Food For Thought went overseas this past week to take part
in some really good fine dining at some of the best restaurants in London and
in Barcelona. Some of these restaurants
were well known, however there were others were that were from a top ten review
list that was created from Trip Advisor.
All in all it was certainly a wonderful experience and something that I
will remember for the rest of my life.
Chicken Liver with Foie Gras Kings Jelly
Today I will talk about my experience at Gordon Ramsay at
Claridge’s Restaurant. For those of you
who don’t know, this is where it all began for this chef guru. This is the actual restaurant where Mr.
Ramsay had built his empire from. This
restaurant is located just south of Oxford Street in London and is steps from
Hyde Park.
Chilled Asparagus
We made reservations to this restaurant approximately
2 months ago. In order to go these fine
dining restaurants, one needs to make these reservations well in advance. When we got there, they immediately escorted
us to our seats and offered us water, wine and champagne to start off as
drinks.
Risotto with Spring Black Truffle and Aged Parmesan
They had “three” different types of menu to choose
from. They had an a la carte menu and a
couple of set course/prestige menus where patrons could have a small sample of
some of their best dishes. Since we
were big fans of Hell’s Kitchen and we had always wondered what a good Beef
Wellington and Risotto tasted like, we opted for the a la carte menu. It was
also probably the best and easiest way to share the food amongst 4 people. For starters we went with the Lobster
Ravioli, Shellfish and Salmon with Lemongrass and Chervil Veloute, and the
Risotto with Spring Black Truffle and Aged Parmesan. For the entrees, we went with the Beef Wellington and the Roast
Breast and Confit Leg of Duck with Jerusalem Artichoke and Cider Glazed Foie
Gras.
Lobster
Ravioli, Shellfish and Salmon with Lemongrass and Chervil Veloute
As we were waiting they came by and offered us some fresh
bread to eat. They also provided us
with some complimentary Chicken Liver with Foie Gras Kings Jelly and a Chilled
Asparagus Drink. The Fois gras was very
good but then again when is foie gras never good. It was fresh and the liver had a distinct but not a heavy taste
to it. It was “light” to say the least
and very tiny in its proportion so that it would not affect the rest of the
meal. The chilled asparagus was
surprisingly good. Not everyone likes
asparagus but even the haters had to love this dish. Each cup had one stalk of asparagus in it but what surprised me
the most was how refreshing the whole drink was. I don’t think it contained any sugars or salts in it, as my gut
feeling was that the entire drink was strictly on the asparagus alone. It was not thick with pulp but not diluted
to the point where it was watered down.
The drink was nicely chilled but not too cold. It was a great complimentary healthy appetizer to have.
Roast
Breast and Confit Leg of Duck with Jerusalem Artichoke and Cider Glazed Foie
Gras
My risotto arrived next and one bite into it showed me why
Gordon Ramsay’s risottos are by far the best in the world when it came to this
dish. First of all the rice itself was
nice and soft. It was not soggy but
just moist enough that it kept all the juices and flavors together. The black truffle provided a nice flavor to
the risotto. I have had risottos of
this kind before in the past however the risotto would be “caked” with the
truffle. This dish had just the perfect amount of truffle in it which was more
than enough to provide all the taste one needed. The cheese was sliced paper-thin which gave this dish just that
extra bit of enriching flavor.
Beef Wellington
The lobster ravioli was really, really good. I personally never like ravioli as a whole
simply because it’s either too cheesy or the pasta on the outside was too
think. This one however contained a
thin layer of pasta so that one can feel the texture and full taste of the
lobster and not the pasta ravioli. The
lemongrass and chervil veloute sauce they used was quite amazing in itself. It
was not thick and it really enhanced the entire lobster ravioli. The sauce was basically a mushroom and onion
creamy sauce however it was very smooth and not too heavy or creamy. After finishing this ravioli, I was actually
craving for more as this was the first time I genuinely tasted a very delicious
ravioli.
Apple Pie
Needless to say, the entrees arrived next. The Beef Wellington arrived and the waiter
actually slices the meat right in front of you. I wanted the meat to be medium rare and guess what, the chef
delivered. No Hell’s Kitchen moment
here that’s for sure. It was perfectly
pink on the inside and nicely cooked on the outside. Alongside its own gravy
sauce, this dish was everything one can ask for. Although the pastry on the outside was perfect, I personally
would have preferred a thinner layer of bread.
The chef however did no wrong, as that is just my own preference. The meal also came with a very creamy mashed
potato and some vegetables as well.
Souffle
Oddly enough the Roast Breast and Confit Leg of Duck with
Jerusalem Artichoke and Cider Glazed Foie Gras was my personal favorite. Although the Beef Wellington is Gordon
Ramsay’s signature dish, the duck was absolutely amazing!! I truly loved this dish. The meal came with 5 slices of duck however
the foie gras was the talk of town as it literally melted in one’s mouth. I have had duck at other restaurants before
and this was incomparable. This soft
meat of the duck was in a league of its own to the point where I thought it was
even better than the beef that night.
The duck was thinly sliced and perfectly cooked. If I had to put a recommendation out there
for a meat dish I would choose the duck over the beef.
Dessert
For dessert we went with the soufflé, an apple pie and ice
cream special. The apple pie was
awesome. It was very sweet and rather
than having the apple inside the pastry, the large chunks of apple were
situated on top. It was a rather large
piece of apple pie as I think there were about 10 cubic pieces of apple on the
top. The soufflé and the ice cream were
also very good. I unfortunately was too
full to have any more but I did have a spoonful of the soufflé which was perfect. The dessert part of the meal really filled
me up. The waiters also presented us
with a complimentary chocolate dessert which too was also very, very good.
Complimentary Chocolate Dessert
Overall, it was a decent night. As I mentioned before, the foie gras duck far exceeded
expectations while the Beef Wellington was satisfactory. Service was satisfactory although there were
a couple of times I would end up pouring my own water and would irritate the
waiters as they believe that it was their duty. So seeing what I was doing, they decided to place the water behind
our table so that it was out of reach. Being my first time at any of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants this was
quite an experience. While this was a
1-star Michelin restaurant, I was anxious to find out what his 3-star Michelin
restaurant was like. For that I will
give you my take on my next posting.
Tonight’s meal was approximately $150.00 per person for those who were
wondering. A little pricey but it is what it is. Overall I give it a 4.75 out of 5.
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