
-面上嘅橙點喺龍蝦膏
-唔濃味,只喺包住嘅皮喺醃酸咗

3) 3 courses set lunch (hk$390)
i) consomme of langoustine, petit pois, boston lobster tortelloni
-喺龍蝦清湯,入口真喺好有鮮味,唔會過鹹
-之後就有2舊龍蝦肉,好爽同結實,帶d鮮味添
-粒雲吞亦好好味,餡料夠多,唔會好似淨食麵粉皮咁
-沉底有青豆粒,可惜食友原來唔食,比佢side咗添~~~
-好有水準

ii) char grilled us prime eyerib, new potato, mixed green fields in truffle vinaigrette
-因為pair我嘅食友喺牛魔王,所以揀咗呢個,如果唔喺我1定會揀homemade pasta嗰個選擇
-要5成熟
-塊牛扒煎得好靚,無諗過喺薄切
-我食牛嘅年資唔長,所以問食友點comment呢塊牛扒,佢話肉質鬆,好juicy,幾個食友都幾欣賞
-咁的確唔"鞋",但牛味就無嘜,所以我對佢就唔喺咁高評價
-沙律同薯仔分開上
-呢個個整體賣相差咗少少,但碟牛扒就吉咗少少

iii) white peach champagne cocktail, elderflower sorbet
-賣相幾精緻
-喺香檳思樂冰咁,內有生果粒,新鮮raspberry,同sorbet

iv) petit three
-有raspberry jelly糖,餡角同cannele
-啫喱糖就酸酸哋,ok
-而個角仔就幾有中式feel...........裡面喺有棒子粒,蘋果粒之類,個皮喺鬆,甜度亦唔高
-3樣嘢嚟講最突出就喺個cannele,後來據經理解釋,喺法國好普遍嘅小食,喺1種蛋糕,好似小啫喱形
-外面喺焦糖化,只喺脆,小硬,但唔甜,裡面就喺軟心嘅粉糰類,唔多甜,好特別
-聽侍應講佢哋初時為求正宗,外層真喺好硬,可以掟得死,所以佢哋就按客人嘅意見改良咗
-我食過嘅petit three/ four唔多,但so far無1間食得吓,但呢個我就覺得喺最好,起碼我3樣嘢都食晒

4) 4 courses gourmand lunch (hk$500)
i) tuna belly carpaccio, citrus, lemon balm, cavier
-個人覺得切得太薄了,沒了實在嘅口感,也試唔真可以有咩味道
-而魚子醬據介紹喺法國養殖嘅貨色,小鹹,無咩特別
-配以橙粒同柚子肉,帶來少少醒胃嘅感覺

ii) "taiyouran" organic egg confit, truffled poulet de bresse gelee, lomo iberico, crouton
-有流心溫泉蛋,西班牙火腿絲,松露絲,雞湯啫喱同炸脆脆
-喺日本嘅有機蛋,推介我哋喺吉穿個蛋王,將所有嘢撈作1團,喺最好味
-我哋緊喺照做啦
-個蛋王真喺好橙紅色........失策唔記得再影多張
-味道上最搶竟然喺個脆脆,因極重牛油味,又脆得可口

iii) alaskan wild king salmon confit, seasonal mushroom ragout, baby spinach, potato mousseline
-侍應話喺慢火煮......魚肉肉質好腍,亦好滑,不過就無嘜3文魚味.........咁同名牌balik種比,咁我就喜歡後者了
-呢味最喜歡反而喺墊底嘅薯蓉,又因為+咗cream嚟煮,所以有滑滑之餘,又creamy

iv) tonka bean creme brulee, marinated strawberries, mango sorbet
-完全可以當2個甜品食,上層喺有杏仁味兄燉蛋,下層就喺芒果雪葩+士多啤梨
-我哋就先食下層因為免得佢溶掉
-個芒果味真喺好濃好濃,甜中有酸,唔多好芒果嘅我都覺得好味
-士多啤梨粒就唔甜,但就有好明顯嘅天然士啤梨味,只喺小酸
-原來個燉蛋好淺,份量唔多
-本頭嘅burnt sugar好脆,厚度唔薄,所以食友就嫌佢厚身咗,過甜了。燉蛋部份好滑,但杏仁味唔重。我就可以照單全收佢嘅甜味

v) petit three
-意見如上

5) speyside still water x 5 (@hk$60)
-當然唔會有水提供,除非喺暖水啦

* 餐具.........全部都好精緻.....侍應話套杯碟要成$2000

* 所有服務也很好..........按要求,落單前,每道菜都詳細介紹晒.............而且都幾warm,唔喺有禮貌得嚟而有距離嗰隻...........佢笑言好少見客人影相影得咁緊要,連結帳張單都影埋

I obviously had too much of an expectation from various feedback I rec'd so I thought I should have a try! As it turned out, it was quite disappointing, honestly. Firstly, I did not expect such a small table and most importantly, the table setting were so near to each other that I could overheard other guests' conversations, which I definitely was not my expectation with such a high quality restaurant and with such a price list (avg $2000 pp)!

Food quality, in general, was high but I would expect more creativity and passion. (sorry... I was benchmarking with my favourite Pierre at the Mandarin!) Service was definitely one of the critical areas that made me feel extremely disappointed about this restaurant. The lady serving me didn't even have an eye contact with the guest and gave me an impression that she's very rush and I thought probably they're very busy! The others who served my table were just okay, not highly professional!

When I finished my dinner and ready to go, the restaurant obviously had set a ground rule to have their staff accompany all their guests to the ground floor (taking the restaurant private lift). This lady, again, came and accompanied us to the lift. I thought she would, at least as a gesture, asked us if we had enjoyed the evening, hope you would come again....etc but she just turned her face away without saying a word (not even a smile, of course). Anyway, when the lift door opened, I really expected that she would guide us to the main exit and said a simple word of "goodbye" or "thank you". Guess what....she just disappeared and walked away, leaving us unattended! We had to find our way out ourselves!!

Well... I guess no matter how good the atmosphere, the food quality, but just this very disappointing customer service would just add a 'black mark'. Especially with a bill of around $4,000 for two, I definitely would expect a much much higher quality. Sorry....I don't think I will have a second attempt!!

閏五月初四‧有雨

如在是日之前問我，全港最好的5間頂級法國餐廳是那5間，Cepage是在列的。是晚來吃了一餐晚餐，感覺卻不是想像中好，現在那個第5位，已被L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon所取代了。

這裡的tasting menu一向是我wish list的其中一項，但陰差陽錯地一直找不到時間及機會。是晚得朋友走堂相就，才可成事。第二次來，感覺竟然不比上次來的好。空調不足，又很嘈吵。

侍應拿來餐牌，一早已鎖定吃tasting menu，也不要三心兩意，都要了四道菜的Table D'Hote。

在麵包籃之前，amuse bouche共兩款，分別是吞拿魚魚籽脆筒及炸蝦，前者大家都覺得不錯，後者是吃完也沒有多大印象，也平凡普通得要緊；

吃罷兩道悅口小吃，前菜也來了，是生蠔。吃起來不算creamy，而這裡對蠔也處理得好的，至少是切了帶子位，可以吃得乾手淨腳；

兩道主菜，一味是魚，另一味是肉，魚是煎魔鬼魚鰭，外脆而內裡做持軟滑，甚美味。第二道主菜是鴿肉，分別是烤鴿胸及煎封鴿腿。鴿胸肉是嫣紅色的，切起來已知，質地非常柔軟，很對辦。

最後，除了甜品，還有蛋餅及Petits Fours。最後送來三粒自家製的朱古力，又香又甜，值得一試。

上次午市來服務是很好的，是次再來，覺得服務是比上次差了不少，給人感覺是久殷勤，態度只一般。


想看詳細的食評及食物的相片，請光臨以下網誌：

www.gourmetkc.blogspot.com

笑談下，朋友重提其想喝清酒的意見，那還等什麼？速轉場。埋單應是二千多，朋友請客，在此說聲謝謝。

2009年4月

去到門口, 感覺有點似酒店大堂, 與領班確認booking後, 隨即搭lift 上餐廳 ! 一出lift, 餐廳比想像細, 幸好樓底夠高, 不然壓迫感會頗大 !地方吋呎土,以經濟效益應盡量多放幾張table, 亦可理解,而 lift 口已放了3張 table, 當日我就係坐係中間果張 !!

頭盤, 主菜, 甜品分別都是3選1, 這天胃口一般, 點了tomato soup, black cod & apple crumble~~ 先來Amuse-bouche , 當日是 melon with ham&grissini, 味道非常清新, 但在Toscana 亦試過同樣的 Amuse-bouche , 味道大家都一樣清甜, 但Toscana 卻保留更多 melon 纖維, 個人更喜歡這個口感, 這裡所做的是幼滑口感, 其實只是這個小小不同之處 !!

tomato soup 好清, 看似很淡, 飲落卻比想像好, 湯清帶清甜, 要煮出這樣一個湯真的不是簡單,若湯在客人面前才倒下, 湯碗邊就不會有不夠整結感覺,賣相及效果會更佳 !!主菜是black cod, 因不喜歡 angel hair,&lamb chop , 所以只剩下這個選擇了 !! chorizo 夠 spicy , 同cod 配得好, 亦提起cod 既味道 !! 而塵埃既 lamp chop 配pilaf rice, 我很欣賞個飯, 米長而幼, 與印度米十分相似, 飯乾爽而且較硬, 淨食都好可口, 但塵埃就不太欣賞, 她說"對我黎講, 飯就係飯, 無分別" !!!!!!!! 當日我最喜歡既係 dessert, apple crumble 做得好香脆, 好好食, 份量細小, 令人回味 !!!!! 唯一可惜係雪糕溶得好快 !!

Just went there for dinner with a few friends past Thursday night. I heard a few bad comments before dining there… in fact, overall wasn’t as bad as others said. The service was quite good, except an Asia female waitress who had “black face” all the time. Food quality was quite ok, not the best (my favorite French cuisine is still Gaddis) but pretty ok. We spent like about $1600 per a person for starters, mains, desserts and a bottle of wine. One of my friend had tried their 7 courses tasting menu… there’s a lot of food! If you have big appetite, you should try their either 4 or 7 courses of tasting menus, due to their 7 courses tasting menu cost about $1400 and it’s about the same cost of ordering a starter, a main and dessert from the a la carte menu.

放假, 正好去吃東西 ~

那天中午, 去試新店Cépage ~

Starter: Egg pasta tortellini stuffed with ricotta and spinach, Perigord truffle jus, Parmesan cheese fondue ~

Main: Grilled Margaret river lamb chop, braised milk-fed lamb belly, pilaf rice, courgette ~

Dessert: Champagne and elderflower soup, fresh berries ~

tortellini很不錯, 雖只用truffle jus, 但truffle味很出, 份量剛好 ~

dessert也很不錯, 賣相優雅, 味道清香, 淡淡champagne味道, 與berries很match ~

不好處是門口難停車, 如dress up而來會較不方便 ~

My friend has been telling me how I would love the food at Cepage so finally we booked a table for lunch. I was skeptical about their service before setting foot in the restaurant because of the bad reviews below. However, my experience with their waiters proved to be pleasant. They were very attentive and always answered your questions with a smile. At the end of the day I was actually hoping they'd be less enthusiastic because this waiter kept coming up to me asking me if everything was ok, when I was in the middle of a conversation with my friend.

I had the 4 courses set menu (there's a 3 course menu) which was $4xx. Given the quality of the food, attentive service and cozy/elegant ambiance I'd say it was money well spent. Would definitely go again.

I finally made by way to Cépage, one of the most talked-about restaurants in town over the last 6 month. The restaurant's pedigree is well-known, so most people have been curious to see whether it lives up to the reputation of its siblings.

I arrived to find the dining room much smaller than I expected. This was the space originally taken up by Ingredients, which failed spectacularly in its transformation from a small-time private kitchen to a big-time fine dining establishment. The room was dominated by one of the wine cellars, and there are a few interesting pieces of artwork hanging in the room.

My friend was already browsing the restaurant's extensive wine list. I had expected this place to have one of the best wine lists in town, and they did not disappoint. It's a wine list that only wine geeks like me would spend any significant amount of time perusing, and most diners would probably roll their eyes and ask for help from the sommelier. Lots of old vintages are on offer here - which is the Achilles' heel for most restaurant wine lists. The list is also dominated by their French selections, reflecting the focus of Vinum's business in Singapore.

We were presented with tiny salmon-filled cornets, à la French Laundry. The amuse bouche followed - heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella, watermelon and ham.

Egg pasta Agnolotti filled with seasonal mushrooms, ham and lettuce, truffle jus, Parmesan cheese fondue - this was pretty yummy, and due in large part to the abundance of truffles. Aside from the shavings on top, there is also a ton of truffle bits at the bottom. I almost wanted to use some bread to soak up the truffle sauce... This Piedmontese pasta actually looks a lot like Chinese dumplings (餃子)...

Roasted D'Anjou pigeon breast and confit leg, pan seared foie gras, potato-shallot terrine, vegetables bâtonnets, sweet corn blinis - what a presentation! One's attention is immediately drawn to the leg of the pigeon - not exactly confit but it's got the two-fingered claw (presume the third has been broken) sticking up in the air. The foie gras was done well - nicely charred on the outside but creamy inside. The breast and leg were just a tad overdone. Both were pink and tasty, but while the meat was tender it fell just short of being succulent. Maybe it was because the pigeon had gotten cold by the time I got around to eating it...

Here's where our dining experience ran into trouble. The restaurant's been having problems with their air conditioning, and during the whole night we were freezing because cold air was just blasting from the unit, to the point where we could clearly hear the air coming out of the vents. When we asked the staff to turn down the A/C, they actually couldn't... you can hear the A/C noise drop noticeably only to start up again, as the unit had a mind of its own. Hence the food got cold very quickly...

Oh and I did steal a small piece of the pan roasted Iberian pork chop from my friend. It had that nice layer of fat on top that just looked so succulent...and it was! I just love pork...

I was pretty full and didn't think I could take on any cheese, so I picked the lightest dessert possible - Champagne-elderflower soup and sorbet, fresh berries. I've always loved cold soups as desserts, especially in the summer. The Champagne jelly actually made this a bit more filling than I expected, but it still went down very well.

Now for the finishing touches...chocolates and petits fours. I was presented with a platter of homemade chocolates, and of course I wanted to have all 6 varieties! Raspberry, black sesame, hazelnut, dark chocolate, coffee and green tea. The black sesam was fragrant as I expected, the I couldn't identify the hazelnut initially, and the green tea filling tasted milky.

My eyes opened wide at the sight of the madeleines. These were huge, but came out in the wrong color! Normally these are a little more orange and caramelized, but these were beige... and they also failed the taste test. Instead of being yummy and sweet and full of lemon citrus flavors, these tasted like unflavored soufflé...and too soft and mushy. We are left wondering how they could have failed so badly on something so simple...

But redemption came in the form of canelés, which were tiny but absolutely delicious. The outside was hard and crunchy, while the inside was soft and moist. I wanted to ask the staff for a box to take home... So the meal ended up a positive note.

I do have to say something about the service. For a restaurant that charges this level of pricing - it's not any cheaper than the hotel restaurants - the service just wasn't there. Not that service was terrible, but something was just missing. A minor complaint is that on my visit to the men's room, they had apparently run out of towels so I had nothing to dry my hands wish after washing. That should not have happened. I had deliberately avoided coming here for the last few months, because I wanted to give them a chance to get things right. Looks like there's still some work to be done.

Was the food good enough to merit return visits? You bet. And I'll find opportunities to go and try out their lunch deals, too.

original blogpost with notes on wine and pictures: http://chi-he-wan-le.blogspot.com/2009/06/french-varietals-at-cepage.html