We stumbled upon an interesting food experience when we were in Amsterdam. We were curious when we saw the opulent table settings on several tables outside this restaurant - Lieve Belgisch Restaurant on Herengracht, a short block from our BnB. Gold cutlery and crystal goblets for streetside eating? We stopped by and was further intrigued when the young Maitre D' tried to explain the menu to us.
It seems that depending on how much you pay, you get a different menu and different kind of food - and corresponding ambiance! The gold cutlery was for the "Mrs. Bubbles" menu and then there was another one called Belgian Baroque where everyone shared the food from plates put in the centre.
One of the menus, "Mum's Kitchen" appealed to us as we were looking for some homecooking. We were seated right below a poster with someone's "Mom" on it, complete with red checkered table cloth and kitchen casual cutlery.
 |
| Farmer's pork paté with mustard preserved fruit |
 |
| Cheese waffle with beer dip - the dip was perfect for the cheese which was tactfully hidden inside the waffle without overwhelming |
 |
Braised pork neck with piccalilli sauce
|
 |
| Beer chicken with smoked Roseval potatoes and green beans |
 |
| Honey and lavender parfait |
 |
| Cherry Tiramisu |
The appetizers and mains were both very good, the desserts being the weakest. But it was a very entertaining evening for us. We were fascinated by the ambiance-switching going on inside the restaurant right beside us. It seems that tables that were preset had the cutlery and glasses placed on plexiglass so that when guests wandered in requesting a certain menu, the whole setting could be lifted up with the plexi-glass and moved around depending on the seating. Moving glass on top of glass was no mean manoeuver and there were times when we held our breaths through some narrow misses by the staff. But it was all very interesting!
Disfrutar - Michelin Star in Barcelona
Disfrutar is not just a Michelin starred restaurant in Barcelona -
its three chefs and owners, Mateu Casana, Oriol Castro and Eduard
Xatruch were trained at el Bulli, the legendary Michelin 3-star in
Catalonia and since its opening in December, 2014, the restaurant has
won acclaim with its avant-garde cuisine, getting its first Michelin
Star on its first anniversary.
Unlike our dinner at
LaStage, Amsterdam, we had planned this meal at Disfrutar as part of
our Barcelona experience. I came across an online writeup on their fabulous menu and so had booked our meal three months ahead
when bookings were open - lunch was the only thing available at the
time. As it was located in the Eixample, we planned our day around the
meal, scheduling visits to Gaudi casas before and after lunch. It
worked out really well as they are all within walking distance of the restaurant.
We
were warmly welcomed when we arrived and was taken on a tour of the
design award winning restaurant. In the kitchen, smack in the middle of
the restaurant, on both sides of the corridor leading to the dining
room,
we were introduced to the two chefs Eduoard and Oriol. They were in the
middle of showing the team what they wanted but graciously dropped
everything to
have their pictures taken with us. The kitchen was packed with team
members at every station. It was quite impressive.
 |
|
The
two tasting menus, Classic and Festival, were the only things
offered so we went with the Classic, the one with the least raw items
which one of us was averse to. We started off being seated in
the front of the restaurant but was later moved to the main dining room
when a table became available. While it was nice and quiet in the
front, we felt more part of the excitement in the main Mediterranean style dining room, where
everyone was talking loudly and enjoying themselves (that's what "disfrutar" means - and we got to see
the hardworking crew in action in the kitchen.
Each of the
dishes were exquisitely prepared and presented - innovative with a
distinct flavour and taste. We were also given precise instructions on
how to approach each to achieve the best tasting sensation. It was a
very enjoyable tasting experience - a feast for the senses.
 |
| Refreshing frozen cocktail - melt in the mouth with lingering taste of coffee and rum |
 |
| "Beet that comes out of the land" (actually beetroot meringue with a light crunch on a bed of black sesame) |
 |
| Frozen
lychee, tapioca soaked in gin on rose petals. We were told to put the
rose petal up against our lips and suck the contents into our mouth - a
sensual experience! |
 |
| Salted candy walnuts with salted rice paper on the outside - amazing taste! Mango, tonka beans soaked in whisky! |
Here is an
intriguing dish "Multipescadito frito" with fresh trout roe. The
"Multipescadito frito" are fried small fish placed on the wrap with
sweet fresh roe - great combination and contrast in textures, the crunch
around the soft roe. We assembled our own combo. Extraordinary! |
 |
 |
| "Disfruta
de la aceituna" - the "green grape" made with olive cream and butter in
the crust, the "black olive" made with cocoa and olive - crushed in the
mouth with orange juice inside, sucked from inside flowers. Bread dip
in oil. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Orange juice hidden inside flowers |
 |
| Cold cheese biscuit finish with warm apple cider |
 |
| Deep-fried
egg yolk served with mushroom jelly inside egg shell - egg yolk is
sensational while the mushroom jelly is the perfect balance for the
palette to take away the stickiness from the yolk |
 |
| Mushroom dumplings in translucent wrap |
 |
| Ceviche deconstruction - carrot and ahi pepper, white monk fish |
 |
| If you don't eat raw fish, you get ramen...;-) |
 |
| Macaroni
carbonara - actually made with macaroni gelatin (a delightful texture!)
with carbonara cheese and Parmesan on top. The one above is the
no-cheese version but you can see the macaroni better. |
 |
| Tomato
"polvoron" and arbequina oil caviar translated into tomato biscuit with
caviar. The interesting "liquid salad" is made with lettuce cucumber
with a bubble inside made with olive oil - so much thought and work went
into this! |
 |
| Langoustine
"al ajillo" - "al ajillo" being the little shrimps that added "legs" to
the Langoustine - I would consider this the climax of the meal! The
green foam is parsley and black garlic - instilling subtle flavour on
the very tasty langoustine. My favourite dish! |
 |
| Red
mullet rock fish with paper thin slices of pork belly on top
(delectable combination reminding me of a Chinese steamed fish with
salted pork on top). This was served with soy sauce eggplant gnocchi
(made with gelatin) and yogurt sauce. |
 |
| Moroccan
style pigeon in a ras el hannout sauce - a potent mix of cumin,
ginger, allspice, pepper, cinnamon, coriander and cayenne |
 |
| Mango sorbet sandwich - the "bread" is actually meringue! |
Mano and cardamon sorbet on a cheesecake cornet
 |
| The peppers are actually chocolate with oil and salt |
 |
The grand finale - cotton of cocoa with mint flavour - you pick your own cotton and eat it off the tree!
We stayed at Disfrutar for 3 hours that afternoon and enjoyed every minute. Bravo!
|
We lucked out when we were in Amsterdam this past September - we were able to get a last minute table at Michelin-starred LaStage,
Chef Rogier Van Dam. There is an abundance of Michelin-starred
restaurants in Amsterdam but we chose this one because it's got good
reviews, offered a three course option (which is all we could take in
the evening), just a 20 minute walk from our BnB, fit in with our
schedule and is reasonably priced.
There
were only a total of 12 courses on the menu, two in each category and
guests can pick any combination to make up their dinner ranging from 3
to 8 courses. Interestingly, the couple sitting beside us started off
ordering a 5 course menu but half way through, they had to ask to
"downsize". The wait staff had a friendly discussion with them over
which courses it made sense to remove and it was done without any fuss,
which is a reflection of the excellent service at this restaurant with
an unassuming front. There were no "airs".
On top of the 3 courses we ordered, there were 3 amuse bouches - two
before and one after! Overall, the meal was tasty, well-prepared and
definitely a restaurant I would return to next time I'm in Amsterdam.
 |
| Amuse-bouche 1 - piperada with pepper, onions and tomatoes, pork beef sausage and yummy hazelnuts coated with curry |
 |
| Amuse-bouche
2 - smoked mackerel with a touch of sake! exquisite taste! served
with "gomesco" (almonds, green pepper, green peas) |
 |
Turbot fillet - perfectly done with
with seaweed, saffran risotto, terrine of pork cheeks and langoustine sauce
|
 |
Tomato bouillon
with pata negra, burrata di bufala and tomato - great combination
|
 |
Never thought we would order American steak in Amsterdam but it was delicious - rare with foie gras foam
(with celeriac, artichoke in bacon, chard)
|
 |
| Pan
fried perch - with crunchy skin, green peas creamed, with bits of
smoked mackerel, hazelnuts and beet - only negative was the hollandaise
sauce which was a bit salty |
 |
| Amuse bouche 3 - tambouche with white chocolate and cherry preserve |
 |
Raspberry and pear
with white chocolate fudge, lemon verbena, liquerice, macadamia and raspberry sorbet
|
 |
Speculaas soufflé (light and crunchy!)
with tangerine, egg nog and caramel icecream
|
No comments:
Post a Comment