It's been a long time coming. I think since Babe learnt about it, she's been wanting to give this place a try. We figured we'd pick a date near Valentine's day to do it but due to some unfortunate circumstances, we had to push it back...and again...and again. Eventually it was May, and we finally made reservations and found ourselves at the restaurant last night. =)
Having been to Gunther's, you can say I had high hopes for this place. The chef that works at Gunther's use to be from Les Amis and was responsible for bringing it to the status it is today.
The two small appetizers that came first were really good. The initial dish, which comes complimentary, was cured ham wrapped in french beans, and shrimp in wonton skin. They tasted really good, especially the shrimp which was very well seasoned, not like your usual wonton taste!
The next was an egg custard with caviar...nice too though I didn't think it had any unique aspect to ir.
The scallop tartare that came was very well seasoned, it was light and fresh, very nice on the palette and the portion wasn't too much cause any more of it, it'll become too overwhelming.
The chicken oysters with white asparagus was great! Hiding under were morel mushrooms which had a very chewy bite, the asparagus were well poached then grilled, and the chicken oysters were tender and juicy!
The first main course that came was the snapper. Light battered in tempura flour, the meat was very soft and tender, while the batter gave it added crunch which was fantastic, my favorite main course so far.
The pork that came after was a bit of an anti climax. The mushrooms were good, the cabbage and carrots were fantastic and the sauce tasted great. The pork, however, was a tad tough, and tasted rather normal, it didn't stand out much, I wouldn't have paid for this as a stand alone course in a restaurant of this standard to be honest.
Probably the biggest turn off was the menu it was planned into. The first few dishes above were soft, tender, juicy, and easy to bite into, by the time we had the snapper, your mouth has been "trained" to take things easy, and not work too hard. When the pork course came, it took a lot more effort to cut into, and when chewing on it, you suddenly found yourself working harder than you did with the first few dishes.
You can say it kinda broke the momentum of the meal. =(
For the last dish, dessert, I went for a cheese platter, which is pretty standard, Babe went for the above, a Lemon Tart, deconstructed! On the plate were round butter slices, blobs of lemon cream, pie crumble, and meringue. To eat, you simply scoop a bit of everything, and pop it into your mouth.
I thought the design of the dish was cool though a bit over the top (but of course, this is fine dining we are talking about here), but thankfully the lemon tart did taste a lot better than most, which made it a good experience. =)
At the end of the day, the meal chalked up to about $485 or so, which was slightly more expensive than Gunther's. At Gunther's we did have a glass of wine, white truffles, and my main changed to wagyu beef, so honestly, Gunther's was a cheaper and better alternative, I think I enjoyed dining at Gunther's more than I did at Les Amis.
Still, it was a good evening with Babe, and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.
Good dinner, though I would recommend others to try other places instead.
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