I’m late to the game and just finished season 1. I feel Chef Edward Lee should have won. He should have won the competition that was prior to the tofu challenge. I don’t think it was fair he was docked so many points because the one judge did not like his interpretation of bibimbap. He was consistently innovative and presented delicious dishes. Anyway…
Some great shots from the latest episode of Nolleo Coaster, where CKR rode the fastest roller coaster in Europe at Ferrari Land. Red Force is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Europe, reaching speeds of 180 km/h (112 mph) and a maximum height of 112 meters (367 feet) in just 5 seconds. Not surprisingly, our favourite jorimping yelled a lot, even exclaiming that he would go bald!
Had the 5 course tasting with my wife over the weekend. We were able to try everything on the menu between us except for the dessert cheese board. Some rambling thoughts below (sry not very knowledgeable about food and not a photographer lol).
610 BLT (bacon, liver, tomato). An amuse-bouche one-biter to start. Small sandwich with salty bacon, creamy fois grace, and tomato to add acidity. The bottom slice of bread was nice and crispy.
Course 1:
Stuffed chicken wing: mostly boneless chicken stuffed with wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles. Reminded me of Korean soondae (blood sausage). Crispy skin, a bit salty with a nice bouncy texture due to the noodles, topped with a fresh cilantro salad.
Summer squash soup. A cold soup of creamy squash. There were slices of salty smoked salmon, a crisp chip of a bagel, with some cubed veggies in the soup.
Course 2:
Squid ink noodles: drizzled with gochujang butter, clam? (I didn't realize they were there), one lonely but flavourful mussel, spicy peruvian peppers, and shaved fennel. The gochujang butter was subtle and not overpowering. You can taste/smell sesame oil. The Peruvian peppers had some heat and they'd burst in your mouth.
Sorghum butter and bread (for the table): sliced sourdough with butter that had a hint of sweetness and nuttiness.
Course 3:
Jerk red snapper: a juicy piece of fish with skin on, the jerk seasoning had a nice kick. Accompanied by an Asian style rice and beans. The rice and beans were pretty bland by itself but helped to balance the jerk seasoning.
Soft shell crab: the crab was very crispy and delicious. Came with charred corn and a delicious creamy cheese sauce. Had hints of lime and a slight kick from the gochugaru.
Course 4:
Lamb with a ramp mole, peas/ramp kimchi/Chinese broccoli. The lamb was juicy and seasoned (default medium rare). The vegetables were subtle and not overpowering.
Quail on top of grits/vegetables/a shishito pepper with a bourbon banana BBQ sauce. The quail was incredibly juicy, tender, and rich. The BBQ sauce and pepper had really bold flavour to balance the richness of the quail.
Course 5:
Goat cheesecake mousse: a very creamy light cheesecake mousse. Complimented very well with the diced strawberries and texture from the almond toule. Came with an apricot gel with basil for a different flavour profile to go with the cheesecake.
Bourbon aficionado: drunken banana cake, butterscotch, chocolate, brown butter ice cream. Comes covered in smoke adding the smoky flavour to the sweet richness.
$125 per person with an automatic 20% gratuity. Cozy restaurant but became quite dark as the evening went by. Very friendly service. Edward Lee was out of town. The soft shell crab and the quail were probably our favourites. The bread and sorghum was also amazing.
What's really looking forward to this one and just checked out the opening episode. Perhaps I'm too big a fan of culinary class wars, but the editing is just incomparable. I found the pacing very slow. The appearance scene of the chefs very anti climatic. The sequences of revealing the challenges and preparing for the first challenge also very draggy. What are your thoughts?