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Some 6 months after our last relaxing lunch, my friend pinged me again to arrange another date. He proposed two venues, with one being a private club and the other being
Restaurant Petrus. I mentioned to my friend that Uwe usually enjoys killing me and that it's been a while since he last got the chance, so naturally my friend was kind enough to make that booking.
I was really hoping to surprise Uwe so for the first time ever, I didn't tell him that I was coming in. Unfortunately, my friend ended up alerting him without specifically mentioning my name, so the cat was out of the bag.
I had been dining out a lot this month, so I asked Uwe for a reprieve from the usual. Much to my surprise - and perhaps on account of my friend - he agreed. There would only be three savory courses today. My friend did tell Uwe that he would like some mushrooms...
Vegetable waffle with vegetable dip - the acidity from the vinegar and the mild mustard flavor were nice.
Champagne cork - oh yes... I remember this from earlier this year. Love the Comté cream inside this
gougère.
Autumn: organic / vegetables / hazelnut - IT'S A LEAF! UWE GAVE US A DEAD LEAF! Well, we did ask him to keep it light...
Breaking the "leaf" made of potato and Sherry vinegar reveals what was underneath - pumpkin purée, beetroot(!!!) purée, hazelnuts, celeriac, white truffle, girolles... Good balance between the acidity and sweetness, and of course there's plenty of fragrance in one's mouth after the hazelnuts and white truffle!
Ceps mushroom: French / soup / tortellini - so... ceps. We had ceps, a tortellini stuffed with ceps, then cep soup was poured into the bowl... and we've got cep powder on top, too. Just TONS of 'shroom, but I ain't complainin'!
Uwe brought out this big pie that looked kinda like a
tart tatin, but of course this was a savory course. Turns out this was a venison pie with parsnip!
Sika deer: Rhug Estate / parsnip / coffee - we've got a slice of the pie made with the leg and shoulder of a Japanese sika raised at Rhug Estate, plus the loin that was very, very tender. Served with purée of celeriac, pear, and parsnip. Venison and coffee sauce.
OK, so I know that I requested for Uwe to take it easy, but I wouldn't have objected to a bigger slice of the pie. Uwe had shaved some dark chocolate from Conspiracy Chocolate on top.
Hokkaido potato soufflé - how interesting that they would choose to make a soufflé with potato as the main flavor... The skin of the potato was peeled, fried, then the flavors are infused into the milk.
White truffle on top doesn't hurt...
Ceps: chocolate / coffee / smoke - we have cep mushrooms, vanilla ice cream, blackberries, and chestnut leaves.
Nougat - so good I ate both.
Amaretti - made with freshly ground almonds. These were soooo good!
Chocolate truffles
We started with a glass of white before moving on to the claret I brought.
2017 Famille Bourgeois Sancerre Les Côtes aux Valets - really big nose of green apples, along with muscat grapes. So fragrant. Pretty ripe on the palate but still got acidity.
1986 Ducru-Beaucaillou - popped and poured without decanting. The nose was very open from the start, very smoky, a little bretty, earthy, woodsy. The fruit became more obvious after drinking some mushroom soup, and this was also minty. Drinking so, so well right now after almost 40 years.
Very, very happy meal. Really happy that I was able to walk out feeling comfortable, satisfied, yet not needing to lie down on a stretcher. While the dishes may not look so fanciful, I do love the honest and straightforward flavors Uwe always delivers. As my friend Gaggan alluded to at an event recently, dishes presented by many chefs look good for social media but whether they taste good or not is no sure thing. That's never the case with Uwe's cooking. Which is why he is totally justified when complaining about me not giving him more love, because I really should. I just wish he wouldn't try to kill me every.single.time.
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